"In A Little While"

(ESV)

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 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.

GOAL: That the Hearer truly understands Jesus’ Post-Resurrection plan.

Good Morning Sons & Daughters of St. Paul’s …May the Grace and Peace of Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ be with you all … Let Us Pray

In our text for today, we see Jesus preparing the disciples for life after his ascension. Jesus was preparing them, but they truly didn’t understand exactly what he was saying. Again, as we have talked about over the last month or so … They just didn’t get it. Jesus starts out with an odd phrase at the beginning of our reading … in verse 12 He says … “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” At this point, many of his disciples had been travelling with him over two years. They had heard the sermon on the mount, and many parables about the kingdom. They had seen miracles and had been sent out to proclaim His gospel message. They were trying to teach the people that His reign, Jesus’ Reign … was here. They themselves had even performed miracles in Jesus Name, and freed people from demonic possession. Christ comforts the disciples by promising to send them the Helper (the Holy Spirit), who will guide them into a deeper understanding of Christ’s Word. Mistakenly, we sometimes think that Jesus’ physical absence places us at a disadvantage. In fact, Jesus is present with us through the witness of the Spirit, who works among us through God’s Word and Sacraments. [1]

Jesus refers to the “Spirit of Truth” arriving. When the Spirit arrives though, he will not speak of himself. He will communicate to them what is given to him to communicate. This is important because the whole design of the Spirit’s office is to glorify Christ—not in His own Person, for this was done by the Father when He exalted Him to His own right hand—but in the view and estimation of men. For this purpose He was to “receive of Christ”—all the truth relating to Christ—“and show it unto them,” or make them to discern it in its own light. The subjective nature of the Spirit’s teaching—the discovery to the souls of men of what is Christ outwardly—is here very clearly expressed; and, at the same time, the vanity of looking for revelations of the Spirit which shall do anything beyond throwing light in the soul upon what Christ Himself is, and taught, and did upon earth.[2] In slightly simpler terms … Jesus had received His revelation from the Father, which would now be imparted and explained to the disciples by the Holy Spirit.[3]

But Jesus knew that they couldn’t bear this. Literally, they didn’t have the power or the ability to grasp what was going to happen soon in Jerusalem. It was beyond their ability – this concept that the Spirit would eventually come and show them how it all fit together – even as the Trinity itself fits together. Not that they, or us can get our mind around the full expression of the Trinity. Jesus prophesies to the disciples … He shares with them the unbelievable fact that he will not be with them and he uses a phrase often used as a euphemism for death. They picked up on that, this phrase about going to the Father. But how could he die, for a little while, and then return?

They can’t get their minds around this – “in a little while”. Indeed, without any kind of reference, it doesn’t make much sense. Jesus will go on, to talk about the sorrow they will experience. The words are powerful, the image of the suffering and pain of childbirth, and the joy of looking down at a baby are intense. Remember, this is before the creation of the various drugs that diminish pain, before clean and antiseptic waiting rooms, before highly trained Ob-Gyn doctors where there to tend to mom and the baby.

There is a tendency here to forget … about the context in what Jesus is talking … when talking about the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise of turning sorrow to joy filled dancing! While we want to apply it to our suffering now … to give us hope that we shall get through the dark times … the times of mourning … and dealing with our pains … but we miss something if we jump right to that point. Many of us need that comfort, many of us need to know that our suffering does transform into glorious joy, that our mourning will result in dancing. We too may not be able to bear this, but through the Holy Spirit we too will understand.

We must remember that this passage is first and foremost about the experience the disciples will go through … the separation from their Lord and Master, as He is beaten, and scourged, and nailed to a cross that the world would rather not remember. For once, as they crucified the King of Glory, (as Paul calls Him in ) they celebrated. They had thrown off the painful reminder of their sin, and their rebellion against God.

The disciples would indeed mourn, their sorrow and agony would be great. Luther reminds us that “This is said to all Christians, for every Christian must have temptations, trials, anxieties, adversities, sorrows, come what may. Therefore, Christ mentions here no particular sorrow, nor trial, he simply says they shall weep, lament and be sorrowful, for the Christian has many persecutions. Some suffer loss of goods; there are others whose character suffers disgrace and scorn; some are drowned, others are burned; one perishes in this manner and another in that; it is the lot of the Christian constantly to suffer misfortune and adversity. This is the rod with which they are chastised. This is their court color by which the Christian is recognized, and if he wants to be a Christian, he dares not be ashamed of his allowance.

No one need lay his cross upon himself, as some foolish persons have done and are still doing. The old Adam lacks courage under the cross. The new man, however, can persevere through grace. Pious persons have no aim of their own in suffering, but if it be God’s will they bear good fruit like a tree planted by the streams of water. This is pleasing to God, since all presumption and show are condemned. He who battles heroically will receive joy for his suffering, the eternal in place of the temporal.

But on this account, we must suffer much. We must not only suffer shame and persecution, but the world rejoices at our great misfortunes. But this comfort we have that their joy shall not last long, and our sorrow shall be turned into eternal joy.”[4]

I think Luther hits it right on the head here … The world will root against us, but our mission is still to save them. For this to happen, we must have hope despite of any situation that we may face. Hope can be a fleeting thing in the face of distress. We must understand that when we struggle … for even the disciples had moments where they seemingly had no hope. Judas would be so deprived of hope, he would hang himself to avoid further guilt or agony. Thomas would cry out in pain and doubt, and Peter would have problems hearing Jesus restore him as an apostle. And all that would be erased, as they walked with Him, knowing that in a few days their lives would be crushed by His death. As the Spirit of Truth would be poured out on them, their rejoicing – their call for others to join them in that great joy – brought some 3000 followers.

Then, in light of the sunrise on the first Easter, and in the upper room - the power to grasp the incredible difference a few days make, days governed not by us, but by the love of God!

I know we are jumping back a bit, but there were diametrically opposed feelings that were present between Friday and Sunday. And for some of us, our lives seem like that journey on the morning of Easter … the odd hope, the questioning that occurred as they stared into the open tomb and heard the message of the Angels. We know the dawn is here…we know that He is Risen ... yet the reality is still sinking in, as we begin to grasp the full power of the Resurrection. We begin to see how that dawning will see us through these days.

One of those, who was in the deepest of despair, described our journey this way … (ESV)

Born Again to a Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [5]

That is the joy, of looking back to the cross – and the victory we see there. When the deepest sorrow known to man - the sorrow of realizing the death of Christ… but then there is the joy that comes from realizing that Jesus willingly went to that cross, looking forward to the joy set before Him, as He saved us from our sin.

(ESV) Tells us …

17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.

18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create;

for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.

19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people;

no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. [6]

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ … The Father rejoices in our salvation, the angels rejoice when even one lost one is returned home, and we can rejoice – we can celebrate – for we know this – we are God’s, and the rising Son brings the blessing, and the promise of a peace that can sustain us in any storm. For the peace of God our Father, that unsurpassable, joy filled peace, guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. My beloved, Jesus is Risen. So are our hopes and joys. Let us rejoice! Amen?

Let Us Pray … Father we thank you for the peace and joy that we find in the empty tomb. Help us to live as the redeemed children of a risen Christ … with lives of purpose and joy. Guide us … Watch Over Us … and give us the ability to love those who are hard to love. Your son gave His all for us … help us to emulate what that looks like in the reverse, as we give our all for Him. We ask all these things in the name of Your Son and Our Savior Jesus Christ! AMEN

[1] Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 1814). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

[2] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 158). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[3] Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 1814). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

[4] Luther, M., & Sander, J. (1915). Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (pp. 181–182). Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.

[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.