Mid-century illustration of an oil lamp and an open scroll on a table, disciples talking by the sea of Galilee

John 16:3 · World English Bible

John 16:3 Meaning They Will Do These Things Because They

They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

What does John 16:3 mean?

Every attack traces back to a single blindness, that the mind has forgotten its Source and so no longer knows what it is or what love is. Cruelty is not chosen out of true will but out of this ignorance, for a mind that remembered the love it came from could not wish harm to anything.

From the Christian Psychology reading below.

John 16:3 through 2 lenses

The same verse, read by 2 traditions.

Christian Psychology
Ego v. Being

CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY

Christian Psychology

Seen this way, what is done in fear asks for correction rather than blame. The one who strikes does not know the Father, and not knowing, mistakes fear for safety and attack for defense. Understanding this is itself forgiveness, the recognition that the wrong came from a mind asleep and can be overlooked.

Father: the Source of love the fearful mind has forgotten, whose absence from awareness is the root of every attack

Christian Psychology lensGo deeper in the app

EGO & BEING

Ego v. Being

Knowing about God is not knowing God.

Again the cause is unconsciousness rather than malice. They are identified with belief rather than rooted in Being.

Ego v. Being lensGo deeper in the app

Christian Psychology lens

Live John 16:3 today

When your mind replays something someone did to you, try finishing the sentence "they didn't know..." instead of "they shouldn't have." You are not excusing it, you are just looking at where it came from.
Next time a friend or family member snaps at you, assume something in them is scared rather than something in them is against you. Answer the fear, not the words.
In traffic, in a slow line, in a group chat that turns sharp, catch the moment you start building a case against someone. Let the case drop and see how much lighter the next five minutes get.

Who are you still holding responsible for something they may not have understood they were doing?

The same truth in other traditions

Socrates (via Plato)

No one does wrong willingly. Cruelty is a kind of not knowing, and the person who truly saw what was good could not choose against it.

Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius

When someone wrongs you, remember they acted out of a mistaken idea of what is good for them. They are not evil, they are confused, and your part is to teach or to bear with them.