Why Did Jesus Have to Depart for the Holy Spirit to Come? (John 16)

Jesus had to fulfill his earthly mission from the Father, i.e., to atone for our sins. That not only involved his Passion, Death and Resurrection, but also his Ascension into heaven, which fulfilled the Day of Atonement sacrifices (Heb. 9:11-14; see Lev. 16). That is, Jesus had to ascend into the heavenly sanctuary, not an earthly, manmade one in Jerusalem, to fulfill his Paschal Sacrifice in atonement for our sins (see CCC 1085). And that’s why he had to depart from us, even though he always remained with us invisibly (Matt. 28:20).

Having completed his one Paschal Sacrifice in everlasting glory in the heavenly sanctuary, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help his apostles make disciples of all nations through baptism (Matt. 28:18-20), with the Great Commission being implemented first with the Jewish people to whom Jesus was first sent (Acts 2:37-39; see Matt. 15:24). In short, Jesus needed to leave us to finish atoning for our sins, so that the Holy Spirit could come to mediate Christ’s forgiveness beginning in baptism and also provide us thereby with God’s life (2 Pet. 1:4).