The Wednesday Word

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you."

Jesus calmly tells his disciples: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” 

Jesus is leaving his disciples with what they can handle at the moment. He is also telling them that when they need more from him, the Spirit is the “mechanism” who will provide it.

Jesus isn’t saying that they are resisting all he has taught them. But rather that they’ve not yet had the experiences that will enable them even to perceive what knowledge they will need. There are encounters ahead for them where there are things they will need to know, but that from their present viewpoint, they can’t even imagine what those things are.

In essence, Jesus is saying to his followers: “There are some things I need to tell you, but you are not yet in a position to comprehend them.”

Then Jesus tells them something that changes everything, and it explains why he is so calm. After he departs, Jesus says, the Holy Spirit will come to guide them and to convey to them what the Spirit hears from Jesus.