Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 16:10
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
10. righteousness ] The word occurs here only in this Gospel; but comp. 1Jn 2:29 ; 1Jn 3:7; 1Jn 3:10; Rev 19:11. Righteousness is the keeping of the law, and is the natural result of faith; so much so that faith is reckoned as if it were righteousness (Rom 4:3-9), so certain is this result regarded. Here ‘righteousness’ is used not in the lower sense of keeping prescribed ordinances (Mat 3:15), but in the highest and widest sense of keeping the law of God; internal as well as external obedience. The lower sense was almost the only sense both to Jew and Gentile (Mat 5:20). The Spirit, having convinced man that sin is much more than a breaking of certain ordinances, viz. a rejection of God and His Christ, goes on to convince him that righteousness is much more than a keeping of certain ordinances.
I go to my Father ] Better, I go away (see on Joh 16:7) to the Father; ‘My’ is wanting in the best texts. Once more ‘because’ explains ‘will convict,’ not ‘righteousness.’ The life of Christ on earth as the pattern for all mankind being completed, and the reconciliation of man to God being completed also, the Spirit makes known to man the nature of that life, and thus shews what the nature of righteousness is. Sin being resistance to God’s will, righteousness is perfect harmony with it.
ye see me no more ] ‘Contemplate’ or behold would be better than ‘see’ comp. Joh 16:16, Joh 6:40; Joh 6:62, Joh 7:3, Joh 14:19, &c.). He shews His disciples that He has sympathy for them; in speaking of His return to glory He does not forget the sorrow which they feel and expect (erroneously, as Act 2:46 shews) always to feel.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Of righteousness – This seems clearly to refer to the righteousness or innocence of Jesus himself. He was now persecuted. He was soon to be arraigned on heavy charges, and condemned by the highest authority of the nation as guilty. Yet, though condemned, he says that the Holy Spirit would descend and convince the world that he was innocent.
Because I go to my Father – That is, the amazing miracle of his resurrection and ascension to God would be a demonstration of his innocence that would satisfy the Jews and Gentiles. God would not raise up an impostor. If he had been truly guilty, as the Jews who condemned him pretended, God would not have set his seal to the imposture by raising him from the dead; but when he did raise him up and exalt him to his own right hand, he gave his attestation to his innocence; he showed that he approved his work, and gave evidence conclusive that Jesus was sent from God. To this proof of the innocence of Jesus the apostles often refer, Act 2:22-24; Act 17:31; Rom 1:4; 1Co 15:14, etc.; 1Ti 3:16. This same proof of the innocence or righteousness of the Savior is as satisfactory now as it was then. One of the deepest feelings which an awakened sinner has, is his conviction of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He sees that he is holy; that his own opposition to him has been unprovoked, unjust, and base; and it is this which so often overwhelms his soul with the conviction of his own unworthiness, and with earnest desires to obtain a better righteousness than his own.
And ye see me no more – That is, he was to be taken away from them, and they would not see him until his return to judgment; yet this source of grief to them would be the means of establishing his religion and greatly blessing others.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 16:10
Of righteousness, because I go to My Father
The worlds false theories of righteousness
The world is examined, convicted, convinced, as to its false theories of righteousness.
In Christ was the one absolute type of righteousness; from Him a sinful man must obtain righteousness. Just as sin is revealed by the Spirit to be something far different from the breaking of certain specific injunctions, so righteousness is revealed to be something far different from the outward fulfilment of ceremonial or moral observances (cf. Mat 5:20; Mat 7:33; Rom 3:21, &c.; Rom 10:3)
. (Bp. Westcott.)
The conviction of righteousness
It is a fit time for the Holy Ghost to convince Gods people of righteousness when they are convinced of sin before. Then they can relish Christ.
I. THE HOLY GHOST CONVINCES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THIS ORDER
1. There must be a righteousness; for we have to deal with a God who is righteousness itself; and no unclean thing shall come into heaven Rev 21:7).
2. There is no such righteousness in any creature. Perhaps we may have a righteousness to satisfy the world, because we live civilly. But that will not satisfy conscience. And then there must be a satisfaction to the law, which condemns our thoughts, desires; but God is the most perfect of all.
3. This righteousness is to be had in Christ. The righteousness of Christ is that righteousness that is founded upon His obedience: active, fulfilling the law; and passive, discharging all our debts, satisfying Gods justice. The meritoriousness of both of them is founded upon the personal union of God and man; in reference to which union we may without blasphemy aver that God performed the law, God died for us.
4. This righteousness is our righteousness. The Spirit convinces that this belongs to all believers, and it is better than Adam had. His righteousness was the righteousness of a man, this righteousness is the righteousness of a mediator; and it is such a righteousness, that when we are clothed with it, we may go to the justice of God.
II. HOW DOTH THE HOLY GHOST CONVINCE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST? He presents to the soul the knowledge of this excellent righteousness, and then creates a hand of faith to embrace it. The Spirit doth not tell in general only that Christ is an excellent Saviour, but relates to a Christian soul, God gave Christ for thee. This sways the heart to rest upon Christ. And then as it is in marriage, the persons, by virtue of that relation, have interest in each others substance and estate; so when this mystical marriage is made up between Christ and us, we have a right unto Christ by all rights, by titles of purchase and redemption. All that Christ hath is ours; our sins His, and His righteousness ours.
