“No One Will Take Your Joy from You”
John 16:16–23
[Jesus said:] “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.”
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank for sending your only begotten Son to be our Savior. His death brought sorrow for his disciples, but his resurrection brought forgiveness and eternal joy. The joy that Christ has won for us cannot be taken from us. During the crosses and trials we face, remind us that these are only for “a little while” and our sorrow shall be turned into eternal joy. At all times, grant us faith to remember your goodness and mercy, which follow us all the days of our life. Amen!
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
What does the life of the Christian look like? That’s a good question for us to think about. It’s important because there are many false descriptions of the life of the Christian. Popular preachers often paint the Christian life as a life of complete happiness and success. “If you have faith,” then God will bless you. Perhaps, that comes in the form of money and wealth, or a happy family with no storms in sight. Sadly, when Christians do face problems, these false teachers say, “The reason you aren’t happy or are facing these problems is because you don’t have enough faith. You need to believe!” These Christians are led to believe if they have doubts or troubles, it’s their own fault. They are not a good enough Christians.
I wonder what these false preachers would say to Job after he lost his children and his flocks or Elijah who fled for his life from the wicked queen Jezebel or poor Lazarus whose only comfort was the dogs who licked his wounds. The Christian life is not always filled with sunshine and roses, but that does not mean that you do not have enough faith or that God has abandoned you. Far from it!
In our lesson, Jesus addresses his disciples just hours before his betrayal and crucifixion. “A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” Jesus was telling his disciples about his impending suffering and death on the cross. Their Lord Jesus would be dead. They would not see him. Yet, “Again a little while, and you will see Me.” On the third day, Jesus would rise from the dead. His resurrection marked his victory over death. Death would not and could not hold him! The disciples would see their Lord again. They would eat, talk, walk, and be with their Lord. But they would have to first wait “a little while.” They would be sorrowful, but their sorrow would turn into joy.
This was not the first time that Jesus used the phrase, “A little while.” Before he said this to his disciples, he also said it to the unbelieving Jews. However, what was to bring comfort to his disciples was meant as a warning to those who did not believe in him. Jesus said, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come” (John 7:33, 34). Jesus foretold of his suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. He was going to the Father, but the Jews would not be able to follow him. Why? Because of their unbelief. When Jesus spoke this to the Jews, they made fun of him. He warned them again, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going” (John 12:25). Jesus is the light of the world. If a person rejects the Light of the Gospel, Jesus, there will come a time when it is too late. While we live in this world, we are living during the time of grace, where we can hear the Word of God and believe. But this time will end. Paul warns in Romans 13:11, “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” Our life is short. Don’t put off God and his Word, for there will come a time when it is too late. Our Lord Jesus wants us to repent and believe in him.
The “little while” of this life is a warning to unbelievers not to put off repentance, but to Jesus’ disciples “a little while” is their comfort. The troubles of this life will not last. It is but “a little while.” Of course, the disciples would be sorrowful. Jesus would die. They would no longer see him. They would think that their hopes of the Messiah were dashed. However, in a little while, three days, they would see him again, as their risen Lord. Jesus told them of his death and resurrection so that they might not lose hope in their sorrow. He comforts them by assuring them that their sorrow will be turned into joy! Jesus would keep his Word and rise from the dead on the third day. What would this mean? Our sins are forgiven, death has been conquered, and that heaven is our home.
Jesus told his disciples exactly what would happen. However, they still faced sorrow. They were scattered and scared after his death. This is a little tangential, but I’d argue the very fact that these events are recorded in Scripture is just one of many proofs that the Bible is inspired by God. If the Bible was just a man-made document, contrived by the followers of Jesus, why would they make themselves look so foolish? Don’t you think they’d put themselves in a better light? But these events really did happen. And God records them for our comfort. Even the Lord’s disciples faced sorrow and had moments of weakness.
