John 16:19

19 Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask Him, and He said, "Is this what you are questioning one another about--my saying, `A little while and you do not see me, and again a little while and you shall see me'?

John 16:19 Meaning and Commentary

John 16:19

Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him
This is a proof of Christ's deity, that he is the omniscient God who knows all things, what is in man, even the secrets of the heart; for he not only knew the whisperings of the disciples, and their inquiries among themselves about the sense of his words, but also their secret desires to ask him concerning it:

and said unto them, do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, a
little while and ye shall not see me, and again a little while and ye
shall see me?
which he said before they could put the question to him, they being bashful, and backward, through fear or shame; and which not only confirms what is before observed of his omniscience, but also shows his readiness to open his mind and meaning, and explain himself to his disciples, as he does in the following words.

John 16:19 In-Context

17 Some of His disciples therefore said to one another, "What does this mean which He is telling us, `A little while and you do not see me, and again a little while and you shall see me,' and `Because I am going to the Father'?"

18 So they asked one another repeatedly, "What can that `little while' mean which He speaks of? We do not understand His words."

19 Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask Him, and He said, "Is this what you are questioning one another about--my saying, `A little while and you do not see me, and again a little while and you shall see me'?

20 In most solemn truth I tell you that you will weep aloud and lament, but the world will be glad. You will mourn, but your grief will be turned into gladness.

21 A woman, when she is in labour, has sorrow, because her time has come. But when she has given birth to the babe, she no longer remembers the pain, because of her joy at a child being born into the world.