III. WHY IS THE SENDING OF THE SPIRIT NECESSARY FOR THIS? Because
1. It is above the conception of man that there should be such a righteousness of God-man. A devil incarnate may know all things, and yet want to see. Only the Holy Ghost gives inward sight, and works faith to see Christ as mine.
2. He alone must make the conscience quiet, who is greater than the conscience. Conscience will clamour, Thou art a sinner; the Holy Ghost convinces, In Christ thou art righteous.
3. Flesh and blood are full of pride, and would fain have some righteousness of their own. The Jews were of this temper; and it hath been the greatest question from the beginning of the world till this day, what is that righteousness whereby we must stand before God?
IV. HOW SHALL WE KNOW WHETHER WE BE CONVINCED OF THIS RIGHTEOUSNESS OR NO?
1. By the method Christ uses in convincing. First, He convinces of sin, and then of righteousness. For a man to catch at righteousness before he be convinced of sin is but an usurpation.
2. By our hatred of sin, and the alteration of our bent, and by so making Christ sweet to us.
3. By the witness of the Spirit. The work of the Spirit hath a light of its own; as I know I believe, when I believe. Upon this apprehension that Christ is mine, the soul is constrained to love; whereupon ensues an enlargement of heart, and a prevalency of comfort above all discomfort, for love casteth out fear.
4. By inward peace and great joy suitable to the righteousness. As the righteousness is an excellent righteousness of God-man, so, that peace and joy that comes from it is unspeakable peace and joy (Rom 5:1-3).
5. It answers all objections. The doubting heart will object this and that, but the Spirit of God shows an all-sufficiency in Christs obedience; and that sets the soul down quietly in all crosses, and calms it in all storms in some degree (Rom 8:33).
V. THE REASON WHY THE COMFORTER CONVINCES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Because I go to the Father. Wherefore did He go to the Father?
1. To make application of what He had wrought. If Christ should not have gone to the Father, He could not have sent the Holy Ghost to us.
2. To clothe us with a sweet relation, to make the Father our Father (chap. 20:17). (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
The Convincer of righteousness
It has been made a question by men, whether the words right and wrong have any real meaning. Is there such a thing as right? If there is no right, there is no wrong; the one implies the other. Are they both delusions? Two opposite answers are given to these questions, the answer of the world and that of God. The world knows of expediency and inexpediency, of advantage and disadvantage, as connected with certain actions and courses of conduct; but of nothing beyond, of nothing deeper and more binding than the rules of expediency. God, on the contrary, tells us of good and evil, of right and wrong, apart from the dictates of prudence and expediency. One great object of all Gods dealings with men has been to convince them of the difference between right and wrong. The first part of the work of the Holy Ghost described in these verses is, as we have seen, the conviction of sin. But how can such a conviction be brought about? It is impossible, unless the conviction of righteousness is also produced. Sin is a negation; it is a departure from truth and righteousness; and therefore there can be no real conviction of sin, unless there is a conviction of that which sin denies and contradicts.
I. OF WHAT THE HOLY GHOST IS HERE SAID TO CONVINCE THE WORLD. Of righteousness. The expression is obviously incomplete. What must be supplied, in order to complete it? Shall we say, of my righteousness, or of their righteousness? Of both?
1. Of the personal righteousness of Christ. This must clearly be the first conviction produced by the operation of the Holy Spirit; because it lies at the foundation of the whole work of redemption. No more awful proof could be given of the blindness and depravity of mankind than the possibility of the righteousness of Christ being doubted. The teaching of our blessed Lord was opposed to the conventional morality of the times in which He lived. The popular notions of superior sanctity identified self-righteousness with righteousness, and reckoned a man good according to the outward display which he made. It was needful therefore to convince men of the righteousness of Jesus; needful, because they could bring themselves to doubt it; needful for mans own sake, because unless there is a righteousness to be discovered in the life of Christ, it is nowhere to be found. The righteousness of Christ is the proof that righteousness is not impossible to man. But it is also the foundation of the Christian religion. How shall He be the Lamb without spot, unless He is personally holy, harmless, undefiled? The conviction of righteousness includes next
2. The justifying righteousness of Christ. We come now, from the righteousness which is the personal character of the God-Man, to that righteousness of His which in a sense belongs to the world. And this is clearly implied in the text. The conviction of sin is wrought in the conscience of men, not that they may be driven to despair, but in order that they may be led to amendment; and it is then only that justifying righteousness will be appreciated, when the conviction of sin is produced. We have no righteousness of our own. Such is the testimony of conscience as well as of revelation. In vain it is that men go about seeking to establish their own righteousness. But that which man cannot procure for himself,
God has provided for him. The Holy Ghost convinces men of sin, that He may show them how helpless and lost they are, and He convinces them of righteousness, that they may appropriate to themselves, by faith in Christ and by the grace of the Holy Ghost, the righteousness provided for them in the Redeemer. The Holy Ghost convinces men not only of the personal righteousness of Christ and of His justifying righteousness, but also of
3. The righteousness to be wrought in believers. The process of human salvation would be incomplete, unless this formed a part of it. The Holy Spirit convinces men that there is a righteousness from which they have departed, and thus He convinces them of sin; He tells them of a justifying righteousness in which they are accepted, to which they may flee and obtain the full pardon of all their sins; and He further convinces them of the need of righteousness in themselves, and of the provision which God has made for bestowing it. We are next to consider
II. BY WHAT MEANS THE CONVICTION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS PRODUCED. Because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more. The work of the Comforter still points to the person and work of Christ.
