<p>16:25 <em>These things have I spoken to you in figurative language- </em>This explains why the Lord did not directly answer their question concerning what He meant by &quot;a little while&quot;; see on :18,19.</p><p><em>The hour comes, when I shall no longer speak to you in figurative language, but shall show you plainly about the Father</em>- God was especially in Christ at His death. Perhaps it was partly with reference to the cross that the Lord said: &ldquo;I shall shew you plainly of the Father&quot; (Jn. 16:25). See on Jn. 19:19.</p><p>John&rsquo;s references to the hour coming nearly always refer to the crucifixion. The plain showing forth of the Father was in the naked body of His crucified Son; there, all the theory which Jesus had taught was exemplified in stark, plain terms. The Father was ultimately revealed. Is. 64:1-4 had foretold: &ldquo;Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence... For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him&quot;. This latter verse is quoted in 1 Cor. 2 about how the &ldquo;foolishness&quot; of the cross is not accepted by the wise of this world. Only the humble and spiritually perceptive eye of faith realized that there in the naked shame of Golgotha, God Himself had rent the heavens and come down, as all the faithful had somehow, in some sense foreseen and yearned for. There, in the battered body of Jesus, was God revealed to men.</p><p>As noted on Jn. 2:4; 4:21-23 and 5:25-29, the hour that was to come is a reference to the cross. There, we see and hear the preaching / word of &lsquo;which is&rsquo;, Gk. the cross. There on the cross, there was no allegory. There we were shown plainly the Father. He went on: &ldquo;Behold, the hour s.w. &ldquo;time&quot; cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me&quot; (16:32). The disciples scattered at the crucifixion, probably they came to see it and then scattered in fear after the first hour or so. But He was not left alone; for the Father was with Him there. Just as John began his Gospel by saying that &ldquo;the word was with God&quot;, with specific reference to the cross. Philip had just asked to be shown the Father, just as Moses had asked (14:9,10). And the Lord is saying that in the cross, they will see plainly of the Father. And perhaps therefore we are to understand 17:24 as meaning that Jesus prayed that the disciples would physically see and spiritually understand His cross: &ldquo;Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world&quot;. &ldquo;I am&quot;, &ldquo;my glory&quot;, given by the Father, and the lamb slain from &ldquo;the foundation of the world&quot;... this is all language of the cross.</p><p>And yet the showing plainly of the Father is spoken here in the context of assuring the disciples that although He, their Rabbi, was to be taken from them, His teaching of them would continue and intensify through the ministry of the Comforter in their hearts. The showing plainly is to be connected with the promise that the Comforter would guide them into all truth (:13), and then they would have no more questions (:23).</p><p>The Lord recognized the influence of the synagogue upon them when He said that He spoke to them in parables, and would later speak to them plainly (Jn. 16:25)- when He had earlier spoken to the Jewish world in parables rather than plainly, because they did not understand (Mk. 4:34). And yet the disciples got there in the end. He spoke to them in the end &quot;plain words&quot; (<em>parresia</em>), and this word is the watchword of the disciples' own witness to the world (Acts 2:29; 4:13,29,31; 28:31). They spoke &quot;plainly&quot; <em>(parresia</em>) to the world, without parables, because they reflected to the world the nature of their understanding of their Lord. However, during His ministry, it would appear that the Lord treated them as if they were still in the Jewish world. When they asked Him why He spoke to <em>the people</em> in parables, He replies by explaining why He spoke <em>to them</em> in parables; and He drives the point home that it is to those &ldquo;outside&rdquo; that He speaks in parables (Mk. 4:11). &nbsp;</p>