What does it mean that “now is your time of grief” (John 16:22)?

In John 16:22, Jesus says to His disciples, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” Here, the word grief refers to pain, sorrow, or affliction. To understand why the disciples were grieving, necessitating Jesus’ words of hope, we need to review the context of John 16:16–24.

John 16 is part of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse (John 14—17). Jesus is addressing His disciples on the night of His arrest. As Jesus prepares His disciples for His imminent death, the disciples are understandably confused, uncertain, and anxious. In John 6:16, Jesus makes a cryptic statement about His absence and return: “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” This puzzled the disciples, and they began asking each other, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying” (John 16:18).

Jesus, knowing what was in their hearts (cf. John 2:23–25), promises that their grief will turn into joy: “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20). The disciples’ weeping would be the result of Jesus’ absence—His death and burial. But He promises that their grief will not last forever. He compares their sorrow to the travail of a woman giving birth: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21, ESV). Jesus then gives them the assurance of answered prayers and the promise of joy that no one can take away (verses 22–24).

When Jesus says, “Now is your time of grief” in John 16:22, He acknowledges their immediate feelings about His impending death. They are grieved now. Their sorrow over their Master’s being taken from them is compounded by the shattering of their messianic hopes (see Luke 24:21). Jesus validates their feelings of loss, confusion, and despair—a good example for us of how to care for those who experience similar emotions.

Jesus then points to the future: “I will see you again and you will rejoice” (John 16:22). Death would not be the end of Him. On the third day, He would rise again, just as He had said (Luke 24:7). For now, the disciples are sorrowful and grieving. But when Jesus rises again, they will experience lasting joy.

Unlike worldly happiness that is predicated on external circumstances, the joy we have in Christ is based on the assurance of His resurrection. In Him, we have a deep and abiding joy, knowing that His victory over sin, death, and Satan has been achieved: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, ESV). The disciples’ experience of seeing the risen Lord and their subsequent joy is a foretaste of the ultimate joy we will experience in heaven when we see God face to face. Until then, we live confidently in an abundance of hope: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).