Limitless Word
Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.
John 16:24 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
  • BSB Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
  • NKJV Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
  • NASB Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
  • NLT You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

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

Until now they have not asked in Jesus' name; He invites them to ask and receive so their joy may be full. Prayer in Christ's name leads to fullness of joy.

Overview

Jesus introduces a new dimension of prayer: asking the Father in His name, something not yet practiced. He urges the disciples to ask and receive, with the goal that their joy be complete. This connects answered prayer to the full joy promised throughout the discourse, all flowing from the believer's relationship with the Father through the Son.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Matt 7:7–8“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
  • Jas 4:2–3You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask.
  • John 15:11I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
  • John 16:23“In that day you will ask me no questions. Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
  • 2 Th 2:16–17Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
  • 1 Jn 1:3–4that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
  • Eph 1:16–17don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
  • 2 Jn 1:12Having many things to write to you, I don’t want to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you, and to speak face to face, that our joy may be made full.
  • Matt 6:9Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
  • 2 Th 1:2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • 1 Kgs 18:36At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
  • Gen 32:9Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, ‘Return to your country, and to your relatives, and I will do you good,’
  • John 3:29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full.
  • 2 Kgs 19:15Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sit above the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
  • 1 Th 3:11–13Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 16:24YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 16:24 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.