Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

16 “I have told you these things to keep you from giving up. ² People will put you out of their synagogues. Yes, the time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God. ³ They will do this because they have not known the Father and they have not known me. ⁴ I have told you these things now. So when the time comes, you will remember that I warned you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you then. ⁵ Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Your hearts are filled with sadness because I have told you these things. ⁷ But I tell you the truth. It is better for you that I go away. When I go away I will send the Helper^[a] to you. If I do not go away, then the Helper will not come. ⁸ When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. ⁹ He will prove to them about sin, because they don’t believe in me. ¹⁰ He will prove to them that I am right with God, because I am going to the Father. You will not see me anymore. ¹¹ And the Helper will prove to them the truth about judgment, because the ruler of this world is already judged.

¹² “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. ¹³ But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words. He will speak only what he hears and will tell you what is to come. ¹⁴ The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me. He will take what I have to say and tell it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what I have to say and tell it to you.

Sadness Will Become Happiness

¹⁶ “After a little while you will not see me. And then after a little while you will see me again.”

¹⁷ Some of the followers said to each other, “What does Jesus mean when he says, ‘After a little while you will not see me, and then after a little while you will see me again’? And what does he mean when he says, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They also asked, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹ Jesus saw that the followers wanted to ask him about this. So Jesus said to the followers, “Are you asking each other what I meant when I said, ‘After a little while you will not see me. And then after a little while you will see me again’? ²⁰ I tell you the truth. You will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but your sadness will become joy. ²¹ When a woman gives birth to a baby, she has pain, because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the pain. She forgets because she is so happy that a child has been born into the world. ²² It is the same with you. Now you are sad. But I will see you again and you will be happy. And no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will not ask me for anything. I tell you the truth. My Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. ²⁴ You have never asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive. And your joy will be the fullest joy.

Victory over the World

²⁵ “I have told you these things, using words that hide the meaning. But the time will come when I will not use words like that to tell you things. I will speak to you in plain words about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask the Father for things in my name. I am saying that I will not need to ask the Father for you. ²⁷ No! The Father himself loves you. He loves you because you have loved me. And he loves you because you have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

²⁹ Then the followers of Jesus said, “You are speaking clearly to us now. You are not using words that are hard to understand. ³⁰ We can see now that you know all things. You can answer a person’s question even before he asks it. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹ Jesus answered, “So now you believe? ³² Listen to me. A time is coming when you will be scattered. Each of you will be scattered to your own home. That time is now here. You will leave me. I will be alone. But I am never really alone. Why? Because the Father is with me.

³³ “I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”

Jesus Prays for His Followers

17 After Jesus said these things he looked toward heaven. Jesus prayed, “Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you. ² You gave the Son power over all people so that the Son could give eternal life to all those people you have given to him. ³ And this is eternal life: that men can know you, the only true God, and that men can know Jesus Christ, the One you sent. ⁴ I finished the work you gave me to do. I brought you glory on earth. ⁵ And now, Father, give me glory with you. Give me the glory I had with you before the world was made.

⁶ “You gave me some men from the world. I have shown them what you are like. Those men belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your teaching. ⁷ Now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. ⁸ I gave these men the teachings that you gave me. They accepted those teachings. They know that I truly came from you. ⁹ I pray for them now. I am not praying for the people in the world. But I am praying for those men you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And my glory is shown through these men. ¹¹ Now I am coming to you. I will not stay in the world now. But these men are still in the world. Holy Father, keep them safe. Keep them safe by the power of your name (the name you gave me), so that they will be one, the same as you and I are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them safe. I kept them safe by the power of your name—the name you gave me. I protected them. And only one of them, the one who is going to hell, was lost. He was lost so that what was said in the Scripture would happen.

¹³ “I am coming to you now. But I pray these things while I am still in the world. I say these things so that these men can have my joy. I want them to have all of my joy. ¹⁴ I have given them your teaching. And the world has hated them. The world hated these men, because they don’t belong to the world, the same as I don’t belong to the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking you to take them out of the world. But I am asking that you keep them safe from the Evil One. ¹⁶ They don’t belong to the world, the same as I don’t belong to the world. ¹⁷ Make them ready for your service through your truth. Your teaching is truth. ¹⁸ I have sent them into the world, the same as you sent me into the world. ¹⁹ I am making myself ready to serve. I do this for them so that they can truly be ready for your service.

²⁰ “I pray for these men. But I am also praying for all people who will believe in me because of the teaching of these men. ²¹ Father, I pray that all people who believe in me can be one. You are in me and I am in you. I pray that these people can also be one in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. ²² I have given these people the glory that you gave me. I gave them this glory so that they can be one, the same as you and I are one. ²³ I will be in them and you will be in me. So they will be completely one. Then the world will know that you sent me. And the world will know that you loved these people the same as you loved me.

²⁴ “Father, I want these people that you have given me to be with me in every place I am. I want them to see my glory. This is the glory you gave me because you loved me before the world was made. ²⁵ Father, you are the One who is good. The world does not know you, but I know you. And these people know that you sent me. ²⁶ I showed them what you are like. And again I will show them what you are like. Then they will have the same love that you have for me. And I will live in them.”