John chapter 16, verses 16 through 33. Again, this is Jesus speaking to his disciples in the nighttime, just like it's dark outside, probably a little bit later at night. We don't know exactly at what time, but after supper, Jesus had spoken to his disciples, and they had moved on from the upper room, it seems. And Jesus continued to teach them, to prepare them for what was about to happen, for his hour had come. It was the eve of his crucifixion. He would be crucified the next day. We come then today actually to the end of this passage, although chapter 17 will contain a prayer of Jesus on that same occasion. But let me read verses 16 through 33. A little while and you will see me no longer, and again a little while and you will see me. 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 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 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. 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, for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father. His disciples said, ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech. 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. Jesus answered them, do you now believe? 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. 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. This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Lord God, we give thanks to you for the good news of great joy of Jesus Christ. We ask that you would support us, help us to understand your word. that we might take hold of it and be strengthened by it, that our faith might be strengthened, and that we might grow in knowledge, that we might follow you more joyfully and readily. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Throughout the Gospel of John, it has been leading up to these 24 hours or so, and Jesus calls it his hour, his time, and his hour was upon them. Jesus was about to head to his crucifixion. But he was not only thinking of his own suffering. Now Jesus, it speaks of him being troubled or his soul being troubled as he considered what was happening or what was about to happen. We know that as he went to the garden of Gethsemane that he poured out his heart to his father and he had his own distress. But he was not only thinking of his own distress and suffering, He was also preparing his disciples for what they would undergo, both in the near term, in seeing their Lord crucified, and in the long term as well, as they would go on to live the rest of their lives as disciples of the Lord Jesus without him bodily, you know, physically in person with them. Jesus not only looked to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Of course, the reason he was going to the cross in the first place was not so much for his sake, but for those who had done nothing to deserve it, that we would be saved and obtain eternal life. And the cross would not be the end. He would emerge from the tomb victorious. And so he encouraged the apostles, and he encourages people today as well. Even as he sought to build them up, that they would endure, despite the fact that they would scatter and go to their own homes, that despite their sorrow and distress, that they would be upheld by the hope of joy and embrace it once it came. And so the message of this passage is to take heart, because Jesus has overcome the world. In verses 16 through 22, we find that he speaks of the joy of the resurrection, the joy of seeing Jesus again. In a little while, and Jesus would die. They would no longer see him. He would be taken away from them because he would be crucified and he would be buried. And what happened to the disciples at that point? What were they like? What was their condition? They were miserable. They would lament, they would weep. But it would just be another little while and they would see him. On the third day, Jesus would rise from the dead and they would see him with their own eyes. They would even handle him and touch him and see the marks of the nails and the spear. We'll get to that in a few chapters. Death would not be the end, but he would rise from the dead bodily, be seen and handled by the apostles. And then he would ascend to the father. He was not done. Now there has been over the years, some debate about what he means. I've just given you what I think it means a little while and, and they would not see him. And then a little while and they would see him. There was debate at the very beginning. The disciples wondered, what does a little while mean? What is this that he means? And they discussed among themselves. Matthew Henry comments that it should seem all this refers rather to his going away at death and return at his resurrection. rather than him going away at the ascension and his return at the end of time. For it was his death that was their grief, not his ascension. And between his death and resurrection, it was indeed a little while. Certainly, there's another way in which we can speak of Him going away to the Father and returning, and Jesus even speaks of that, I would say, in these chapters in John. But in this particular passage, He's also, and I think in this passage, He's speaking of the fact that He would die. They would mourn, but they would see Him. and they would see him in a literal sense. They would see him with their own two eyes and they would rejoice and they would have joy. And that even in this age of tribulation where they would suffer the hatred of the world, they would have a joy that no one would be able to take from them because they had seen the risen Lord. They didn't understand it quite well yet, but Jesus was working on them. In fact, he goes on then after realizing they have these questions to explain in verses 20 through 22. And he explains it instead of in terms of a little while, he explains it in terms of sorrow and joy. They had sorrow now that his hour had come. So speaking of the sorrow that was upon them at that evening, Jesus himself was troubled too, although he doesn't speak of it here. But they had sorrow now that his hour had come. And... His enemies would rejoice. The world would rejoice. When Jesus died, I think it's Pilate and Herod that became friends now that they had passed Jesus back and forth between the two of them. They had overcome. They had put down this opposition. The world would rejoice, but his apostles would be sorrowful. But when he rose from the dead, their sorrow would turn to joy. And that's something you find in the accounts of the resurrection. They're weeping, they're mourning, and then after they get over their initial shock, perhaps, they are exuberant with joy at seeing their risen Lord. And as Matthew Henry points out, his ascension was not a time of sorrow, in part because Jesus had prepared them, but it was actually a time in which they rejoiced and went back home to Jerusalem