_3 The house is, in our view, that of Mary, the mother of John, surnamed Mark. Acts 12.12.
_4 The Passover meal begins on Thursday evening, after 6 p.m. It is already Friday for the Jews (Mark 14.17, Matthew 26.20, Luke 22.14-18). It is therefore not the official Seder, which will take place on Friday evening John 18.28.
_5 The meal ends on Friday morning before dawn, between midnight and 2:30 a.m.
_6 Judas Iscariot left before the end of this meal. John 13.30.
You can consult the complete chronology in the study ANN026 : The hour of the crucifixion.
Commentary:
This text is the logical and necessary sequel to the previous one. You are about to enter a difficult struggle, but you are on the side of the victor. Now the Master addresses his disciples openly, preparing them for the difficulties ahead and assuring them of his support. The events they will live through after the departure of Jesus the Messiah will give these words particular weight, and they will prove to be prophetic.
It is the facts they will live through that will shed light on all these warnings. When they hear them, they do not understand their real meaning. Jesus the Messiah announces that he is returning to the Father, which saddens the disciples, but he insists that his departure is necessary for the Comforter to come (John 16.5-7).
He does not leave them alone, but promises them an inner presence, that of the Holy Spirit. He will have a specific mission: to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, which means that he will act in consciences and in history (John 16.8-11). Sin is defined as the refusal to believe in Jesus the Messiah, righteousness as that of the Christ exalted to the Father's side, and judgment as that of the prince of this world, already condemned.
The disciples cannot yet understand everything, but the Spirit will guide them into all the truth, not by bringing them some independent novelty, but by passing on to them what comes from the Father and the Son (John 16.12-15). He will not speak on his own, but will glorify Jesus the Messiah by revealing his word and shedding light on his work.
This promise is a key to understanding what follows: the Spirit will bear witness to Jesus and will enable the disciples to remember, to understand and to faithfully pass on what they have seen and heard (John 14.26).