1. Let us remark at the outset that the descent of the Holy Ghost, in itself, was a proof that Jesus had gone to the Father. The promised Gift was bestowed, the promised Spirit was given; and now they had not only their own testimony but His to the resurrection and ascension of their Lord. We, they could henceforth say, are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him Act 5:32).
2. But what our text reminds us of is not so much, that the Holy Ghost, by His descent, proves the ascension of our Lord to heaven, but that His return to the Father is a vindication of His righteousness, both as a personal attribute, and as the justification and sanctification of His people.
(1) The Holy Spirit makes use of the ascension of Christ to prove His personal righteousness. Unless the apostles believed, unless they could in some manner demonstrate the righteousness of Him whom they preached, their whole mission must prove ineffectual. And how could they do it? They might remind their hearers of the words of truth, and beauty, and power, which He had spoken. But, alas, multitudes had listened to His words, and had failed to receive conviction from them, and how much less must be the effect of those words when repeated by others! They might ask whether the mighty works which He had wrought could have been accomplished by any but a perfectly righteous man; but they could not forget that in the performance of one of the chief of them He had been called a sinner. There was one other fact to be brought forward, to be testified to by the Third Person in the Holy Trinity Himself, the fact that He had gone to the Father, and while hidden from the world was placed at the right hand of the most High. At His transfiguration the same testimony had been borne. Then His righteousness was declared by a Voice; now it is proclaimed by a stupendous act. Then it was spoken in words which died away upon the ear; now it is uttered by the voice of His glory–a glory which is abiding and eternal at the right hand of His Father.
(2) But, further, the resurrection and ascension of our blessed Lord were not merely a proof of His personal righteousness, nor a mere evidence of the truth of His mission and the Divine origin of the gospel; they were the witnesses of His justifying righteousness. Jesus Christ was not a mere Teacher, nor a mere Worker, nor a mere Sufferer; nor all of these combined. He was the Second Adam, who represented the whole fallen family of the first Adam before God; and every act of His was not the act of a mere Individual, it was the act of a Substitute, a Representative, a Saviour. We do not forget the atonement which our Lord made by His death, when we say that His resurrection, or that whole process of exaltation which comprehended His resurrection and ascension, His rising from the grave into the presence of the Father, was the justification of mankind. It was His death that paid the penalty due for mans transgression; but it was His resurrection that declared the penalty to be paid. He was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification. It was the evidence that His atoning work was complete; for death could no longer hold Him. It is the abiding proof that His offering on our behalf was accepted by God.
(3) But, once more, it is by this means that the Holy Ghost convinces us of the righteousness that is to be wrought in believers. From His throne in heaven our risen and glorified Redeemer dispenses the blessings of His kingdom, the pardon of sin, acceptance with God, and access into the holiest of all; and that which is the seal of all present blessings, the earnest and pledge of those which are to come, the Holy Ghost Himself, who applies all the blessings which God bestows.
Let us ask, in conclusion, what practical bearing these truths have upon ourselves. And first let us ask
1. Has the Holy Ghost convinced us of sin by showing us the righteousness of Christ? We are sinners. That is not only undeniable: as a general rule, it is not denied. But is it admitted in its full meaning? The patriarch Job felt that there was a moment in his experience in which he came to know God as he had never known Him before. I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:5-6). So it is with us.
2. But this is not all. Supposing that such a conviction of sin has been produced, let us ask again, has the Convincer of sin driven us to lay hold of the justifying righteousness of Christ? It is not enough to have a guilty conscience, and to know the deep and dark enormity of our past and our present. Judas was, in some sense, convinced of sin, but he went and hanged himself.
3. Instead of answering that question, let us for a moment consider another, which implies the answer to the former. Are we through Christ new creatures in heart and life? This is the grand proof of our being in a state of grace, of our having the good hope of being saved. (W. R. Clark, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. Of righteousness] Of my innocence and holiness, because I go away to my Father; of which my resurrection from the dead, and my ascension to heaven, shall be complete proofs. Christ was treated by the Jews as an impostor; as a magician; as one possessed by the devil; as a wicked person, seducer, and destroyer of the law. His vindication from these charges he chiefly referred to the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who, by his influences on the minds of the people, and by his eloquence and energy in the ministry of the apostles, convinced both the Jews and the Gentiles that the sentence of the Jewish rulers was unjust and infamous, and that the very person whom they had crucified was both Lord and Christ – Lord, the great governor of the universe; and Christ, the Lord’s anointed, the promised Messiah. It was a matter of the utmost consequence to the Christian cause to have the innocence and holiness of its founder demonstrated, and the crime of the Jews in putting him to death made manifest to the world. This also has been literally fulfilled: the universe that has heard of him believes the righteousness and innocence of Jesus; and the Jews, his persecutors, are confounded and execrated throughout the habitable globe.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A second thing of which the Spirit is promised to convince the world, is
righteousness, by which all interpreters agree is meant the righteousness of Christ. Only some would have it to be understood of Christs personal righteousness, which is inherent in him; upon which account he is called the just One, the righteous One, & c. Then the sense is this:
The Jews now say I have a devil, and cast out devils by Beelzebub; they accuse me as an impostor and seducer, call me a friend of publicans and sinners; but when the Holy Spirit which I will send shall come, he shall convince the world that I was a just and righteous person, and not such a one as they have vilely represented me: which was fulfilled in a great measure, Act 2:1-3:26, when so many were converted and joined to the church.
