Lasting Joy

Study Information: If you played youth sports you may have had a moment similar to this. I remember playing soccer as an 8 year old and getting excited to get to the ball and in the confusion and scrum of the play I was able to break away and shoot and score my first goal. Excitement followed, with fist pumping and me looking over to the sideline for praise from the coach only to realize that I scored on my own goal. This has become a reminder that what looks like victory can actually be defeat. In our passage Jesus addressed how the world would voice at his death but what looked like a victory to the world was actually defeat. Likewise, the disciples of Jesus would experience the death of Jesus with sorrow, but really it was for their good so they could be reconciled to God. Their sorrow would be for a moment, because Jesus would be raised from the dead and they’d experience joy. 

From Sorrow to Joy John 16:16-22

The disciples and Jesus go back and forth in our passage about what Jesus meant by “a little while and you will see me no longer, and again a little while and you will see me” (John 16:16). Was Jesus referring to his crucifixion and resurrection or how he’d leave and go back to the Father and come again in his second coming? Context indicates that he was referring to the cross and his post resurrection appearances with them because he told them about the necessity of prayer and seeking joy from the Father at the end of this passage (John 16:24). The disciples experienced sorrow because there was a gap of 3 days, from when Jesus died on the cross until he appeared to them resurrected. The sorrow of the disciples was rooted in not knowing what God was doing through the events of the cross. Jesus prepared them before it all happened so that they’d know that he was good and faithful and would return for their joy, but the disciples were lost and did not understand. To illustrate how sorrow can turn to joy Jesus used a feminine illustration about how their emotional state could change. The gap between the cross and resurrection would be similar to childbirth. A woman who has given birth knows better than anyone else the pain and sorrow of childbirth, but also the effect of when you hold a newborn baby how that previous sorrow is pushed back to embrace joy. The new child does not negate the pain, but sorrow gives way to joy (John 16:20-21). So too the disciples would experience sorrow giving way to joy as they realized why Jesus went to the cross and how the resurrection changed everything. They would no longer be stuck in their sin, or clueless about what Jesus was doing, instead they’d be set free from sin, given new life in Christ and called to a mission of proclaiming what God has done. 

Sorrow and joy are connected. The Pixar movie Inside Out is a beautiful parable about the connection between sadness and joy. Our greatest joys often arise out of our deepest moments of sadness. The light shines brightest after the storm. Sorrow and joy are not two random emotions that happen to appear in this order chronologically. The sorrow must take place if the joy is to come. There’s no skipping sorrow to get to the joy. Most ladies would love to skip nine months of pregnancy and an excruciating labor and just hold their newborns in their arms (v. 21), but it doesn’t work that way. You don’t get the newborn without the morning sickness, swollen ankles, and contractions. Jesus tells the disciples they can’t get the joy without experiencing the sorrow

We all interact with times of sorrow and often those times can feel like there is no point. God uses sorrow and pain for a purpose and the promise of this passage for followers of Jesus today is that even in the “gap” times where we do not understand what God is doing, that there is a promise of joy and because of the work of Jesus we can find joy in God. That is why Jesus  pointed them to the necessity of prayer. We do not get a lot of info about what the disciples did during those three days but Jesus reminded them that they were not alone and that God had not turned his back on them and that they could pray in his name. 

The joy Jesus gives his disciples can never be taken away from them (v. 22). “No one” will take it. What else carries the same guarantee? Thieves can take possessions away. Disease can take health away. Death can take family away. What about joy? Doesn’t it seem people have the power to take joy away? Unkind words, dishonesty, gossip, slander, cruelty, and bullying all seem designed to steal a person’s joy, but Jesus guarantees that the disciples’ joy cannot be stolen.

Because their joy comes from seeing him again and knowing he’s conquered death, no amount of torture or persecution can ever change that. If the disciples’ joy is in something else—if they try to find their joy in sex, money, work, or hobbies—then certainly their joy could be taken from them, but since their joy is found in Jesus, his victory over sin and death and the promise of his ongoing relationship with them, then every attack against it will be futile. The devil longs to steal our joy, and it’s not usually too hard. Placing our joy in things like relationships, work, events, security, and health is like putting your life savings in a piggy bank, leaving it in a high-crime district at night with a hammer, and adding a note asking people to leave it alone because it’s really valuable. You’re a fool if you think it will be safe. But if our joy is in Jesus, we trade the piggy bank for Fort Knox, and the devil gets a plastic spoon instead of a hammer. You’re a fool if you think he can touch it.

If the disciples’ joy comes from a reunion with Jesus, their position in him, and his promises to them, then what weapons could the devil possibly level against their joy? The most powerful weapons are useless. I suppose he could attempt to steal their joy by having them betrayed by a close friend. Or maybe he could try relentless persecution by those who claim to follow God. But the disciples know these assaults will be ineffective. They’re going to be ineffective because Jesus already took those attacks and not just defeated them but used them to usher in this joy. Jesus didn’t only conquer betrayal and persecution; he turned them into the agents that brought about the disciples’ joy. And of course, the ultimate fear, the ultimate weapon, the ultimate joy stealer is death, but Jesus disarmed death. Jesus conquered every enemy! If we find our joy in him, we have nothing to fear. Our joy is impervious to all attacks leveled against it. Jesus’s resurrection guarantees he can never die again, and those who follow him will never experience separation from him in death. We may leave our physical bodies, but Jesus will never leave us (cf. 11:25–26).

