What does "In that day you will ask nothing of me" mean (John 16:23)?

The second word, "aiteo," means only to ask for something. But, "erotao" having two meanings, the question arises, in which of those meanings is it to be taken, in the verse we are considering? and this seems to be indicated by the context, for the Lord had just been answering the enquiries of the disciples; as it says in the nineteenth verse, Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him." Here the word translated "ask" is "erotao." Then He answers their questions, and in verse 23 adds, "In that day ye will not question (erotao) me." And now, passing on to treat of prayer, He leaves the word of double meaning, and employs one which only means to make request (aiteo Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you (aiteo) the Father in my name he will give you." So that when the Lord said, "In that day you shall ask me nothing," He was not forbidding prayer to Himself, but informing them that in a day soon to come they would no longer be interrogating Him. He, indeed, would not be here to be enquired of; He would be at the Father's right hand, and the Holy Spirit would be here to guide them into all truth. This verse therefore may safely be said to give no countenance to the view that prayer may not be made to the Lord Jesus.

The second word, "aiteo," means only to ask for something. But, "erotao" having two meanings, the question arises, in which of those meanings is it to be taken, in the verse we are considering? and this seems to be indicated by the context, for the Lord had just been answering the enquiries of the disciples; as it says in the nineteenth verse, "Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him." Here the word translated "ask" is "erotao." Then He answers their questions, and in ver. 23 adds, "In that day ye will not question (erotao) me." And now, passing on to treat of prayer, He leaves the word of double meaning, and employs one which only means to make request (aiteo), "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask (aiteo) the Father in my name, he will give it you." So that when the Lord said, "In that day ye shall ask me nothing," He was not forbidding prayer to Himself, but informing them that in a day soon to come they would no longer be interrogating Him. He, indeed, would not be here to be enquired of; He would be at the Father's right hand, and the Holy Spirit would be here to guide them into all truth. This verse therefore may safely be said to give no countenance to the view that prayer may not be made to the Lord Jesus.

The passage that has suffered most from the obliteration in the A.V. of the distinction between the words is John 16:23, which seems to substitute prayer to the Father in the name of Christ, for prayer to Christ directly. Whereas the 'ask' (ἐρωτάω) of the first part of the verse refers to John 16:19, "Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask (ἐρωτάω) him." Here the word is used in its ordinary classical sense of 'question,' not as 'prayer' at all. The Lord is leading on their hearts, from the hour of travail that was before them in His death, to the dawn of a new and endless day in His resurrection, when they would have no more questions, all difficulties would be solved. There had in fact been two difficulties before them in what the Lord had said in John 16:17. John 16:18 to the first clause of John 16:23 complete the Lord's instruction as to the first difficulty. In the latter clause of John 16:23 He takes up their second difficulty, "Because I go to the Father," and unfolds this first of the consequences of His so going, that now they would be able to 'ask' (αἰτέω) the Father in His name — to come before the Father in the value of His name as they never had done hitherto, as left to represent Him in the place of His rejection.

The Lord is really signifying the great change from recourse to Him as their Messiah on earth for every difficulty, not for questions only, but for all they might want day by day, to that access unto the Father into which He would introduce them as the accepted Man and glorified Saviour on high. Till redemption is known, and the soul by grace is set in righteousness, even believers are afraid of God, and hide, as it were, behind Christ. They draw near in spirit, as the disciples did actually, to Him Who in love came down from heaven to bless and reconcile them to God. But they do not really know what it is to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace. They are not in the distinct consciousness of children before their Father, enjoying liberty in Christ by the Spirit of adoption.

This, then, appears to me what the Lord gives the disciples to know should follow His Resurrection and departure "in that day": a day already come, the day of grace, not of glory, save so far as we enter in by virtue of Him Who is gone above and sent the Spirit thence to be in us. He had already and fully told them what the Spirit of truth would do in guiding them into all the truth (verses 12-15). Here He substitutes access to the Father for everything in prayer, instead of personal requests to Himself as their Master, ever ready to help on earth. It is not a question, then, of a declaration of being so taught of the Spirit as to have nothing further to inquire, but of no longer having One at hand to Whom they had been in the habit of appealing for each difficulty as it rose. The departing Son of God would draw out confidence of heart in the Father.

Hence the solemnity of making known their new resource. "Verily, verily, I say to you, Whatsoever (or, If) ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give you (in My name)." The text differs in the manuscripts and other authorities; but the best of them place "in My name" after the assurance that the Father will give, not after the saints asking the Father as in the common text, which, however, is best supported by the ancient versions. There can be no doubt, as we shall see presently, that the saints are encouraged and entitled in the value of the revelation of Christ to prefer their requests to the Father; but, if the more ancient reading holds in verse 23,† we have the collateral truth that He gives in virtue of that name whatsoever they shall ask Him. How blessed and cheering to the saints! What pleasure to the Father and honour to the Son! The rejection of the Messiah only turns to His greater glory and better blessings for His own. [ℵBCpmLXYΔ, Orig., Cyr., place the words after "give," whilst ℵCcorr.D, Syrr., old Latt., have "them" after "Father." Blass follows other Edd. in reading, as in ℵ, etc.] † [The words ἄν τι, instead of ὅτι ὅδα ἄν of Text. Rec.]