But the best interpreters understand it of that righteousness of Christ which is communicated to men in justification, of which so much is spoken in holy writ, Isa 53:11; 56:1; Jer 23:6; Dan 9:24; and in many other texts: so as the Spirit is here promised as instructing the world in that true righteousness by which a soul can be justified; and therein both correcting the errors of the pagan world, who thought the light of nature enough to show them the way to heaven; and also of the Jewish world, who thought the righteousness of the law sufficient; by showing them, that no righteousness would do it but the righteousness of Christ, reckoned unto them for righteousness, and apprehended by faith. Christs going to his Father, did both evidence him to be a just and righteous person, however wicked men in the world had represented and traduced him, for his Father would not have received him if he had not been such a person; and also evidence that, as was prophesied of the Messias, Dan 9:24, he had finished the transgression, made an end of sin, made reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteousness: for it could not be imagined, that he should have an access to his Father before he had finished the work which his Father had given him to do, Joh 17:4.
And (saith our Saviour) ye see me no more; that is, after my ascension you shall see me no more; or after my death you shall see me no more, to have any such ordinary converse with me as hitherto you have had: for I shall not ascend to return again to you; but to sit at the right hand of my Father, till I return again to the last judgement.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. Of righteousness, because I goto my Father, and ye see me no moreBeyond doubt, it isChrist’s personal righteousness which the Spirit was to bringhome to the sinner’s heart. The evidence of this was to lie in thegreat historical fact, that He had “gone to His Fatherand was no more visible to men”:for if His claim to be theSon of God, the Saviour of the world, had been a lie, how should theFather, who is “a jealous God,” have raised such ablasphemer from the dead and exalted him to His right hand? But if Hewas the “Faithful and True Witness,” the Father’s”Righteous Servant,” “His Elect, in whom His souldelighted,” then was His departure to the Father, and consequentdisappearance from the view of men, but the fitting consummation, theaugust reward, of all that He did here below, the seal of Hismission, the glorification of the testimony which He bore on earth,by the reception of its Bearer to the Father’s bosom. This triumphantvindication of Christ’s rectitude is to us divine evidence,bright as heaven, that He is indeed the Saviour of the world, God’sRighteous Servant to justify many, because He bare their iniquities(Isa 53:11). Thus the Spirit,in this clause, is seen convincing men that there is in Christperfect relief under the sense of sin of which He had beforeconvinced them; and so far from mourning over His absence from us, asan irreparable loss, we learn to glory in it, as the evidence of Hisperfect acceptance on our behalf, exclaiming with one who understoodthis point, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’select? It is God that justifieth: Who is he that condemneth? It isChrist that died; yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even atthe right hand of God,” c. (Rom 8:33Rom 8:34).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father,…. The “righteousness” here spoken of, does, in the first sense of the word, design the personal righteousness of Christ. The Jews had traduced him as a wicked man, said he was a sinner himself, and a friend of publicans and sinners; that he was guilty of blasphemy and sedition, maintained a familiarity with Satan, yea, that he had a devil: now the Spirit of God, by the mouth of Peter, on the day of “Pentecost”, proved, to the conviction of the Jews, that all this was slander; that Christ was an innocent, holy, and righteous person, and a man approved of God among them, as they themselves must be conscious of, Ac 2:22; of all which, his going to the Father, and being received by him, were a full proof and demonstration. The effusion of the Spirit in that extraordinary manner upon the disciples, showed that he was gone to the Father, and had received from him the promise of the Holy Ghost, which he then shed abroad; and his going to the Father, and being set down by him at his right hand, made it clear that he came from him, and was no impostor; that he had acted the faithful and upright part, and was free from all the charges the Jews had laid against, him. Moreover, this may also be very well understood of the mediatorial righteousness of Christ, which he, as the surety and Saviour of his people, was to work out and bring in for them, in obedience to the law of God; which required holiness of nature, perfection of obedience, and bearing its penalty, death; all which were complied with by Christ, and so the whole righteousness of the law was fulfilled by him; and which is imputed by God as the justifying righteousness of all that believe in Jesus; and the proof of his having wrought out this, lies in his going to the Father; for as this was the work he came about, the will of his Father he came to do, had he not done it, it is reasonable to think he would never have met with such a welcome from him: besides, the donation of the Spirit, in consequence of its being wrought out, most clearly demonstrates it: likewise in the ordinary work of the Spirit of God upon the souls of his people, he always convinces them of the necessity of a righteousness to justify them before God, to render them acceptable in his sight, and to give them a right to the heavenly glory; for to admit them without a righteousness, or any unrighteous persons there, would be contrary to the justice of God, disagreeable to his pure and holy nature, and destructive of the comfort and happiness of the saints. He, the Spirit of God, convinces men of the insufficiency of their own righteousness for such purposes; that they have no righteousness that deserves the name of one, and that what they have will not justify them before God, and entitle them to heaven: and this he does, by showing them the corruption of their nature, their daily sins and infirmities, in thought, word, and deed; the purity of the divine perfections, and the spirituality and extensiveness of the law of God; which when a man is thoroughly apprized of, he can never hope for and expect justification before God by his own righteousness: hence the Spirit of God proceeds to convince men of the glory, excellency, fulness, and suitableness of the righteousness of Christ; which he does, by revealing it to them in the Gospel, setting it before them, and working faith in them to lay hold upon it; when they desire to be found in Christ, not having on their own, but his righteousness; which convictions appear by the mean thoughts they have of their own righteousness, by hungering after Christ’s, by disclaiming all but his, by their constant mention of it, dependence on it, and satisfaction in it; and thus to convince of it, is the peculiar work of the Spirit, since naturally men are fond of their own righteousness, are ignorant of Christ’s, and set against it. It is added,
and ye see me no more; not but that the disciples were to see Christ, and did see him after his resurrection, and will with the rest of the saints see him at his second coming: but the meaning is, that they should see him no more, in a mean and despicable condition on earth, in a state of humiliation, in the form of a servant, he having faithfully performed the whole work he came about, and particularly that of righteousness, he came to bring in.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And ye behold me no more ( ). With the bodily eyes and without the Holy Spirit they are unable to behold Jesus with the spiritual vision (14:19). Without Christ they lose the sense of righteousness as is seen in the “new morals” (immorality, loose views of marriage, etc.).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
I go [] . Withdraw from their sight and earthly fellowship. See on 8 21, and footnote.
