"It is to your advantage that I go away"
Someone once said to me, "Wouldn't it have been better if Jesus hadn't left this world and had continued to teach his disciples?" It is certainly natural to think that since he was only with his disciples for about three years, if he had stayed longer, he could have taught and trained them more thoroughly and brought about much greater benefit.
Moreover, after Jesus died on the cross and rose again, he possessed a resurrected body—a body that would no longer die—so he could have remained on earth for as long as he wished. Yet, on the fortieth day after his resurrection, he left his disciples and ascended to heaven where God the Father is. (This event is called the "Ascension," and the day commemorating it is "Ascension Day.")
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God...
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
For the disciples, their honest feeling was likely that they wanted him to stay longer. However, to the anxious disciples, Jesus said this:
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away.It is to your advantage that I go awayUnless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
It is to their advantage that he goes away rather than staying with them. It might be hard to believe, but it is the truth.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—
The "Advocate" is also translated as "Counselor" or "Comforter." The original meaning is "one called alongside," and here it can be understood as "the One who stays by your side, stands with you, defends you, encourages you, comforts you, and helps you."
This Advocate is the Holy Spirit, also called the "Spirit of Jesus" (Acts 16:7) and the "Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9). In other words, the fact that the Holy Spirit is with us means that Jesus is with us.
While Jesus was on earth, he could only be with those who were physically around him. But now, through the Holy Spirit, he can be with anyone in the world simultaneously, staying by their side, standing with them, and helping them.
Also, before speaking about the Holy Spirit, Jesus said this:
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Jesus' "works" were limited to his ministry in the region that is now Israel, but after the Ascension, the disciples went out into the world, shared the gospel with far more people, and accomplished even greater works. This is because Jesus went to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit. Just as he promised right before his Ascension:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The Acts of the Apostles, which records the work of the disciples after the Ascension, has long been called the "Acts of the Holy Spirit." This is because the true protagonist is not the apostles themselves, but the Holy Spirit who worked with them and through them.
Seeing that the Holy Spirit was with them at all times and was using them—men who had been so timid before Jesus' resurrection—to perform such wonderful works, the disciples must have realized that Jesus' words, "It is to your advantage that I go away," were true.
(In 2026, Ascension Day is May 14, and Pentecost, which commemorates the sending of the Holy Spirit, is May 24.)
