What is the context?
The disciples are puzzled by Jesus’ words about a little while without seeing Him and then seeing Him again. They discuss the question among themselves, and Jesus responds to what they want to ask.
He does not deny the grief ahead. They will weep while the world rejoices, but their sorrow will turn to joy. He compares that change with the pain of childbirth giving way to the joy of a child’s birth. The image explains a painful passage into joy; it does not make their sorrow imaginary.
Jesus promises that He will see them again and that their joy will endure. John 20:19–20 later records the disciples rejoicing when they see the risen Lord. The death that will grieve them will not end His life or their relationship with Him.
He then speaks of asking the Father in His name. Their present confusion will give way to a new understanding and confidence before the Father. The promise of receiving is tied to His name and to the complete joy He is describing, within the larger teaching about His departure and return.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Wesley on verses 16–22 connects the little while with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Calvin on verses 16, 20 and 22 places special emphasis on His continuing presence through the Spirit and the joy that follows the Spirit’s coming. These readings share the promise of renewed life with Jesus while emphasizing different parts of its fulfillment.
The prayer promise is commonly read within that relationship. The Catholic Church’s Catechism, paragraphs 2614–2615, connects asking in Jesus’ name with faith, love, His word and the Spirit. The Reformed Westminster Larger Catechism, question 180, likewise describes confidence in Christ rather than merely mentioning His name.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
The promised joy has a direct narrative fulfillment when the disciples see the risen Jesus in John 20:19–22. He brings peace, shows His wounds and sends them into His continuing mission.
That resurrection also becomes the ground of hope for later believers. 1 Peter 1:3–9 describes new birth into a living hope through Jesus’ resurrection and joy that persists amid trials. God’s purpose reaches beyond ending one evening of grief: He gives His people a hope that suffering cannot finally undo.
What is our position?
Our study Prayer and Faith understands asking in Jesus’ name as asking in keeping with His character, authority and purposes. It reads the promise of complete joy within Jesus’ teaching about His resurrection, the Spirit’s coming and life with Him. The promise directs us toward that life, rather than making His name a formula for obtaining whatever we already wanted.