Sorrow that brings Joy

First, something to grasp

Grasp: Final night of Jesus earthly ministry

Grasp: Final hour or two before His arrest and leading to the cross

Grasp: Troubled disciples with troubled hearts are given words of comfort (chapters 14-16)

Tonight before getting started let me put a phrase I found by Wiersbe on the screen.

“God brings joy to our lives, not by substitution, but by transformation.” - Wiersbe (Bible exposition commentary)

I loved what Wiersbe had to say in his commentary let me sum it up for you.

In the illustration that Jesus uses with the pregnant woman, he does not take the pain, substitute the pain, but brings joy through the pain.

The same baby that caused the pain, caused the joy too!

Practice of substitution

Substituting something for something else

Toy, friend, relationship, etc.

This is an expectation that we can solve pain, problems by replacing it, substituting it for something else.

The way of substitution in a way of trying to handle pain, sorrow, grief is the way of immaturity. The way of transformation is the way of faith and maturity. We cannot mature emotionally or spiritually if somebody is always replacing our broken toys (paraphrase Wiersbe).

Jesus did not use substitution or replacement with the mother’s pain (sorrow) but by the pain came the transformation into joy.

Practice of transformation

God taking what is currently to transform you.

So it is with the Christian, taken from the awareness and grief of our sinful state, to a transformed, born again state filled with the joy of the Lord.

God takes the impossible, impossible for man to save himself, adds in the miracle of grace by faith and takes the trial, the grief and turns it into joy, to triumph, to victory.

God turns a curse into a blessing (Deu23:5; Neh13:2)

Deuteronomy 23:5 NASB95

5 “Nevertheless, the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.

and then read:

Nehemiah 13:2 NASB95

2 because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.

Biblical examples

Joseph’s brothers sold him, Potiphar put him, God transformed him from hopeless position to a place of victory

Saul pursed, Absolom pursed David, but God transformed him to be “a man after God’s own heart,” that we can read so many of his psalms now.

The world put a cross, a place of shame before Jesus, but God transformed it to be a place of victory!

(Transformation) - So, may we all have the hope that God not deliver us from, but bring us through by transformation. To use the things we face, pains, sorrows, griefs, tragedies and bring joy from them by means of transformation. - Now we get to our passage.

Scriptures of preparation and perplexing

John 16:16–17 NASB95

16 “A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” 17 Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?”

John 16:18–19 NASB95

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 wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’?

John 16:20 NASB95

20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.

John 16:21 NASB95

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.

John 16:22 NASB95

22 “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

Does anything stand out to you in this passage?

There is a phrase that Jesus uses several times (vv.16, 17, and even 18), what is it?

You will not see me, you will see me.

Do the disciples understand what Jesus is saying (v.18)?

No they do not, it says that they did not know what He is talking about.

What did Jesus know, and the disciples do (v.19)?

Jesus knew they had questions for Him

The disciples deliberated together

What “will” happen according to (v.20)?

You will weep and lament

World will rejoice

You will grieve

Your grief will be turned into joy!

What will be the end result after the grief (v.22)?

You will rejoice, you will have joy that no one will take away from you.

A Little while

Jesus seems to be speaking in a mystery to them, in a proverb (consider Jn16:25)

John 16:25 NASB95

25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.

The disciples did not understand “little while”

They did not know His arrest was upon them, though He had told them the hour had come

They did not know His crucifixion was a few hours away; even though He told them of the manner of death

They did not understand “little while will see Me.” - even though He told them that He would rise again

They did not understand how can He go to the Father and still see them again?

“During the interval between His death and resurrection the disciples lost their faith and spiritual vision, and no more beheld Him than did the world.”

But hold on need to give another about “little while” from Trench too

“And again a little while shall elapse, and then ye-shall-see-me with bodily eyes. When the short interval between His death and resurrection had elapsed, they should see Him with their bodily eyes.”

The ye-shall-see-me is the English translation of the Greek meaning with bodily eyes.

OK, the word “saying” was in the imperfect tense in the Greek, so it was something they discussed, debated over and over with one another.

Godet: “Where for us, all is clear, for them all was mysterious. If Jesus wishes to found the Messianic kingdom, why go away? If He does not wish it, why return?”

Now, I need to present another view of “Not see me, and see again.”

Is it not see because He returns to the Father (Jn16:10, 16); and will see when He returns (2Cor4:16-18; Heb10:37)

The disciples after the ascension were looking for the return. They did not see the physical return but there was the Spiritual because Jesus promised them the Helper, the Comforter and He did send it to them in just a few days after the ascension.

Joy through sorrow/grief

I’m sure you are familiar with the term “no pain, no gain,” Right?

What if entering the kingdom came with pain, suffering (i.e. Act14:22); Are you willing to have sorrow, grief, as a way to kingdom life?

Acts 14:22 NASB95

22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Paul knew that his suffering would be for the good (Php1:12, Rom8:28); The disciples did not know, understand yet, but they would.

Jesus knew they had questions, they wanted information, they wanted clarity, but they turned to themselves instead of turning to Him, can we do that?

It is was important to Jesus for them to know what was coming so not to be surprised by it and being able to keep the faith together.

John 16:20 NLT

20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.

Jesus, unlike us, knew the “big” picture and how it would turn out for the good.

It is true they would mourn and they would grieve

At the loss of the in person relationship with Christ

At the humiliation that He had to endure as their Master and Messiah

At the apparent victory of the enemies (well, for 3 days at least).

At the fact their hope was taken away

Guzik said: “The crucifixion and all that went with it was not a bump in the road on the way to fulfilling God’s plan, as if it were an obstacle to overcome. It was the very plan, the very way that the plan would be fulfilled. That sorrow would turn into joy.”

God’s plan was not replacement therapy, it was transformation theology!

God was going to turn their sorrow into joy. Just as a woman in labor’s turns to joy at the birth of the child!

Spurgeon: “It is most remarkable and instructive that the apostles did not appear in their sermons or epistles to have spoken of the death of our Lord with any kind of regret. The gospels mention their distress during the actual occurrence of the crucifixion, but after the resurrection, and especially after Pentecost, we hear no such grief.”

Since they did not fully grasp the “see you again,” meaning the separation and the return, they could not fully grasp the grief they will feel being turned to joy that cannot be taken away from them.

Jesus knew in the end they would rejoice!

One more quote and we will call it a night.

“That He should suffer was cause for grief, but that He has not suffered all is equal cause for joy. When a champion returns from the wars being the scars of conflict by which he gained his honors, does anyone lament over this campaigns?” - Spurgeon

They did not understand, and we do not understand some of the things that we go through how they will “turn out for the good.” We just need to have faith that it will, and it will be joy that is inescapable!

(Prayer) (Exit)