You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
Jesus refers to His death. There comes a time when seeking is to no avail, when finding will not follow seeking (Mt 7:7). In Proverbs 1:20-33 the result of rejecting Wisdom is that she later can not be found and so it is with Jesus. Perhaps the greatest irony of the situation is that the Jews were currently seeking, but it was not for salvation, but the death of the Savior (John 7:30).
Mt 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Prov 1:20-33 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no-one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
“where I am” = Where was Jesus that the Jews could not go? Vincent states that He was “in absolute, eternal being and fellowship with the Father.” This fellowship was completely beyond the ability of these Jews to understand or even to desire. What about you? Do you long for the type of relationship with God that Jesus had? It can be yours for the seeking!
Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.