John says plainly that "Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him" (John 16:19). No one had to tell Him. By asking, He brings their private confusion into the open so He can answer it. Gill sees in this "a proof of Christ's deity," since He knew not only their whispering but "their secret desires to ask him." The question is an invitation: you do not have to work this out alone.

Jesus does not wait for them to reply. He goes straight on: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:20). He explains with the picture of a woman in childbirth (John 16:21) and promises, "I will see you again" (John 16:22). By the end of the conversation the disciples say, "Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee" (John 16:30).

The KJV "enquire" means to ask or seek out; the ESV renders it "Is this what you are asking yourselves." Jesus repeats their puzzle back to them almost word for word (compare John 16:16-17), showing He had heard it exactly. Gill describes Him as one who "knows all things, what is in man, even the secrets of the heart," words that echo John's earlier note that Jesus "knew what was in man" (John 2:25).

Here Jesus answers a question before it is asked. That shows something about who He is: He knows the heart. It also shows how He uses that knowledge. He does not expose the disciples to shame them; He speaks to comfort them (John 16:20-22).

The disciples drew the right conclusion: "by this we believe that thou camest forth from God" (John 16:30). Matthew Henry writes, "The sorrows of the disciples would soon be turned into joy; as those of a mother, at the sight of her infant." Jesus also told them of a coming day when they would ask the Father in His name and receive, "that your joy may be full" (John 16:23-24).