John 16:16-24 (NASB)
16 “A little while, and you no longer are going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” 17 So some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you are not going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you are not going to see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Truly, truly I say to you that you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy! 21 Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one is going to take your joy away from you.
23 And on that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
In this passage, Jesus is telling His disciples about the events that are about to happen. Judas was already taking the steps to betray the Lord, there was only little time left until Jesus would go to the cross. As happens often in the book of John, the author is making contrasts, eg: In verse 16 it says: you won’t see me (for a little while), but then you’ll see me again. In Verse 20 we read: the disciples will lament, whereas the world will rejoice. In v. 21, we read about the pain of the delivery and the following joy over the birth of a new human. In v. 22, we see the contrast of sorrow and the eventual joy. Verse 24 shows the difference between asking or not asking God.
As we read in the first couple of verses, it seems like Jesus not telling the disciples explicitly what He means, to thereby generate curiosity - maybe to remind them of the prophecies we can nowadays read in the Old Testament. Jesus generating curiosity can be seen as the first step towards building a relationship between Him and His disciples. In Mark 4:9, after telling the parable of the Sower, Jesus says: “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (NASB)
In v. 6 Jesus said because I said these things sorrow has filled your heart - the word “filled” means sorrow has pushed every other emotion out - they were really brought down emotionally by this. They were irritated and perplexed, what does this mean that he is going away, what is a little while, they were not willing to believe this part. However, Jesus was going to suffer - and he was preparing them for this even though they couldn't recieve it then.
In verse 20 we’re told that the religious world rejoiced at His death because it hated Jesus, because He threatened their system and confronted the leaders on their false teaching of who God is. Though the world will be glad when Jesus is crucified - one day, on that last day when Jesus returns a second time-God’s enemies will be saddened when the Lord will return in glory to the world He created. But in this passage Jesus said that the grief of His absence would last a little while for those who love Him.
In our days, even in the midst of all the crises we’re currently experiencing, our earthly time that, among others, implies sorrow and even grief, is very short compared to all eternity.
However, those little moments Jesus mentions would feel like forever. As we read in the first section of the Lenten guide this week, maybe you have or are facing some type of Weltschmerz that is causing you grief. McDonald defined weltschmerz as “a mood of weariness or sadness about life arising from the acute awareness of evil and suffering.” Maybe it is the loss of a relationship, a job, your health, your home. Maybe you are saddened by the condition of this world. Maybe you are grieving over your past, your sin and its consequences. Maybe you are grieving because someone you love is suffering from a terminal illness or because you have lost a loved one. All of us have and will face those times but in the Lenten reading the author relays how “the Kingdom of God is for the broken-hearted.
How do we handle grief? The typical emotional responses range from unbelief, anger, bitterness, blame, detachment from reality, loss of joy and purpose, brokenness to lack of trust. There is no timeline on how long one should grieve because everyone mourns differently and for different reasons, sometimes you might feel your own grieving process isn’t going “according to the norm.” Typically people go through 7 stages of grief from shock and denial to acceptance, but we all know it takes time to work through the grieving process. There are times when we grieve alone, with friends, yet for the believer God desires that as we grieve through each stage with Him, as we grieve with Him, we grow.
Remember that these “stages” of grieving and growing do not come in a nice, neat package. It isn’t a tidy procedure. Grieving and growing in the Lord is messy because our lives aren’t always “buttoned up” as we may want others to perceive. Many times, moving through hurt to hope is a two-steps-forward, one-step-backwards endeavor and we don’t “conquer a stage” and never return to it. Still, in our lives it’s also important to take grief seriously and not to deny one’s feelings, for example when we lose a beloved person.
But grieving with God means we can go from a place of hurting into a process of healing because we do not grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13). Though it’s important to grieve, it’s also important not to grieve for too long a period of time, as thereby we’d be missing out on our actual lives and part of the plan God has in store for us.
Jesus personally knew what it meant to grieve and wanted to teach His disciples that even in grief you can grow through it, you can have hope in it and find joy. The question is: How can someone go from grief to joy?
In v. 21 Jesus said:
Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
Why would Jesus compare the disciples’ grief with the pain a woman experience at childbirth? Jesus wasn’t making light of their present grief or any future grief. Jesus Himself would experience sorrow and pain in the garden of Gethsemane and then incredible suffering on the cross. He knew that when His family and friends saw His bruised and beaten body hanging on a cross, they would be filled with incredible anguish. Isaiah said of Jesus that He was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isa 53:3). And as they watched their Messiah endure the brutal death and his mangled body taken down from the accursed tree this would just add to their sorrow.
No one can describe the anguish Mary felt as she watched the hatred and persecution which followed Jesus and saw Him die in unimaginable pain on the cross. Simeon said that her pain would be like a sword that would pierce her very soul. Honestly, what parent could stand by helplessly and watch their innocent son die like this (Luke 2:35)?
People can endure most types of suffering or hardships if they know that there is a purpose in it and that it will have a positive outcome in the end. But suffering without hope would be the ultimate agony. Students will study hard, people will work very long hours, and parents will sacrifice for their kids because of the hope for a better future. Even grief when it causes us to turn to God and put our hope in Him, will eventually end in joy.
Jesus uses the image of birth to focus primarily on the present pain, but He is letting His disciples know that the pain isn’t without purpose or reward. When I asked the sermon prep team why they thought the disciples were filled with so much sorrow, one of the men gave a good response - Jesus had just told them, “You can’t do anything without Me” and then He leaves. But the sorrow of His death was necessary because His death is the only way for mankind to be saved. Without his death, there can be no hope of eternal life.”
