Unknown Understanding
Notes
Transcript
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Introduction
Introduction
Tonight, we are going to step away from our Wednesday series and look at some verses here in the book of John that really help me out when everything seems to be so gloomy...
There’s a lot in this world be sad about - there’s a lot in this world to be worried about - there’s a lot in this world to be mad about - BUT there’s a word of encouragement for us here amongst the seemingly bad things of life...
This section of scripture basically deals primarily with the emotions of the disciples.
They were sorrowing, they were confused about some of Jesus’ teaching, and they were afraid. Boy, that sure sounds like us sometimes don’t it?
It is an encouragement to me to know that the disciples were real men with real problems, yet the Lord was able to use them. We sometimes get the false impression that these men were different from us, especially endowed with spiritual knowledge and courage; but that was not the case. They were human!
Notice with me some little things in this passage...
1. A Little While (16–19)
1. A Little While (16–19)
The Lord informs them they will not “see” Him in a little while.
Then He tells them they will see Him again. The disciples wanted to know the meaning behind the Lord’s words.
The disciples were “desirous” to ask Him. This means they were constantly asking Him about this...
A considerable dialogue was taking place in this setting. Jesus says, “You shall see me in a little while.” What was He talking about, what did He mean?
When I think about this, now, the disciples had no idea what He was talking about, but you and I can look ahead in the Bible and see...
I think about Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit comes and they see the Lord by faith.
I think about when the Lord returns at His Second Coming.
I think about when they would die and see the Lord.
I think about after His Resurrection...
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
The disciples had no idea what He meant, and in the midst of some of the worst news of their lives, Jesus was actually encouraging them!
Folks, the same is true still today, things might be bad, we may have a lot of things we are confused about, and we may have more questions than answers, but my friend, in just a little while, we will see Him! And when we see Him, these things we worry so much about on this earth, aren’t going to matter one bit!
Listen to me now, just look to Jesus!
We can see Him today by faith...
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
But one day, just a little while, we’ll see Him with our eyes!
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Just a little while ya’ll...
2. A Little Weeping (20–22)
2. A Little Weeping (20–22)
Jesus tells them they are going to have sorrow and weep while the world rejoices.
Their sorrow would not be sure and steadfast however.
Their trauma and trials would not be terminal.
The frustrations they faced would not be fixed or final.
The sorrow they faced would be turned into joy.
Friends, God turns our sorrow into joy.
God turned Job’s sorrow into joy!
The sorrow and slavery of Joseph turned into the joy of ruling Egypt for the Pharaoh and saving his brothers and father.
The persecutions of David by King Saul produced the joy and peace we get from the Psalms.
The death of Ruth’s husband led to the delight of meeting Boaz, who loved Ruth dearly and married her. Their descendants included two special kings, King David and King Jesus.
The sorrow of Paul’s imprisonment and persecution produced maturity and joy unspeakable and full of glory in his life. Paul was the one who said, “Rejoice in the Lord, always, and again I say rejoice.” He wrote these words from a prison cell. It was Paul who said, “Whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (Philippians 4:11).
Jesus knew they would be plunged into deep and dark sorrow in the next few hours. He also knew that God would, by His power and grace, turn their sorrow into joy.
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 way the plan would be fulfilled. That sorrow would turn into joy.
God’s work was not to replace their sorrow with joy, but to turn sorrow into joy, as He often does in our lives.
The sorrow would be directly connected to their coming joy, even as the sorrow of a woman in childbirth is directly connected to her joy that her child has been born into the world.
Spurgeon wrote, “It is most remarkable and instructive that the apostles do 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 of no such grief.” - There was no grief because God had turned their sorrow into joy!
The sorrow of life will be quickly forgotten in the presence of Christ.
3. A Little Word (23–24)
3. A Little Word (23–24)
What’s the little word? It’s “ask” - It is important to note that the text uses two different words for “ask,” although they can be used interchangeably. The word used in John 16:19, 23a, and 26 means “to ask a question” or “to ask a request.” It is used when someone makes a request of someone equal.
The word translated “ask” in John 16:23b, 24, and 26b (“pray”) means “to request something of a superior.” This latter word was never used by Jesus in His prayer life…Why? Because He is equal to the Father.
We come as inferiors to God, asking for His blessing; but He came as the very Son of God, equal with the Father.
This is interesting - these disciples had never prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus.
They had not considered Jesus as the great mediator between God and man, but they will by the Holy Spirit when it comes...
Because of Jesus’ great work, His disciples have unlimited, undeniable access to God through Him.
The return of Christ to the Father restored completely the connection broken by the sin of Adam. With perfect fellowship restored we can be sure that the Father will give us anything we ask in the name of his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Needless to say, that rules out all petitions incompatible with Jesus’ character.
You cannot simply tag His name on to the end of a request and expect to get what you ask. That is not what He is saying.
4. A Little Wait (25–28)
4. A Little Wait (25–28)
Jesus said:
25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
“The time cometh”—He is nearing His crucifixion, the hour of redemption for which He has come into the world.
After His crucifixion, they are to ask the Father in Jesus’ name. He is trying to teach them that the Father is not a hard taskmaster who is reluctant to answer prayer.
Today God wants to hear and answer prayers, but they must come from the heart of one who loves Christ, and is in fellowship with Him, obeying Him.
The Lord sums up his life on earth in four majestic statements:
“I came forth from the Father” [his incarnation].
“I am come into the world” [his mission].
“I leave the world” [his passion].
“I go to the Father” [his ascension].
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The disciples tell the Lord that they believe He is from God and that He knows all things. That claim does not need to be questioned. Do you know this?
Jesus asked them, “Do you now believe? You guys are about to scatter and forsake me.”
The Lord knows that they were self-confident. Over-confidence can be a forerunner for disaster.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
They could have been witnesses at Jesus’ trial, carried His cross, and wiped His brow. Instead, they hid in fear. Jesus said, “I will not be alone for my Father is with me.”
In closing, He summarizes the purpose of this message, “I want you to have peace in the storms. You will have tribulation, problems, trouble, and affliction, but you can still have peace.”
John 16:33 is the summary and climax of the Upper Room message. Why did He give this message?
So that the disciples might have peace in a world of tribulation.
Note the contrast between “in Me” and “in the world.” In Christ there is peace; in the world there is tribulation. This is the position we need to claim: we are in Christ, and therefore we can overcome the world and all of its hatred.
Knowing that Jesus has overcome the world brings us good cheer. It is the foundation for our peace in Him.
We see that Jesus is in control, we see that although He leaves, He does not abandon, we see that He loves, and we see that the victory is His.
We can be of good cheer indeed.
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
I’m thankful for the Comforter tonight.