Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer, then I go to him who sent me.
- BSB So Jesus said, “I am with you only a little while longer, and then I am going to the One who sent Me.
- NKJV Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.
- NASB Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am going to be with you, and then I am going to Him who sent Me.
- NLT But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.
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 tells them He will be with them only a little longer before returning to the One who sent Him. He foretells His departure to the Father.
Overview
Jesus speaks of His coming death, resurrection, and ascension as a return to the Father who sent Him. This veiled prophecy puzzles His hearers but reminds readers of the divine plan unfolding. His limited time among them is a call to respond in faith while the opportunity remains, before He goes where they cannot follow in unbelief.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- John 16:5But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
- John 13:33Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
- John 17:13And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
- John 14:19Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
- Mark 16:19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
- John 17:11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
- John 12:35–36Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
- John 16:28I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
- John 16:16–22A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
- John 13:3Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
- John 16:10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
- John 13:1Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
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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 7:33 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
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