I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.
Parallel translations
- WEB “I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.
- KJV I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
- NKJV “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
- NASB “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them at the present time.
- NLT “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus has more to say but the disciples cannot bear it yet. Their understanding will mature through the Spirit's later teaching.
Overview
Jesus acknowledges the disciples' present limits; there is more truth than they can grasp before His death, resurrection, and the Spirit's coming. This shows His patient, gracious wisdom in teaching. It also prepares for the promise that the Spirit will lead them into the fuller understanding they are not yet ready to receive.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Mark 4:33With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
- John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
- 1 Cor 3:1–2Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ.
- Acts 1:3After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
- Heb 5:11–14We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing.
- John 14:30I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 16:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.