Ye see [] . Rev., behold. See on 1 18.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Of righteousness,” (peri dikaiosunes de) “Then concerning righteousness,” which is in Christ, obtained by faith in me, a righteousness that is given to each of you, through faith in me, such as Abel had, Heb 11:4; Php_3:9; Rom 3:22; Rom 3:25-26; Rom 10:1-4; 2Co 5:21. The resurrection and ascension declared His righteousness.
2) “Because I go to my Father,” (hoti pros ton patera hupago) “Because I am going directly to the Father,” where I will make advocacy or intercession on behalf of you, as your High Priest intercessor in heaven, continually, Heb 7:25; 1Jn 2:1-2.
3) “And ye see me no more;” (kai ouketi theoreite me) “And you all observe or behold me no longer,” as you have personally for more than three years, as my called followers, chosen ones, my servants, my friends, my brethren, my bride, Joh 3:28-29; Joh 15:16; Joh 15:27; and my church, Mat 16:18; Act 20:28; Eph 5:25.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. Of righteousness. We must attend to the succession of steps which Christ lays down. He now says that the world must be convinced of righteousness; for men will never hunger and thirst for righteousness, but, on the contrary, will disdainfully reject all that is said concerning it, if they have not been moved by a conviction of sin As to believers particularly, we ought to understand that they cannot make progress in the Gospel till they have first been humbled; and this cannot take place, till they have acknowledged their sins. It is undoubtedly the peculiar office of the Law to summon consciences to the judgment-seat of God, and to strike them with terror; but the Gospel cannot be preached in a proper manner, till it lead men from sin to righteousness, and from death to life; and, therefore, it is necessary to borrow from the Law that first clause of which Christ spoke.
By righteousness must here be understood that which is imparted to us through the grace of Christ. Christ makes it to consist in his ascension to the Father, and not without good reason; for, as Paul declares that he rose for our justification, (Rom 4:25) so he now sits at the right hand of the Father in such a manner as to exercise all the authority that has been given to him, and thus to fill all things, (Eph 4:10.) In short, from the heavenly glory he fills the world with the sweet savor of his righteousness Now the Spirit declares, by the Gospel, that this is the only way in which we are accounted righteous Next to the conviction of sin, this is the second step, that the Spirit should convince the world what true righteousness is, namely, that Christ, by his ascension to heaven, has established the kingdom of life, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, to confirm true righteousness
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) Of righteousness, because I go to my Father.In the conviction of sin, the world is convinced of its own sin by the Spirits representation of Christ to it. That representation of Christ brings also the conviction of righteousness, but this is the righteousness of Christ, not that of the world. The conviction of Christs righteousness necessarily precedes that of the hearts own sin. The light makes the darkness visible, and the revelation of the darkness shows the clearness of the light. The special reason of the conviction of righteousness is the resurrection and ascension of our Lord. Men had called Him a sinner (Joh. 9:24), and His crucifixion was the worlds assertion that He was a malefactor (Joh. 18:30); but even when He was hanging upon the cross there came to the centurions mind the conviction, Truly this Man was innocent (see Luk. 23:47); and moreover His return to the Father was Heavens witness to His righteousness. For the way in which this conviction was brought home to the hearts of the Apostles, and through them to the hearts of mankind, comp. especially Act. 2:27; Act. 2:31; Act. 2:36-37. See also Act. 3:14; Act. 7:52; 1Pe. 3:18; 1Jn. 2:1; 1Jn. 2:29; 1Jn. 3:7.
And ye see me no more.The word means, look upon, behold. The going to the Father would cause that they should gaze upon His bodily presence no more; but the Spirits witness of Him, which would convince the world of sin and righteousness, would be, to them a truer presence of their Lord than any which physical eye could see. The eye of the spirit sees the reality; the eye of the body only looks upon the appearance.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Righteousness In contrast with the sin of the previous verse. This righteousness, existing first in the person of Christ, is, by his great work, brought into the possession of believers in him.
I go to my Father That is, I go through the great work which both evidences my righteousness and wins my right to bestow justification, sanctification, and eternal life on all who believe in me.
To my Father To the courts of the invisible God; to be myself an invisible Saviour, to be seen by you no more, yet to reign on high, at the right hand of God, over the Church, judging and casting out the prince of this world.