What I find amazing here is that Jesus, who knows what He will be facing within the next few hours, is comforting His disciples. He’s the One who is going to suffer for the sin of the world, yet He was taking away the dread of fear by leaving them with hope. Christ came "to comfort all that mourn--to give a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." C. K. Chesterton said:
Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.
Jesus is saying to them “When I see you again, and I will, you will know that I have conquered death and that everything I’ve told you is true! Your faith in Me is not vain, no promise of God can fail, and there is hope for an amazing future beyond this life.” Jesus was saying after you see me, your pain will become a distant memory. Jesus told His disciples they would weep and grieve His death while the world rejoiced because He was gone. But He likens their pain to a woman giving birth because grieving here speaks of a grief that is not without hope, hope of new life being brought into the world. When that hope is realized it results in indescribable joy.
The background to the analogy Jesus is using is found in Old Testament passages, which combines the thoughts of labor, childbirth, life, and resurrection (Hos 13:13-15; Isa 66:7). Such passages point to an anguish like that of childbirth from which the new Israel would emerge. This leads to the well-known thought of the birth pangs that would precede the coming of the Messiah. And with the hope of the Messiah, it isn’t just life being brought into the world, it is eternal life being brought to a people with no hope which would bring unspeakable joy to multitudes.
This joy which comes after birth pangs, as foretold in the OT is what Jesus was telling the disciples they would experience in the Holy Spirit. This hope could never be taken from them and would carry them through the hardest times in their journey.
God desires that we as His people experience this hope. Hope of eternity, hope of answered prayer, hope of changed hearts and lives and when that hope is realized there will be joy. The devil desires to steal our hope, and usually it’s not too hard to do. If my hope is merely in things like relationships, work, my own moral goodness, what I own, pleasure, experiences, accomplishments, good health, even unrealistic expectations from God...then certainly hope could be taken from me. When my hope is taken, so is my joy. The Psalmist said 3 times: Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you restless and disturbed within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him (Ps 42:5,11; 43:5). We need to be reminded to place our hope in the right place, in the right Person. The Word tells us to set our hope on God (see Ps 62:10; 1 Tim 6:17) and on receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Col 3:1 – 4; Heb 12:28; 1 Peter 1:4).
Jesus is teaching us that if our hope is in the right place and in the right person, we do not have to live a joyless life since what is most precious can never be taken away. Jesus wants us to have joy. What are the keys? Being filled with the Spirit and the Word of God.
Jesus said in v. 23,
On that day you will not question me about anything.
After the resurrection the disciples will not have to ask for further information from Him, because the Holy Spirit will come and fill them. The Holy Spirit would be with them, teaching them "all things" and reminding them of all that Jesus had said (14:26) and would guide them into all the truth (16:13). The disciples would have all the knowledge they needed.”
Because they knew Him, they loved Him and because they loved Him, they followed Him. But getting to know God and to really respond to His first love is a process. This process reminded me of something Larry Crabb wrote some years back in his book, Shattered Dreams. He said that it’s harder to discover our desire for God when everything is going well. Those are the times our desire is to use God and not truly enjoy Him. He said:
Shattered dreams are the truest blessings; they help us discover our true hope. But it can take a long dark time to discover it. Shattered dreams are God’s unexpected path to joy.
It is on this path that we go from grief to joy. Another key to joy is persistent prayer. In vv. 23-24 Jesus said,
Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
Jesus promised that even in grief and sorrow, when we pray according to God’s will, He will answer and when we witness the prayer actualized, our joy will be full. Because of this hope Jesus said keep on asking my Father and you will receive. This is a promise. Do you want your joy to be full – do you want to see God answer prayer? I have often wondered why at times I have no joy in serving the Lord, it made me think about where my hope is, is it in people or in success? Or is in the Lord - no matter how people respond. The same goes for my prayer life, is my hope in the Lord or am I hoping the Lord will answer my prayer the way I want Him to?
Only Jesus can heal with just a touch, only Jesus can transform people’s hearts, and change people’s eternal destinies. Only He can give us the strength and courage we need to move forward and take the land as His people and as His church so we can make a difference in these dark times and in this dark world. When we allow Him to lead us, we will have joy.
What is our hope and what are we praying for as a church? That people would get to know Jesus, they would grow deeper in their faith and deeper in love with Him and that they would follow Him so their joy would be full. Our prayer is that we wouldn’t just hope in Jesus but that He would be our Hope. Our prayer is that people in Turkey and Ukraine, and other countries that are experiencing grief and devastation would put their hope in the Lord.
Our prayer is that people in our church would seek the Lord with all their hearts and know the calling He has on their lives. That we would grow up in all aspects into Him (following His example) as the Head of the church. Our hope is that each person would be equipped for works of service, find their place in the body of Christ, joined and knitted firmly together with each part working properly causing the body to grow and mature. Our hope is that the church would build itself up in unselfish love (Eph 4:12-16). This was Paul’s prayer for the church. And as we spoke about last week, our prayer is Jesus’ prayer - that we have abundant fruit because when we are fruitful, we will have great joy.
This is why we continuously and consistently teach the Word of God, why we are committed to gathering together all the more, why we preach the gospel and are creating spiritual momentum so we can be used to advance God’s Kingdom for His glory and name’s sake. We are given a very short time on this earth. Just like the little dash that will be between the date of our birth and death on our tombstone is how much time we’ve been given. So let’s invest our time wisely.
In a little while, all that we have gone through with the Lord and for His sake - all the choices we have made for the Lord that did in deed cost us something, all the growing pains, all of the anguish and sorrow will become a distant memory when we enter into the joy of the Lord. When Christ is our Hope, He will bring life into every situation and turn our grief to joy.