Praying in Jesus Name John 16:23-24

This is the 4th time in the upper room discourse that Jesus told his disciples to boldly ask in his name (John 14:14, 15:7, 15:16, 16:23). We’ve been told to boldly ask for things that would glorify Jesus, be part of our abiding in Christ, bear fruit and now we’re told to ask for things that would bring us true and lasting joy in Christ.  To pray in Christ’s name is to come to God based on his merit and his standing with the Father. As a follower of Jesus you’re given a new identity and a new standing with God based on the work of Christ. The cross provided a way for their sin to be covered and for their forgiveness to lead to reconciliation with God. Because of the crucifixion and resurrection they could pray in Christ’s name because of their union with Christ, who according to Paul, is our life. Christ is seated at the right hand of God ruling and interceding for us (Colossians 3:1-4). Praying in the name of Jesus is to pray in accordance with what honors him and brings him glory and leads to our joy. This is not a command to pray for our earthly desires, but to pray with certainty for things that will lead us to go from sorrow to joy in Christ knowing that God will hear and respond. 

After the resurrection the first disciples can no longer physically turn to Jesus and ask him to meet a need. Instead, they have the privilege of going directly to the Father and asking him to do whatever they need, and he promises to answer. This promise of answered prayer raises a few questions.

Does This Promise Mean God Has to Give Me Whatever I Want?

The short answer is no. Jesus gives one constraining guideline for this command. In both verse 23 and verse 24 he says we must ask in his name. This immediately rules out the prosperity gospel, name-it-claim-it, best-life-now heresy dominating Christian television. I wonder if we aren’t guilty of a related misuse of prayer. Do a mental exercise with me. Think about your recent prayers. Now take out an imaginary sheet of paper and divide it into two columns. Above the column on the left write the word “Comfort,” and above the column on the right put the word “Mission.” Place your requests in one of the two columns. Here’s the criterion: If God answers this request, will it contribute more toward my comfort or my mission? Jesus promises the Father will answer every request made in his name. “In Jesus’s name” is not a mantra or a tagline. It means we’re doing something Jesus commanded to be done! If you define comfort in the way it’s commonly defined in our society, Jesus doesn’t care if you’re comfortable. Think about what he tells his disciples. He tells them they’re going to be cast out and killed for his sake. The promise of answered prayer is given on the heels of that reality. They aren’t to pray for earthly comforts. They’re to pray for the kingdom of heaven to advance in this world: “Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:9–11). Jesus taught us to pray for the advancement of his kingdom, not the establishment of our own.

How Does Prayer Make Our Joy Overflow?

Prayer often feels like a duty not a delight, but prayer is how we commune with Jesus, and communion with Jesus is where we’ll find joy. The disciples’ sorrow turns to joy when they’re reunited with Jesus, when they’re in his presence again. After his ascension into heaven, prayer is the way to be in his presence. To remain in Jesus happens when his words remain in us and we respond in prayer to him (John 15:7).

The bottom line is this: we need to pray. We must. Not out of duty but out of necessity. Not as a dead requirement but as a desperate plea. We need more of Jesus. We want more joy. Joy comes as we ask Jesus to help us fulfill the mission he gave us. Prayer gives us the power to do what we’re called to do. We’re called to live holy lives, to be generous, bold, thankful, repentant, and selfless. This only happens as we beg God to work in us. A lack of prayer brings a lack of power, which in turn brings a lack of joy.

A Minister Who Does Not Pray

– Thomas Coke

A minister, who prays not, who is not in love with prayer, is not a minister of the Church of God. He is a dry tree, which occupies in vain a place in Christ's garden. He is an enemy, and not a father, of the people.

Imagine you finally invented the affordable, practical flying car, but you needed just the right wind conditions. You found the perfect spot, gathered your new invention, and headed there. You lined your machine up to fly, but you had to wait for the wind to pick up. Now where you are waiting you can’t feel the wind, so you need help. Your friend has joined you just for this. He climbs the nearest hill with phone in hand and waits. You wait in the makeshift cockpit, checking in with him, hoping for the go-ahead. At that moment, is checking in with him a nuisance? Is it drudgery? Or do you wait breathlessly? Asking him over and over, “Is it time?”

When you stand on the precipice, attempting something great, that conversation is not a chore. It’s a pleasure. It’s filled with breathless anticipation. When we launch out on mission, pleading with God to do something great, prayer is not drudgery. It’s breathless anticipation. It’s asking God, “Is it time yet? Have you sent the wind? Will we fly now?” Life on mission makes prayer as natural as breathing, as ordinary as our hearts beating.

Matt Carter and Josh Wredberg, Exalting Jesus in John (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017), 333.

What do you find yourself praying for most? Do you pray that your joy in Christ might be full? This is an encouragement to pray for help in fighting sin and finding contentment in Christ during the times were we live in the gap between sorrow and joy. We have a new access to God and a new access to joy because of the work of Jesus.