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’?”18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”
19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’?
20 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.21
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.
22 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.
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.25
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.
26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;
27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28
I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29
His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech!
30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”31
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.33
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.”
Someone once said that, “…the Word of God is shallow enough for babes to swim without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim and never touch bottom.” This morning
we are in some deeper water. We have before us a difficult passage.
John strings together thought after thought and the connections are not always as clear as we might like them to be. As soon as the text begins, so do the questions. What does Jesus mean when He says
He is leaving and then coming back? Is He referring to his second coming when He says He is coming back, or does He mean, after the resurrection, in only three days from now?
Perhaps the best way to understand this is to take Jesus as saying that He will be taken from them, referring to his death on the cross, buried and then will appear to them again after the resurrection,
However, He also has in mind His second coming. So, it is not an either or, but a both, and. This is called a prolepsis, a real historical event with great significance in and of itself, but that also pictures another fuller event still in the future. The
Bible is filled with these: The Promised Land, a real piece of property and very important in redemptive history, but more, it is a picture of a new heavens and a new earth, it is not an end to itself, but preaches something to come, something greater. Or
the flood, or Sodom and Gomorrah, real events that picture the wrath of God and the judgment at the end. Another example is that of Joseph. We see how his life and all the experiences the Lord led him in and through were pictures for us of what Jesus would
do. They were real in the life of Joseph and yet pointing still to something, someone greater.
We have to remember that for these disciples the idea that the Messiah would be killed before establishing his visible kingdom probably would have not crossed their minds. Being men of their time, they
thought, even as John the Baptist did, that the manifestation of the kingdom that Jesus was bringing would be worldwide and set God’s people as kings and priests, they would defeat Rome and rule the world as they did under David.
When Jesus speaks about labor pains as he does in verse 22 he is drawing on the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah from the OT. The prophets often used the image of a woman in the pains of labor
to describe the sorrow and pain God’s people must suffer until the Messiah appears and then their relief and joy at his arrival.
In verses 24-26 the disciples are taught that when they pray they may ask the Father in the name of the Son and this was a deeper development for them. In verse 31 after the disciples seem to finally
“get it”, He says to them, “Do you now believe”, or some translations say “You believe at last!” There is probably a little bit of irony in this. The Lord knows full well how little they really have grasped what he has said. They will soon enough, for the
events that are to come; Christ’s being lifted up on the cross, His resurrection, His exaltation and the coming of the Spirit that He has just promised will finally make it all very clear…but as of yet these men really have no idea of what is about to happen,
evidenced by their all deserting Jesus after he is taken. They will be scattered in fear, in dismay, disconsolate to see all their hopes and dreams so cruelly shattered as the Lord Jesus is taken to the cross. They have faith, they really do; but its quality
is weak; it will not yet stand up to the hour of supreme testing which is about to fall. And yet, despite all of that, the Lord ends the thought not with their failure, nor with their collapse, rather He ends with His triumph, “Take heart, I have
overcome the world.”
I love that. The Lord always ends there, not with your and my failures, not with our fears, or our collapses, not with our weakness and fear…He ends with His victory, and His victory has the last and
final word!
So, what do we have so far: Jesus is speaking, even describing what will be the new situation that is about to unfold: The disciples will be crushed, demoralized and filled with fear when Jesus is arrested
and executed and all of their hopes and dreams are shattered. Then, as Jesus says in verse 20-22 there will be a great joy, a joy that no one can take from them, a joy that will unite who they are, with what they hope for, a joy that is unending and unfading.
But that is not all! Jesus continues, that this new day that comes because of His victory, His resurrection, will see to their asking whatever they want from the Father and the Father will give it to
them! Just so they ask in Jesus name. All of this in just a few days…all of this the result of Christ’s defeating sin and death in His resurrection.
Do you have a problem with that? Be honest. Is that what happened? Did the disciples get everything they asked for after Jesus resurrected? Did they and perhaps more personal, do WE now have this endless
and boundless joy that Jesus said would characterize life as followers of the Risen Savior? That isn’t exactly what happened, is it? So, what do we make of Jesus’ words in light of what we see happen in the lives of the disciples and in our own life?
In fact, as we continue to read the NT and the events that followed for the young church, after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the prayers of the disciples were in fact, very much like our prayers.
What I mean is that sometimes their prayers were answered and answered quickly, or soon enough to make the connections. But other times, it appears their prayers were not answered…in fact sometimes one might be made to wonder if their prayers were heard at
all.
And what about this joy? Sometimes, after the resurrection, it is quite obvious their hearts were full of joy at what the Lord had done for them and was using them to accomplish. But there were times
where we read in the Bible that the disciples and those in the churches they started had heavy hearts, suffering all kinds of disappointments and grief. We even find them at times arguing, fighting and even displaying an unwillingness to forgive one another!
Sometimes their disappointment was in themselves, sometimes it was in others, and sometimes, if we were really being honest they seemed to be disappointed with the Lord himself because he didn’t do what
they were certain He was going to do for them, or, that He DID do what they were really hoping He would not.
And is that not our situation as well? How do Jesus’ words here in John make sense in light of the experiences that come to those who love Him and follow Him faithfully?
To be continued…
Prayer: Father, there is much that I do not understand, many things that are crooked and confusing. But I know that You are not surprised but that all things are for my good and for the strengthening
of my faith. Help me to find peace when I am bewildered and to praise you both when things are clear and when they are cloudy. Strengthen my faith and trust in Your love and purpose for me. Lord, I believe…help my unbelief, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Song: Take Heart