"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing." The knowledge of the Son in resurrection puts them, in the knowledge of Him, into the use of new appointed relationship towards the Father. They were not to ask of Christ present, as strangers to the Father, but as knowing His place with them, and His place with the Father, "determined the Son of God with power," and their relationship with the Father by virtue of Him, they were to ask the Father in His name, and He would give. They could ask the Son from human knowledge of Him. They had never so seen the Father in Him, that by knowledge of the Son they could ask the Father for that they needed. Nor would it be merely at His persuasion of the Father, for the Father Himself loved them, but by virtue of their union with and the prevailing name of the Son. In and by Him they could so ask. He had spoken to them in parables. He had opened out to them the various ways of relationship, and shown it as the portion of the children, and what that portion was (in parables). But now He could declare Him boldly. He would cause them to know Him.

Now the disciples had sorrow, for the cross seemed to them to rob them of all that their faith had looked for; but He would see them again, and their hearts should rejoice; and this joy no one would be able to rob them of. On that joy the shadow of death could never fall. In resurrection they would have the Lord in a way they never before had looked for Him, or thought of Him.

“In that day ye shall ask Me nothing.” While they had Himself with them their questions were all presented to Him for an answer; but in that day—the Spirit’s day—they would be so in the sense of the Father’s love, and so in the enjoyment of the relationship into which they would have been brought on the ground of redemption, that they would go directly to the Father. They would ask in His name, for only in that name can we draw near to God; but He says: “I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loves you, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God.” How infinitely precious are these Divine communications! And what an unspeakable joy it is to hear the Son speaking from the bosom of the Father and telling us: “The Father Himself loves you”! O that we knew it better! What a marvellous privilege is ours, to go through this cold-hearted world in the continual sunshine, the warmth and comfort of the Father’s love! How well able this would ever make us to meet the hostility of this world, and to meet cursing with blessing! And it is: “Because ye have loved Me, and believed that I came out from God.” It is with the Son we are linked up in the Father’s love, therefore is there no separation from it.

(Vv. 23, 24). The Lord has spoken of the new revelation of Himself in the new day so soon to dawn; now He speaks of the new character of intercourse that would become the new day. "In that day," says the Lord, "ye shall ask Me nothing" — words that do not imply that we are never to address the Lord, but rather that we have direct access to the Father. Martha had no sense of directly speaking to the Father, when she said, "I know that … whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee." (John 11:22). We have not now to appeal to the Lord to go to the Father on our behalf, but it is our privilege to directly ask of the Father in the name of Christ. Hitherto the disciples had asked nothing in His name. "In that day" they shall ask in His name, and the Father would give in His name, that their joy might be full. In using the vast resources thus opened to them they would find fulness of joy.

The word "ask" occurs twice in this verse, but actually the Lord used two different words, which might be distinguished by using "demand" or "enquire" for the first and "ask" or "petition" for the second. The Lord had been meeting all their demands, and they had run to Him with all their enquiries, but now that day was closing. But He had revealed the Father before them, and directly the Spirit should be given that revelation would become effective in them. They would be empowered to take their place as representatives of the Son, and so ask in His Name. Asking thus under the direction of the Spirit, their prayers would be sure of an affirmative answer, as being according to the Father's mind. Striking instances of prayers of this kind are given us in the latter part of Acts 4, and again in Acts 12. Indeed the prayer of the dying Stephen, in the last verse of Acts 7, illustrates it; for the conversion of the man who presided, like an evil genius, over his martyrdom was an answer to the spirit of the request, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."

"At that day." This began at Pentecost, and, though the knowledge then revealed will not reach its maturity till hereafter, when we shall know as we are known, yet surely it has deepened much since that wonderful epoch, notably perhaps during the last seventy years or so; at any rate in intelligent realisation by the saints of God. Yet we must not forget, in calling attention to Philadelphian recovery of truth, that the reality of it may often, by God's grace, have been enjoyed where there was little or no power of conscious entering into it. But, be that as it may, we proceed to note that twice more in the course of these last words of the Lord He refers to "that day," viz., in John 16:23, 26; the point in the former verse being apparently that the disciples would be so illuminated by the Holy Spirit as not to need to ask for the solution of perplexing mysteries, whereas in the latter the announcement is made that they will ask in His name. Again in John 16:26 the word rendered "ask" is linked with the idea of supplication (aitesesthe) while in ver. 23 it is the word that a seeker after knowledge would naturally use (erotesete). The lesson to be drawn, as pointed out by an eminent divine no longer living (Bishop Westcott), seems to be that fulness of knowledge would be followed by fulness of prayer. In fact, as has been finely said, "the fulness of knowledge leads to fulness of prayer." At any rate, no knowledge can lessen the need of prayer; rather must it make such need more imperative, lest there be lack of humility. Moreover, as we know, supplication was to be made in the Name of the Lord a new thing, as the Lord tells the disciples in John 16:24. For, exquisitely beautiful and comprehensive (a model of what prayers should be) as is the prayer that at an earlier date our Lord gave the disciples at their request, there was no asking as yet in His Name, nor could there be.

That which has given rise to doubt is the following verse: "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you" (John 16:23). Taken as it stands, this would seem conclusive that prayer should not be addressed to the Lord. But the translation is misleading; for two words of differing force in the original are here rendered by the one word "ask." The word rendered "ask" in the first sentence of the verse is erotao; that in the latter sentence is aiteo. Thus, "And in that day you will ask (erotao) me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask (aiteo) the Father in My name He will give you."