Ye see me no more To you, and through you to all my future Church, I shall be an object not of sight, but of faith. Their religion shall not be corporeal. It shall be the faith of the human spirit, co-worked by the divine Spirit, aspiring upward to the heavenly and the divine.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Joh 16:10. Of righteousness, because, &c. “He shall likewise convince them of the righteousness of my person and cause, and of the necessity, suitableness, and perfection of that atonement, which I am come to accomplish by my obedience unto death; because I am going to be exalted at my Father’s right hand, and you shall no more see me again in this humble state of sufferings and abasement, as if I had not fullysatisfied his justice for the faithful, and finished the work which he gave me to do upon earth?”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 16:10 . The second particular: in reference to righteousness , accordingly to the opposite of . As, however, in the subject is the world itself , the of which is described, so the subject of is Christ; hence the more exact definition: so far as I, namely, go to my Father, and you see me no more; . , Euth. Zigabenus; , since it thus, in virtue of the context, is necessarily an attribute of Christ , denotes His guiltlessness and holy moral perfection. The unbelieving held Him to be an (comp. Joh 9:24 ), and put Him to death as such (Joh 18:30 ); He was, however, the (1Jn 2:1 ; 1Jn 2:29 ; 1Jn 3:7 ; comp. Act 3:14 ; Act 7:52 ; 1Pe 3:18 ), and was proved to be such by the testimony of the Paraclete, in virtue of which the apostles preached the exaltation of Christ to the Father (comp. Act 2:33 ff.), and thereby the world was convicted as guilty , the opposite of which the unbelieving assumed in Christ, and thought to be confirmed by the of His cross. So substantially Chrysostom and his successors, Beza, Maldonatus, Bengel, Morus, Tittmann, and several others, including Lcke, Klee, Olshausen, De Wette, B. Crusius, Maier, Godet, Baeumlein. Since, according to the analogy of the remaining parts, Christ must be the subject of , then already on this ground we must reject not only the interpretation of Grotius of the compensatory justice of God , [173] and that of the Socinians and Kuinoel, quod jus et fas est (Mat 12:15 ), but also that of Augustine, Erasmus, Luther, [174] Melanchthon, Calvin, Calovius, Jansen, Lampe, Storr, Hengstenberg, and several others, that the righteousness of man through faith in the Pauline sense is intended, [175] which also De Wette (with the modification that it is its victorious power in the world which is spoken of) inappropriately mixes up with the other interpretation. The form which Luthardt gives to the interpretation of Augustine, etc., that the passage does not indeed express that Christ has by means of His departure acquired righteousness, but rather that He has rendered righteousness possible , because faith in Himself as invisible, is likewise opposed by the fact that Christ would not be the subject to which was ascribed; and it contains, moreover, too artificial a reflection, which is not even appropriate, since faith in Christ cannot be conditioned by His invisibility, although faith must exist in spite of the invisibility of Christ (Joh 20:29 ). The thought is rather: “The fact that I go to the Father, and that I shall then be removed from your eyes, will serve to the Spirit in His of the world as a demonstration of the fact that I am .” [176] And thus the by no means idle, but tender and sympathetic expression, . , as denoting the translation into the invisible world, is an outflow of the thoughtful and feeling interest of Jesus in the approaching pain of separation which the disciples were to experience, to whom this grief, in view of the higher object of that of the world, could not be spared. A reference to the scorn of the world to be expected on the removal of Jesus, as if He were thereby to be manifested an impostor (Linder, in the Stud. u. Krit . 1867, p. 514 ff.), is remote from the connection. De Wette’s remark is incorrect: that . was rather to be expected. That must have been expected if, with Tholuck, it had to be explained of the moral purity (= ) only to be found in Christ, the revelation of which was completed by the spiritual communication of the exalted One, who now may be contemplated spiritually instead of bodily. But thus all essential points would have been read between the lines.
[173] “Deum aequum esse rectorem, ut qui me extra omnem injuriae contactum in suae majestatis consortium receperit.” Comp. also Ewald, Jahrb. VIII. p. 199, and Johann. Schr. I. p. 381.
[174] “For Christians should know no other righteousness, as the ground of their standing in the sight of God , than this departure of Christ to the Father, which is nothing else than that He has taken our sins on His neck,” etc.
[175] Here also Ebrard’s view comes in, who, indeed, considers the Pauline sense of to be remote, but explains it: of the righteousness, which the world should have and has not , since it has cast out the Lord, and compelled Him to go to the Father, and to hold intercourse with His own only in an invisible manner. This interpretation is incorrect, for the reason that, in accordance with it, the would substantially coincide with the . Moreover, the rejection of Christ and His invisible intercourse with His society is an imported meaning.
[176] What Wetzel finds over and above this in the words: that in Christ “ all righteousness rests, and from Him again all righteousness proceeds ,” is indeed a correct dogmatic deduction from the present passage, but is not contained in the words themselves as their meaning.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Ver. 10. Of righteousness, because, &c. ] What strength is there in that reason? This: Christ took upon him to be our surety, and he must acquit us of all our sins ere he can go to his Father.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10. ] . cannot be only the righteousness of Christ , the mere conviction of which would only bring condemnation to that world which rejected and crucified Him: but, as Stier remarks rightly (v. 312, edn. 2), must be supplied after each of the three , , : the conviction being of a sin that is theirs , a righteousness that is (or, in the case of condemnation, might have been) theirs , a judgment which is theirs (see below). Then, what is the world’s righteousness? Not their own, but that of the accepted Man Christ Jesus standing at the right hand of God (seen by us no more, but by that very withdrawal testified to be the Son of God, THE RIGHTEOUS ONE), manifested in the hearts of men by the Spirit to be their only righteousness; and thereby that righteousness, which they had of their own before, is demonstrated to be worthless and as filthy rags. It is the by which this righteousness is assured to us, and by the effect of which, the Spirit, the conviction respecting it is wrought in our hearts (see Hare, as above, note T). The condemnatory side of this part of the is, that remorse , wherewith they whose day of grace is past shall look on the perfect righteousness which might have been theirs, and on the miserable substitute with which they contented themselves.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
My Father. See on Joh 14:2.
