“But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
Parallel translations
- WEB But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
- KJV But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
- BSB Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
- NKJV “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
- NLT “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going.
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 is going to the One who sent Him, yet the disciples, absorbed in grief, do not ask where He is going. Sorrow has clouded their understanding.
Overview
Jesus notes that He is returning to the Father, but the disciples, overwhelmed by sadness, fail to grasp the significance of His destination. Their focus on loss keeps them from asking the questions that would bring comfort. This sets up Jesus' explanation that His departure is actually for their good.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- John 13:36Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you can’t follow now, but you will follow afterwards.”
- John 7:33Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer, then I go to him who sent me.
- John 16:28I came from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.”
- Heb 1:3His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
- Eph 4:7–11But to each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
- John 16:10about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won’t see me any more;
- John 17:4I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do.
- John 14:4–6Where I go, you know, and you know the way.”
- Heb 12:2looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- John 13:3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God,
- John 14:28You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I.
- John 16:16A little while, and you will not see me. Again a little while, and you will see me.”
- John 6:62Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
- John 17:13But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.
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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 16:5 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.