John 16:1-11

Jesus told these things to them in order to prepare them for the future. For they would face difficult times in the future. They would be persecute, and some of them would be killed. Moreover, those who persecuted them would claim to be acting in God's name. They would face both physical and psychological pressure. The reason they would do this is that they do not know the Father. Jesus did not beat about the bush about what the future held for them.

He was only telling them these things now because He was going to leave them. In the previous three years, and especially in the current week, He was a living example of the truth. Now that they had seen the truth, He explained it to them. The presentation of truth, including the gospel itself, requires both words and actions.

The initial reaction of the disciples would be one of sorrow, but ultimately it was to their advantage that Jesus was leaving. For He had to do this in order for the Holy Spirit to come. Sometimes we may think how "lucky" the disciples were to actually have been around when Jesus was here, but the truth is that we are now in a better position.

The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement. We can sometimes feel we are on our own in the face of a world that has intellectually rejected the gospel, but this is not true. The Holy Spirit is working to convict them of the truth.