see = behold. App-133.
no more. Greek. ouketi.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10.] . cannot be only the righteousness of Christ, the mere conviction of which would only bring condemnation to that world which rejected and crucified Him: but, as Stier remarks rightly (v. 312, edn. 2), must be supplied after each of the three , , :-the conviction being of a sin that is theirs, a righteousness that is (or, in the case of condemnation, might have been) theirs, a judgment which is theirs (see below). Then, what is the worlds righteousness? Not their own, but that of the accepted Man Christ Jesus standing at the right hand of God (seen by us no more, but by that very withdrawal testified to be the Son of God, THE RIGHTEOUS ONE), manifested in the hearts of men by the Spirit to be their only righteousness;-and thereby that righteousness, which they had of their own before, is demonstrated to be worthless and as filthy rags. It is the by which this righteousness is assured to us, and by the effect of which, the Spirit, the conviction respecting it is wrought in our hearts (see Hare, as above, note T). The condemnatory side of this part of the is,-that remorse, wherewith they whose day of grace is past shall look on the perfect righteousness which might have been theirs, and on the miserable substitute with which they contented themselves.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 16:10. , of righteousness) The world had accounted Jesus as most guilty [Comp. Joh 16:2-3].– [because], that-I go) as the Righteous, 1Jn 2:1, If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, thereby obtaining access for believers. The departure of Christ to the Father was confirmed by the advent of the Paraclete.- , and ye see Me no more) that is to say, and I come into that state, wherein ye no longer see Me. There is a change of person; i.e. I no more am seen: and yet it is not without reason that the language is framed in the second person; for if it were the privilege of any one to see Jesus, it would be that of the apostles; and yet it was the part even of these themselves (not to see, but) to believe, and to invite all to believe. Act 10:41; Luk 24:52; Rom 4:18-19, Abraham-against hope believed in hope, etc. Heb 11:1, Faith is the evidence of things not seen; Joh 16:27, Moses endured as seeing Him, who is invisible; ch. Joh 6:19; 1Pe 1:8, Whom not having seen ye love, in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, etc., John 21 : 2Co 5:16, Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more; 21, He hath made Him sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, wherein we ought to weigh well the righteousness spoken of. On the other hand, so long as Christ could be beheld among men, righteousness was not yet obtained. Heb 9:26; Heb 9:28, Now once-hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself;-to them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. 1Ti 3:16, note, Manifest in the flash, justified in the Spirit. [So long as He was manifest in the flesh among sinners, He was regarded as like themselves, and in fact did bear their sins; but afterwards by His death He abolished sin which was laid on Him, and claimed for Himself and for His people eternal righteousness, with the full approbation of the Father]-[Righteousness and glory are things conjoined. Rom 8:30, Whom He justified, them He also glorified.-V. g.] Previously to His death, He had been exposed to the eyes of mortals; not so also after His resurrection, except in so for as it was necessary that the witnesses of the resurrection should be confirmed; and even to these very persons He was not visible during the whole of that period, but only appeared at occasional times, much less was He visible to the world. And the sight of His glory, which accompanied His righteousness (His justification in the Spirit), would be intolerable to those living in the flesh.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 16:10
Joh 16:10
of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more;-His righteousness in himself doing the full righteous will of God, and through his death making others righteous he went to his Father where they would no more see him on earth. [The death of Jesus, had it been perpetual, would have been a tremendous argument against his claims. But when the Holy Spirit demonstrated his resurrection and ascension to the Father, and his power in the invisible world for good, it establishes the truth of those claims, and his consequent righteousness, beyond a peradventure.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
righteousness: Isa 42:21, Isa 45:24, Isa 45:25, Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6, Dan 9:24, Act 2:32, Rom 1:17, Rom 3:21-26, Rom 5:17-21, Rom 8:33, Rom 8:34, Rom 10:3, Rom 10:4, 1Co 1:30, 1Co 15:14-20, 2Co 5:21, Gal 5:5, Phi 3:7-9, 1Ti 3:16, Heb 10:5-13
because: Joh 3:14, Joh 5:32
Reciprocal: Joh 16:5 – I Joh 16:14 – glorify Joh 16:16 – A
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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We have seen at verse 8 that a part of the definition of reprove is to bring to light what constitutes a life of righteousness. While Jesus was in the world personally, he taught such principles orally. But after going back to his Father, that teaching would have to be done otherwise, and He purposed to do it through the guidance of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
[Of righteousness, etc.] that this righteousness here mentioned is to be understood of the righteousness of Christ, hardly any but will readily enough grant: but the question is, what sort of righteousness of his is here meant? Whether his personal and inherent, or his communicated and justifying righteousness? We may say that both may be meant here.
I. Because he went to the Father, it abundantly argued him a just and righteous person, held under no guilt at all, however condemned by men as a malefactor.
II. Because he poured out the Spirit, it argued the merit of his righteousness; for otherwise he could not, in that manner, have given the Holy Spirit. And, indeed, that what is chiefly meant here is that righteousness of his by which we are justified, this may persuade us, that so many and so great things are spoken concerning it in the Holy Scriptures. Isa 56:1; “My salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed”: Dan 9:24; “To bring in everlasting righteousness”: Jer 23:6; “This is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness.” And in the Epistles of the apostles, especially those of St. Paul, this righteousness is frequently and highly celebrated, seeming, indeed, the main and principal subject of the doctrines of the gospel.