You are not the first Christian to face sorrow, doubt, and fear. Throughout Scripture we hear about the many troubles God’s people bore in this life—Abraham, Moses, David, and many more. While suffering should be no surprise to us, it is not always welcomed. When we are going through our troubles, the “little while” that Jesus talks about, feels like an eternity. We tend to forget all about Jesus’ words.
We forget that our trials are temporary. We get frustrated with God, doubt his Word, grow impatient, complain, swear, and feel like giving up. It’s simply too much, Lord. We all can go from solid pillars to pillars of sand when we are going through troubles. Of course, our enemy the Devil, loves to exploit us in our low spots. Satan tries to pull a curtain over our eyes so that we no longer see our Lord. He makes us feel as though God does not care and is far removed from us. But these are all Satan’s lies. Jesus has not abandoned us!
In fact, our Lord Jesus uses our crosses for our good. He uses them to bring us closer to himself. He uses them to teach us to rely on him both in good times and in bad. God uses the loss of a loved one, a job, a friend, and earthly pleasures to teach us to trust in him alone. He turns hardships into blessings. As Paul writes, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The chief example of this is our Lord’s suffering and death on the cross. Good Friday was not a happy day, but this was a part of God’s plan to save us. For it is here, that Jesus paid for all our sins—for the times we have doubted, despaired, gotten frustrated, gossiped about our neighbor, hurt our family member, and given up. It was here that he paid for your sins and mine. Jesus went to the cross to bring us joy. We were doomed to eternal sorrow, but Christ intervened. He became man to live a perfect life in our place and to take all our sins to the cross. He patiently bore all our sins on his back without complaint, so that our sorrow would be turned into joy, our death into life.
You and I should never give up hope for one reason: on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. The death of Jesus brought sorrow for the disciples. But his resurrection brings joy! The empty tomb is proof that our sins are forgiven. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die”(John 11:25–26). By God’s grace, you and I have been given salvation full and free. As those who have been baptized into Jesus’ Name, we have the power of Christ’s death and Resurrection. Therefore, let the devil and world storm and rage! Hold your peace, suffer, and endure! We have peace and comfort, even during troubles, because “whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
You can have joy because heaven is your home! You are a child of God! Jesus, who sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty, is your Savior and Lord who cares for you. We can face the storms of life with joy because we know what awaits. And what does Jesus say? “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.” No one will take your joy from you.
Jesus has given joy to every Christian. But what is joy? Joy is not the same as happiness. This is an important distinction. A Christian can be joyful, even when they are not happy. Happiness is an emotion. Our emotions come and go like the seasons of the year. Some days are better than others. Joy, on the other hand, cannot be taken away from the Christian. Why? Because our joy is connected to the resurrection of Jesus. We belong to the One who was crucified and risen. The worst thing was the best thing! By the Holy Spirit Christians can rejoice at all times.
Our joy cannot be taken away because nothing can undo what Christ has won for you. When we have Christ and the salvation that he freely gives us, we can have joy. It’s no wonder that in the book of Acts, after Philip preached Gospel, it says, “And there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:8).
A Christian life will not always be happy nor will it always be sad, but that doesn’t mean we can’t always rejoice! Did Jesus die for your sins? Did his rise from the dead? Does he now sit at the right hand of God the Father? We can confidently answer “yes,” which is why we can rejoice even in hardships. As Paul writes, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (II Corinthians 7:4).
To close, I’d like to read to you the words from another Paul. Paul Gerhardt, a man who endured much sorrow in this life, understood the hope that Christ gives us and the patience in which we should bear our crosses in life (ELH 377:1–3).
- Why should cross and trial grieve me?
Christ is near with His cheer;
Never will He leave me.
Who can rob me of the heaven
That God’s Son
For my own
To my faith hath given?
- Though a heavy cross I’m bearing
And my heart
Feels the smart,
Shall I be despairing?
God, my Helper, who doth send it,
Well doth know
All my woe
And how best to end it.
- God oft gives me days of gladness;
Shall I grieve
If He give
Seasons, too, of sadness?
God is good and tempers ever
All my ill,
And He will
Wholly leave me never.
Amen!