Passage
And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.
John 14:29 (LSB)
Nearby Context
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
John 14:28 You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
John 14:29 And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.
John 14:30 I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;
John 14:31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "told", "before", "happens", and "believe". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "told" and "before", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 28's "You heard that I said to you..." into verse 30's "I will not speak much more with...", so "told" and "before" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "told" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.