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Verse

John 16:29

ESV His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech!
NIV Then Jesus' disciples said, 'Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.
NASB His disciples *said, 'See, now You are speaking plainly and are not using any figure of speech.
CSB His disciples said, "Look, now you're speaking plainly and not using any figurative language.
NLT Then his disciples said, 'At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively.
KJV His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.

What does John 16:29 mean?

One of the promises Jesus made during the Last Supper was the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). That influence would bring clarity to ideas which were once hard to understand (John 2:22; 6:60; 16:15). As part of that prediction, Jesus pointed out that what He once taught them in parables, He would later teach them in direct terms (John 16:25). While Jesus has given His closest followers more insight than He gave the crowds (Mark 4:34), He has not revealed every possible detail, yet (John 16:12). Of course, much of what Jesus has said in the last few moments has been very blunt. This leads the disciples to once again misinterpret; they think they have already arrived at this state of spiritual understanding.

It's possible Jesus closest followers thought that He meant the teaching work of the Holy Spirit would be a momentary event. Or, that it would involve just one aspect of His ministry. Either way, they will reiterate their confidence in Christ's knowledge (John 16:30), only to have Jesus once again bring them back to a state of humility (John 16:31).
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