John 16:4 (LSB)

Passage

But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Nearby Context

John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.

John 16:3 These things they will do because they did not know the Father or Me.

John 16:4 But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

John 16:5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’

John 16:6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "things", "spoken", "hour", "comes", "remember", "told", and "beginning". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "things" and "spoken", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "These things they will do because they..." into verse 5's "But now I am going to Him...", so "things" and "spoken" 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 "things" and "spoken" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.