This article is part of a series explaining Jesus’s Confusing Sayings
Know a confusing Jesus verse? Write me in a comment so I can analyze its Greek in a future article.
This article covers a series of Jesus’s verses about the “Holy Spirit,” though that term is not used. In the previous verse, John 16:7, Jesus says that he must go so that he can send the “Advocate/Comforter” to them. The Greek word translated as (KJV) “advocate” and (NIV) “comforter,” means a “summoned assistant”. It was used primarily to describe a professional who assists with legal trials.
Jesus describes the role of this advocate in John 16:8:
NIV: When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
The words in boldface are explained in this article.
The “he” here is the “advocate/comforter”. However, his role is not what is described in Biblical translation because Jesus did not say what Biblical translators wanted him to say.
The Greek word translated as “prove to be in the wrong” simply means “to disgrace” or “to shame”. “The world” is the social order, “society”, that is, the standards of society. Those were controlled by the Pharisees and Sadducees, those who maintain the religious order of Judea.
A more accurate translation of this verse would be:
Listeners Heard: And, showing up, that one there will disgrace this society about mistakes, and about virtue and about judgment.
“That one there” is in a form that refers back to the previous verse’s advocate/comforter.
Not “Sin” But “Mistakes”
Then, Jesus goes on to explain these three ideas that disgrace this social order. He starts with “sin” in John 16:9:
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Jesus was not as quick as the clerics translating the Bible to accuse people of “sin”. The word that he used means “mistakes” (see this article). The Greek word meaning “truly” or “certainly” follows “mistakes”, but it is not translated. It is repeated in each of the following verses, but, for some reason, never included in the English translation.
There is no Greek word for “people” in this verse. It comes from the plural form of the verb. The verb means “trust” rather than “believe.” The Greek preposition translated as “in” with this verb more likely had the sense of “trust as much as” (see this article).
Listeners Heard: About mistakes, truly, because they do not trust as much as me.
The “they” refers to those in Judean society. Jesus defines their common mistake as not trusting. This is a lot less egocentric than Jesus defining “sin” as people not “believing in” him. Especially since in Matthew 12:32 and Luke 12:10, Jesus said that those speaking against the son of the man will be let go.
Understanding Virtue
In the next verse, Matthew 16:10, Jesus describes the role of the Consular/Advocate in disgracing the world as related to “righteousness”.
NIV about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;
The Greek word translated as “righteousness” means “justice”, “fulfillment of the law” and “being in an ideal state”. In today’s English, we would say “virtue”. The Greek word meaning “truly” or “certainly” follows “righteousness”, but it is not translated. We saw this same omission in the previous verse.
The Greek word translated as “see” is not one of the common words meaning “see”. It has the sense of “observe”, that is, watching something carefully. It is the Greek root of our word “theater”.
Jesus has been performing the role of acting as an example, one who we must emulate to be virtuous.
Listeners Heard: ...concerning virtue, truly, because I go into the presence of the Father, and no longer do you observe me...
The Advocate/Comforter will not act as an exemplar of virtue, like Jesus did, but guide people towards virtue in another way.
Judgment Not Condemn
This brings us to the final verse, John 16:11:
NIV: And about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
The Greek word translated as “judgment” is krisis. It means distinguishing among choices and “separating” things. Jesus uses it in a variety of ways, though the Bible usually translates it as “judgment”. The Greek word meaning “truly” or “certainly” follows “judgment” but, again, it is not translated.
The word translated as “prince” means “high one” and could refer to anyone with the highest authority in a given area, Caesar or a high priest. “Stands condemned” is the verb form of the noun translated as “judgment”. Its form means “has been judged”. Jesus chose not to use the Greek word meaning “found guilty”.
A more accurate translation of what Jesus said would be:
Listeners Heard: ..concerning judgment, truly, because the high one of the social order, of this one here, has been judged.
Notice that this last verb describes an action completed in the past. This judgment doesn’t come after Jesus’s passion and death, but before. The “high one” therefore seems to be the chief priest, who has already given the order for Jesus’s arrest.
One last word about the missing “truly” and “certainly”, following the three key words here. Jesus clearly wanted to emphasize these words, but his translators did not want to do so. Was it because they didn’t quite understand his point in each line?
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