In the stead of many others, let this serve for all; Rom 1:17; “For therein” [viz. in the gospel] “is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith “: which words may be a good comment upon the foregoing clause.
I. The law teacheth faith; that is, that we believe in God. But the gospel directs us to proceed ‘from faith to faith,’ viz. from faith in God to faith in Christ: for true and saving faith is not a mere naked recumbency immediately upon God, which faith the Jews were wont to profess, but faith in God by the mediation of faith in Christ.
II. In the law the righteousness of God was revealed condemning; but in the gospel it was revealed justifying the sinner. And this is the great mystery of the gospel, that sinners are justified not only through the grace and mere compassion and mercy of God, but through divine justice and righteousness too, that is, through the righteousness of Christ, who is Jehovah, “the Lord our Righteousness.”
And the Spirit of truth when he came did reprove and instruct the world concerning these two great articles of faith, wherein the Jews had so mischievously deceived themselves; that is, concerning true saving faith, faith in Christ; and also concerning the manner or formal cause of justification, viz. the righteousness of Christ.
But then, how can we form the argument? “I go unto the Father; therefore the world shall be convinced of my justifying righteousness.”
I. Let us consider that the expression, “I go unto the Father,” hath something more in it than “I go to heaven.” So that by this kind of phrase our Saviour seems to hint, “That work being now finished, for the doing of which my Father sent me into the world, I am now returning to him again.” Now the work which Christ had to do for the Father was various: the manifestation of the Father; preaching the gospel; vanquishing the enemies of God, sin, death, and the devil: but the main and chief of all, and upon which all the rest did depend, was, that he might perform a perfect obedience or obediential righteousness to God.
God had created man, that he might obey his Maker: which when he did not do, but being led away by the devil grew disobedient, where was the Creator’s glory? The devil triumphs that the whole human race in Adam had kicked against God, proved a rebel, and warred under the banners of Satan. It was necessary, therefore, that Christ, clothing himself in the human nature, should come into the world and vindicate the glory of God, by performing an entire obedience due from mankind and worthy of his Maker. He did what weighed down for all the disobedience of all mankind, I may say, of the devil’s too; for his obedience was infinite. He fulfilled a righteousness by which sinners might be justified, which answered that justice that would have condemned them; for the righteousness was infinite. This was the great business he had to do in this world, to pay such an obedience, and to fulfil such a righteousness; and this righteousness is the principal and noble theme and subject of the evangelical doctrine, Rom 1:17; of this the world must primarily and of necessity be convinced and instructed to the glory of him that justifieth, and the declaration of the true doctrine of justification. And this righteousness of his was abundantly evidenced by his going to the Father, because he could not have been received there, if he had not fully accomplished that work for which he had been sent.
II. It is added, not without reason, “and ye see me no more”; i.e. “Although you are my nearest and dearest friends, yet you shall no more enjoy my presence on earth; by which may be evinced, that you shall partake of my merits; especially when the world shall see you enriched so gloriously with the gifts of my Spirit.”
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Verse 10
Because I go to my Father. The meaning seems to be that the Holy Spirit was to instruct the world in respect to righteousness, that is, the nature of the duty which the law of God requires, since Jesus himself, who had made this, in its various branches, the great subject of all his teaching, was about to leave the world, and of course his instructions must be closed. Many commentators have supposed that by the word righteousness Jesus refers to his own innocence of the charges against him; but the sin mentioned in the John 16:9 is the sin of others, if the righteousness mentioned here were his own, a pronoun would be required to change the subject, to which the words would respectively have pertained. That is, it should have been “to convince the world of their sin and of my righteousness.” It seems clear, therefore, that all the words sin, righteousness, and judgment, should be understood in their general sense, and that the meaning of the John 16:10 is, that the Holy Spirit was to urge upon men the nature and the ‘Obligation of moral duty, since the instructions of Jesus were now to be closed.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
16:10 Of {c} righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
(c) Of Christ himself: for when the world will see that I have poured out the Holy Spirit they will be forced to confess that I was just, and was not condemned by my Father when I went out of this world.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Spirit would also convict the world of righteousness. Normally righteousness (Gr. dikaiosyne, which occurs only here in John’s Gospel) refers to truly righteous conduct and standing before God. The world does not have that. It also refers to the righteousness that people profess to have that is far inferior to the righteousness that they need for acceptance with God (Mat 5:20; Rom 10:3; Php 3:6-9; Tit 3:5). This self-righteousness, which Isaiah compared to a filthy menstrual cloth (Isa 64:6), is apparently the negative side of what Jesus had in mind. The Spirit would convict the world of the inadequacy of its righteousness and move the unsaved to seek the true righteousness that only Jesus Christ provides.
The Spirit would convict the world of its lack of righteousness because Jesus was going to the Father with the result that His disciples would see Him no longer. Jesus had convicted those He contacted of their inadequate righteousness during His earthly ministry, but that source of conviction was about to depart. The Spirit would continue this ministry.
Jesus’ reference to the disciples’ inability to see Him implies the need for them to become the instruments through whom the Spirit would exercise this ministry. Moreover Jesus’ ascension testified that His righteousness is the standard for divine acceptance (cf. Act 3:14-15; 1Jn 3:5).