In John 16:16 Jesus said "A little while,and you will see me no longer; and a little while,and you will see me."
This verse along with the entire chapter was discussed in church last Sunday.There seemed to be three thoughts as to what Jesus was speaking about here.The first being that He would be crucified, eventually ascend and would return at the end of the age.The second was that the Holy Spirit's coming at Pentecost was the return or if you will,the seeing of Him again.The third ,which I subscribe to was that He was crucified and buried( see Him no longer) then He arose(see Him again)and was seen by many for some forty days.
I base my subscription on the sixteenth verse of this chapter where Jesus told His disciples that they were sorrowful then but when He saw them again they would be joyful.That verse alone does not prove my stand but combined with Luke 24:50-53 where the disciples were led by Jesus out to Bethany where He blessed them and then ascended,they then worshipped Him and returned joyful.
I'm excited about the Discussion Board being back on line just for instances like this where I can ask real students of the Word for their opinions.Please chime in if you agree with one of these positions or if you have another.