rejoicing. For he had risen from the dead. Now Jesus illustrates this reality with the way that a woman has sorrow and anguish when her hour comes, when it's time for her to deliver a baby. And she, it's time for her to deliver the baby. There are pains, there is anguish, there is work, there is sorrow. Oh, we can find this back in Genesis 3, right? It's a natural thing. I mean, I've seen it. And when the baby's born, then all that sorrow turns to joy. All the anguish is forgotten for the joy of a man being brought into the world. She no longer remembers the anguish for the joy that a human being has been born into the world. So they would go through sorrow and darkness, the death of Jesus Christ and his burial. But when he rose from the dead and they saw him, all that anguish would be forgotten. For Jesus would be risen from the dead. Now Jesus encouraged his disciples in this way, that they would look to this joy. But that's also how Jesus pressed on ahead. In Hebrews chapter 12, it speaks of how Jesus pressed on through his suffering for the joy that was set before him. Perhaps he was thinking of Psalm 16, and the hope that it has of the resurrection, that your Holy One will not see corruption, and that there is joy at the Father's right hand and pleasures forevermore, that there was this joy held out before Him. And therefore He went forward with faith and hope, fulfilling the will of His Father and pressing on for the salvation of His people. Joy here is certainly a theme. Joy is the opposite of sorrow. You learn something about it simply from what it's contrasted with. It's opposite sorrow and anguish. It's the experience of gladness, as the Greek lexicon would have it. Or Noah Webster would speak of the English word joy as the passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good. You know, you have it, or you're going to have it, and therefore you are excited. You are happy, you're glad. That is joy. Now, Christian joy springs from the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's true for the apostles. They're the ones that saw him, but we've heard the testimony of the apostles, right? John says, we've proclaimed to you what we saw, what we touched, what we handled, so that you might have fellowship with us, the same joy that we have. So even though we do not see, we believe and we rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. We can share in the joy of the apostles through faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His resurrection was his victory over sin. He, of course, defeated death by dying on the cross. But we know that that death was sufficient, that he paid the price fully by coming forth out of the tomb, no longer under the dominion of death. that he was being vindicated by his father as being this man is righteous all the sins that were pinned on him are there no more and he has done no sins of his own he is righteous and not only righteous but righteous for his people he was raised for our justification even as he was delivered for our trespasses his resurrection is his victory over death not only that he might get out of death, that he triumphed over death, that death could not hold him, but he was victorious over death for your resurrection, that you too might rise, that the mortal might put on immortality, incorruptibility, imperishable. He rose and that was his victory over the world, over the devil, the fallen world. which had hated him, which had sought to destroy him, and the devil who had waged war ever since he fell. But Jesus Christ would crush his head and triumph over them in the cross, and of course this victory being seen and demonstrated by his being risen from the dead. And he triumphed over the world, he triumphed over the devil, so that we might be delivered from the world, that you and I would be delivered from the devil, that we would be kept safe in his kingdom. His resurrection was his vindication of his messianic claims, that he is who he said he was. You know, when he was dead and the disciples were conversing on their way, they said we had hoped that he was the one who was to deliver Israel. We had thought that he was the prophet. Maybe we still think so, but now we're not so sure. If he remained dead, his claims to be something much more than the ordinary person, to be the promised savior, to be the son of God, we're still uncertain, or at least not openly vindicated. But when he rose from the dead, it showed that he was who he said he was. We were given the sign of Jonah, that God had vindicated his son. that He was the Christ. And so that should give His disciples great joy, that we do not follow Him in vain, that He is, in fact, the Savior. He is risen, and He is risen that we might be with Him, first through His Spirit, and then with Him in glory, that He goes to prepare a place for us, that He is not parted from us in death, but rather is risen to be our Savior and to send His Spirit to us. We also know that Jesus rose, that He obtained the joy that was set before Him, that He endured the cross, despised the shame, and went on to rise from the dead, that He would obtain that joy at His Father's right hand. and that his joy is ours. He had spoken earlier, I think in chapter 15, that his joy would be in you, that we share in his joy. We are glad that our Lord is glad and that he is no longer troubled in soul as he was on the eve of his crucifixion, but that he had triumphed and that is to be a joy to us. In Christ's resurrection, the stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone. As Psalm 118 says, this is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. That day in question is the day of vindication and salvation. The day of victory. The day that the psalmist was rejoicing over. That though the enemies had surrounded me, yet I cut them off. I have, you know, the Lord has triumphed. It is marvelous in our eyes. We keep the first day of the week in celebration of Christ's resurrection. We mark this as a great thing. As something to rejoice in. So Christian joy is rooted in the resurrection. And as Jesus says, this joy endures. He says, and I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you. It is a joy that endures. It's a joy that no man will be able to take from you. He is risen and no matter what the world may do, this joy is yours. They may rip the soul from the body, but not this joy from you. This joy and happiness is grounded upon faith in Christ. Hope in what his resurrection means for you. It's not dependent upon your immediate circumstances. It's a joy that endures sometimes alongside sorrow and tribulation. In this world, you will have tribulation. And we can look at the apostles who certainly went through experiences that involved sorrow. Paul sorrowed from time to time, but at the same time sorrowful, yet rejoicing at every time. Rejoice