Passage
His disciples said, “Behold, now You are speaking openly and are not using a figure of speech.
John 16:29 (LSB)
Nearby Context
John 16:27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.
John 16:28 I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”
John 16:29 His disciples said, “Behold, now You are speaking openly and are not using a figure of speech.
John 16:30 Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”
John 16:31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "disciples", "said", "behold", "speaking", "openly", "using", "figure", and "speech". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "disciples" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 28's "I came forth from the Father and..." into verse 30's "Now we know that You know all...", so "disciples" and "said" 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 "disciples" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.