What Does John 16:23 Mean?
And in that day you will ask me nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my nature, he will give it to you.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.THE KEY
The verse uses two different Greek verbs for “ask”: questioning Jesus gives way to requesting from the Father in Jesus’s nature.
THE MEANING
The verse holds two kinds of asking together: you no longer need to question Jesus for each answer, and you can bring requests to the Father in Jesus’s nature. The Father is named as the giver, and “in my name” places the request within what Jesus embodies. The promise is relational access, not a formula detached from that nature.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that the Father is distant and must be persuaded by Jesus to hear you: the verse names the Father as the one you address and the giver.
THE ROOT
ἐρωτάω
erōtaō
GROWS FROM
ἐρωτα-
erōta-
To ask or inquire.
“ask me nothing” in this verse is erōtaō. English uses “ask” for both actions, but the Greek sets inquiry directed toward Jesus beside a request directed to the Father. The first verb marks questions giving way; it does not mean that every kind of asking ends.
ALSO GROWS
erōtēsis: inquiry, questioning
ἐρώτησις
It makes the questioning shade of the verb visible in the verse’s first clause.
erōtēma: question, inquiry
ἐρώτημα
It shows that the action directed toward Jesus can be understood as seeking an answer.
αἰτέω
aiteō
GROWS FROM
αἰτε-
aite-
To ask or request.
“ask the Father” in this verse is aiteō. This second verb is a request, and its object is the Father, who is named as giver. The request is made in Jesus’s name, that is, in Jesus’s nature, so the phrase locates asking within the character of the one named.
ALSO GROWS
aitēma: request, petition
αἴτημα
It names the kind of request the verse says the Father gives.
aitēsis: request, petition
αἴτησις
It keeps the verse’s second “ask” connected to petition rather than inquiry.
ὄνομα
onoma
GROWS FROM
ὀνομα-
onoma-
Name; the nature or character carried by the one named.
“in my nature” in this verse is onoma. “In my name” carries more than speaking a title: the name holds the nature of the one named. The request is held within what Jesus embodies, giving shape to the promise of the Father’s giving.
ALSO GROWS
onomazō: to name, call by name
ὀνομάζω
It shows the name as something actively spoken over or attributed to someone.
onomastos: named, renowned
ὀνομαστός
It connects a name with the character by which someone is known.
THE PATTERN
Asking becomes fruitful through nearness to the Father, with the Son’s nature shaping the request.
And whatever you ask in my nature, this I will do, so that the Father may be given weight in the Son.For through him we both have the approach to the Father, by one breath.The LORD is near to all who call out to him, to all who call out to him in truth.THE THREAD
In that day you will ask in my nature, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father concerning you.This verse uses the same two Greek verbs in the reverse roles: you request in Jesus’s name, and Jesus says he is not describing himself as the one who must petition the Father for you. That sharpens the present verse’s claim: the Father is directly addressed, and the request rests in Jesus’s nature.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us