John 16:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

NIV: A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

NASB: Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.

CSB: When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world.

NLT: It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.

KJV: A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

NKJV: A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

This analogy is part of Jesus' reassurance to His closest disciples. This statement is being made near the end of His teaching at the Last Supper (John 13:1–5). Soon Jesus will be arrested (John 18:1–3) and crucified (John 19:18). Though He will be resurrected (John 20:19), the days in between will be filled with fear and anguish for these men. In addition, Jesus has warned them—and, by extension, all future believers—about the persecution to be expected from the unbelieving world (John 16:1–3). His reason for the warning is so they don't respond to those events in panic or surprise (John 16:4).

Most recently, Jesus has referred to the deep sorrow these men will experience, accompanied by the sadistic joy of the unbelieving world (John 15:21; 16:20). The uplifting aspect of this message is that their intense pain will soon turn into even-more-intense celebration. The analogy Christ uses here is that of a woman in childbirth.

Of course, Jesus is not suggesting a woman who has given birth literally does not remember it happened. In fact, it's a cliché for mothers to remind children of the pain of labor, when the child is being unruly. The point in this passage is those negative experiences are immediately outweighed by the joy of the newborn baby. The birthing experience is intense, agonizing, and even frightening. Yet, in comparison to the love of a child, birth pain is relatively short-lived and more easily set aside.

The disciples will soon experience a similar pattern. There will be severe agony, terror, and uncertainty as the unbelieving world murders Christ and scatters His followers (Matthew 26:31; John 16:32). Yet, those three days of misery (John 2:19) will be followed by a faith so joyous and powerful (John 16:22) it will literally change the world (Acts 1:1–9).

John 16:16–24 once again reminds the disciples that Christ must suffer and die for the sins of the world (Mark 8:31). The days ahead will be especially dark and frightening for those who so closely followed Jesus. Yet the outcome will be powerful and world changing. Jesus explains this using the analogy of childbirth. The process of giving birth is painful—but the reward is immeasurably valuable. Afterwards, joy over the new birth far outweighs memories of the painful birth process.

Throughout His teaching in the Last Supper (John 13:1–5), Jesus has often brought up the fact that He's giving His followers advance warnings (John 13:19; 14:25). His intent is to provide encouragement—persecution as a result of their faith is inevitable. In keeping with that reassurance, Jesus again promises the coming of the Holy Spirit. He explains that after a time of deep sorrow, His followers will experience great joy and clarity. This concludes with a beloved promise that Christ has "overcome the world."

This completes the teaching portion of Jesus' words during the Last Supper, begun in chapter 13. Christ echoes many of the themes of His earthly ministry. His focus is especially on encouragement: reminding the disciples that the hard times they will experience will end in victory. While they don't clearly understand, the Holy Spirit will lead them in the right direction. This ends with Christ's beloved declaration that He has "overcome the world." That introduces the record of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in chapter 17, immediately before His arrest early in chapter 18.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.