Easter
4
Jn
16:16-22
4/21/24
It
was the night when Jesus was betrayed. Our
Lord celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples. Then he and the disciples made their way to
the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew, Mark,
and Luke do not tell us anything about this trip. However, John provides us with an account of
what Jesus said to his disciples during this time.
In
John’s Gospel, Jesus often says things that the disciples don’t understand
until after the resurrection. For
example, in chapter two Jesus replies to his
opponents by saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up.” The Jews are baffled as they reply, “It has taken forty-six years
to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” However, John tells us: “But he was speaking
about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the
dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they
believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”
Earlier in this chapter, Jesus had shared unexpected news with the disciples. He said, “But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.” Our Lord said that he was returning to the Father. He was leaving, and naturally this was very troubling for the disciples.
We will hear in next week’s Gospel lesson that Jesus said
his departure was actually a good thing.
It meant that he would send the Helper. In the course of these chapters,
known as the “Farewell Discourse,” Jesus explains what the Helper would do.
The disciples were already confused and troubled by what
Jesus had said. In our text, the Lord
compounds this as he shares more information that they don’t understand. Jesus said, “A little while, and you will see
me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
The disciples were confused by this, as well as by what
Jesus had already said. We learn in our
text: “So some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What is this that he
says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little
while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?’
So they were saying, ‘What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know
what he is talking about.’”
Jesus knew that the disciples wanted to ask him. He understood that they were deeply confused
by his statement, “A little while and you will not see me, and again a little
while and you will see me.’”
In our text
Jesus doesn’t directly explain what the “little while” is. Instead, he tells them what their experience
will be as they pass through it. He
doesn’t directly explain it because, as we will see, there was no way that they
could understand. They had to experience
the event itself, and in this way they would understand and be transformed.
Jesus said, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will
rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” Our Lord described a time in which the
disciples would be sorrowful. They would weep and lament. By contrast, the world would rejoice. However, Jesus promised that their sorrow
would turn into joy.
In order to illustrate
this, Jesus said, “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her
hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the
anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” Labor is a time of hardship and difficulty –
I am reminded of how Amy was in labor for 36 hours when she gave birth to
Timothy. However, when the baby has been
born none of that matters. Instead,
there is joy that the child has been born into the world.
Jesus applied
this illustration by saying, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see
you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy
from you.” The disciples would
experience sorrow in the present when they did not see Jesus. But they would see Jesus again. This would
bring joy, and no one would take their joy from them.
The disciples
in our text are mystified by what Jesus is saying. However, we now stand in a position to
understand what Jesus means, just as they would in a few days. Our Lord speaks about his death and
resurrection. A little while and they would no longer see Jesus. It was Thursday evening. By sundown on Friday they would no longer see
the Lord. He would be buried in a
tomb. But then in a little while they
would see him again. On Sunday evening –
on Easter – they would see him as he appeared in the midst of the locked room
where they were.
John the Baptist had announced that
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Our Lord had repeatedly declared that he
would die. He said that he would be lifted up.
He told Nicodemus, “And as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be
lifted up,
that whoever
believes in him may have eternal life.” He said during Holy Week, “Now is the judgment of
this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the
earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this because he would die on the
cross.
Jesus died as the sacrifice to rescue us from sin and God’s
judgment against it. Our lives are
filled with the pervasive presence of sin.
We put God second, as our interests, hobbies, and desires come before
him. We act in selfish ways as we put
ourselves before our spouse, family, and friends. We allow anger to direct our words and
actions.
This sin is not a violation of some abstract standard. Instead, it is an offense committed against
the holy God. When David confessed
his sin he said, “Against
you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so
that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” As we
just confessed, this sin deserves God’s present and eternal punishment.
However, as we heard Jesus say last week: “I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus lay down his life for us in order to rescue
us from sin and God’s judgment. Our Lord assures us, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal
life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to
life.”
Jesus died and was buried. For a little while his disciples did not see
him. They wept and mourned. The hope
that they felt because of Jesus had been dashed. And the world rejoiced. His opponents celebrated the fact they had
killed the Lord.
But after a little while – on the
third day – Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus
says in our text, “but I will see you again, and your hearts will
rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” He was right.
We learn in John’s Gospel: “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors
being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said
this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced
when they saw the Lord.”
Through the work of the Spirit the disciples have shared
this good news – this Gospel - with us.
And now, we too rejoice with a joy that will never be taken from
us. Jesus’ resurrection has transformed
our life. Not only do we know that sin
is forgiven, but we know that Christ has given us victory over death. Because we believe in Jesus we already have
eternal life now. Death cannot end our
life with God. And we know that the
risen Lord will raise us up. Jesus said,
“For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should
have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
This does not mean that the struggles
of this world have ended. We still encounter disappointments and problems. We experience hardships and tragedies. But because of Jesus’ resurrection we do not
lose hope in the face of these things.
We do not lose hope because nothing can take the joy of the Lord’s
resurrection from us. His victory has
changed our present and future.
In this section of the Gospel Jesus says,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do
I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be
afraid.” We have peace because in
Christ’s resurrection we find the assurance that God’s love for us continues no
matter what circumstances may look like.
We live knowing that the victory will be ours because Jesus has already
won. Our Lord declared, “I have said these things to you, that in me you
may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take
heart; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus’ death and resurrection also
transforms the way we live. He said, “This is my commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that
someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Christ gave himself for us, and now we give ourselves in service to
others. This means that we put the needs
of others before our own. It means that we are willing to sacrifice to help
those around us.
This begins at home.
So husbands and wives, look for ways to assist and support your spouse. Children
and youth, help your parents with tasks that need to be done – even when it
isn’t your chore. And then it continues
out with our friends and co-workers.
Look for opportunities to support and care for the neighbors around you.
In our text, Jesus says, “A little while, and you will see me no longer;
and again a little while, and you will see me.” The disciples did not see Jesus after he had
died on the cross and had been buried in the tomb. They wept and mourned. But a little while passed, and on the third
day they saw the risen Lord. Because
they did, we know that our sins are forgiven and that death has been
defeated. We have peace knowing that
Jesus has overcome the world and confidence that God continues to love us in
the midst of all circumstances. As our Lord says, “So also you have sorrow now,
but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one
will take your joy from you.”
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