always. Even in tribulation, even in suffering, even as he was anxious about the condition of the saints that he had ministered to, yet he rejoiced in the Lord and exhorted the others to do so as well. The fire of joy shall not be utterly extinguished. It's fueled by the resurrection of Christ and encouraging support through thick and thin. This joy endures also because it is a fruit of the Spirit. He builds us up through faith in Jesus unto joy. The kingdom of God, as Paul says, is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Or as he says in Galatians, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and so on. So, we are to be those who have joy because we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the Lord Jesus. Rejoice in his resurrection and triumph. Rejoice that he has overcome the world, even though you and I have not seen him. Yet as Peter says, we rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. We received the testimony of those who did see him. Now in verses 23 through 28, Jesus moves on to speak of prayer, prayer in Christ's name. He says, in that day, you will ask nothing of me. in that day that is following the resurrection, they would not ask anything of Jesus in the sense that they would understand now. You know, they wouldn't be asking, what do you mean in a little while? They would know in that day. From this, he goes on then to speak a prayer to the Father in his name. Jesus rose from the den to ascend to the Father, to bring us in our prayers to the Father, that we have access to the Father, that we might approach the throne of grace with confidence knowing that our high priest is there, Jesus. So bring your prayers to the Father in Christ's name. That doesn't just mean mentioning Him, although it's good to do so, but with reliance upon His mediation. Ask and you will receive. That's what we are taught to do in the Lord's Prayer, right? We ask for forgiveness in the hope that He'll give it to us. Why would He give it to us? Through Christ. God is favorable to you through Christ, and in this way your joy may be full. In verses 26 through 28, he clarifies a possible misunderstanding. When we speak of Jesus interceding for us with the Father, that does not mean that the Father is hostile to us, but the Son is in our court and favorable to us. Now, He is in our court. He is our advocate with the Father, but who sent Jesus to do this? The father, the father loved us even though we were the objects of his wrath. He sent the son in his love that we might have access to him through what Jesus did. And so Jesus says here, I do not say to you that I will ask the father on your behalf for the father himself loves you because you have loved me and I believe that I came from God. We do approach God through Jesus. But we approach our Father through Jesus. We approach one who loves us through Jesus. The Father himself loves you. He loves those who love the Son. Jesus goes on to speak very plainly. I came from the Father and have come into the world and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father. As he came into the world by his incarnation, so he leaves by his ascension, even though all along he filled heaven and earth according to his divine nature. He's physically now in heaven and he's there for the good of his people. He is interceding on our behalf. He has assured us of access to God. Therefore, pray. Therefore, ask for help. Therefore, approach God with confidence. Seek his help. Seek his grace. Help in time of need for those things which God has laid up for his people. In verses 29 through 33, then, Jesus concludes this after the disciples say, now we understand. This is why we believe. But Jesus says, don't get overconfident. Do you now believe? Well, yes, they did believe. You know, Jesus had taught his disciples, and they had followed him, and they did confess their faith, but their understanding was still weak, and their faith, too, would be tested and found to be They would scatter as Jesus says. They would each go to their own home. Jesus was about to suffer this suffering, this trial, this agony by himself. Well, not completely by himself. Who was with him? His father. His father was with him. Though it might feel like he was being forsaken, though he would be suffering divine justice Yet the Father would be with them, and what would he do in the end? Into your hands, O Father, I commit my spirit. But even as he was going to be facing that, he also encouraged his disciples. 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. So he foretells desertion, but he gives encouragement. He is resting upon his father and he's going onward. And he tells his disciples to have peace in him. The peace is in Christ. We are able to have peace in Jesus. resting upon his word. His words are intended to give you peace. The words that he has been spoken, that we've been preaching through for weeks, is intended to give you peace. Peace in Jesus. Peace as his disciples. Peace through faith in him. Peace is found in him and his words give us this peace. He also tells you, you will have tribulation in this world. He had already taught of that. Taught them that. Don't be surprised when the world hates you. The world hated Jesus already. Do not be surprised. But remember that Jesus has overcome the world. He overcame the evil one, casting him out. He overcame the world and he was doing these things by dying and rising again. So take heart and be of good courage. In this age, there's tribulation, but also victory. We fight with a foe that has been already defeated, overcome. And so we should take heart. The gates of hell will not prevail. The fallen world and its lust and pride is passing away. It is on its way out because Jesus has dealt it its death blow. The devil is desperate and bound and raging like a lion to be sure, but he cannot overcome Christ or his people. In fact, John will go on in his epistles and his book of Revelation to speak of how you have overcome the evil one. That you have overcome by the blood of Christ and your faith in him. That what is it that overcomes the world? Our faith. That in Christ we triumph over these forces as well as we hold fast to him and resist the devil. So take heart, our Lord Jesus has overcome the world. He is risen from the dead. So let us have joy and peace in him. Let us pray. Dear father, we thank you for sending your son and Jesus, we give thanks to you for the work that you have done on our behalf. We ask that you would continue to fill us with this joy, that it might be full, that it might be brought to fulfillment, that we might be filled with it through the work of your spirit, that you would encourage us by your word, both now and as we meditate upon these things, that despite the tribulation in this world, we might rejoice We pray this to you, our Lord and Savior. Amen.