“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.”
(John 16:12-13 NLT)
There’s a verse that caught my eye and comforted my heart today, and so I share it in hopes that it will lead you also to sigh in relief. It’s just one line from Jesus.
The Longing Jesus Had
Jesus said these words to his disciples, on the evening before he was crucified. They did not know what was about to transpire, but Jesus did. He knew what would happen to him. In fact, he even knew he would rise from the dead and told them so (John 14:20)! On this evening, Jesus wanted to comfort and encourage his disciples (John 16:20-22).
As Jesus shares many things with his disciples on this evening, midway through his talk, he says, “there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now” (John 16:12 NLT). You can hear Jesus’ longing. He wants to share more with them. He can’t say at that time all that he wants to say to them.
Why does Jesus hold back? Because the disciples could not bear what Jesus wanted to say at that time. It would be too much for them. The Bible doesn’t describe exactly why they would not be able to bear what Jesus had on his mind, but for whatever reason, what Jesus said to them in this talk (in John 13-18) was all they could bear at the time.
The Promise Jesus Made
Notice how Jesus immediately follows that statement: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13 NLT). Jesus ached to tell his disciples more, to reveal more to them. Yet, he found comfort in the truth he said next: he would tell them more, through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus spent much of his last talk before his death with his disciples telling them about the Holy Spirit, who would be their Advocate and his representative after he went back to the Father (John 14:26).
The Holy Spirit would become Jesus’ means of teaching his disciples (John 14:26), and Jesus later on in the conversation would say that it is actually better that his disciples have the Holy Spirit than that they have Jesus present (John 16:7).
Jesus longs for his disciples to know him better, to know his Father better, to experience peace, to be courageous, to bear fruit (John 14:9-11; John 16:25-28; John 16:33-34; John 14:27; John 15:16), and so much more. His heart is to teach them. So, he gives them his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. And oh, what the Holy Spirit would teach these men—you have most of your New Testament to show for it! Some of these men would write the Scriptures we hold in our hands today, as the fruit of the Spirit’s teaching in their lives.
The Comfort in Jesus’ Words for Us Today
Are you a disciple of Jesus? A disciple is anyone who has trusted in Jesus for salvation. But the word disciple means “learner.” Everyone who belongs to Jesus by faith is a learner.
Jesus longs to teach us. And Jesus has not left us alone but has also given us his Spirit to teach us all that he wants to reveal.
Do you know what it’s like to be taught by Jesus through his Spirit?
We can only know Jesus as our teacher in truth if we first know him as our Savior. The disciples did not receive his Spirit until after Jesus had died and risen from the dead (John 14:17; Acts 2). Like the disciples, we too must know the crucified and risen Savior before we can know his Spirit.
If you do know what it’s like to be taught by Jesus, then take Jesus’ one line to his disciples to heart today and let it comfort you: “There is so much more I want to tell you but you can’t bear it now.” Jesus knows how to reveal himself to you, and he intends to make himself known to you. Jesus knows how to teach you in the season that you are in. Jesus knows what you can handle.
Today, we can be at rest that Jesus will teach us all we need to learn. We can also look forward in eager expectation, joyfully expecting the Spirit to reveal to us what Jesus wants us to learn.