Joy in a World of Trouble: “In this world you will have trouble,” said Jesus. How will any of us survive the troubles of this world? Jesus taught about endurance, but at the end of the Last Supper, he called his disciples to go far higher than mere survival. There will be times of grief, but there is unshakable joy for those who are found in him. Recorded on Mar 10, 2024, on John 16:16-33 by Pastor David Parks.
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Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. Today, we’ll be working on John chapter 16, considering how we might have joy in a world of trouble. And this world is full of trouble, isn’t it? Every category in life is subject to trouble. There’s trouble with our health/relationships. There’s trouble with our money/work/politics. It’s not long before we have a world of trouble if we’re even a little public with our faith in Jesus. “When you’re weary; Feeling small; When tears are in your eyes; I will dry them all.” (Simon and Garfunkel know what we’re talking about). Well, for the last six weeks or so, we’ve been studying the events and teachings of Jesus on that night of nights, the night before the cross of Christ. At this Last Supper, Jesus taught many things to help his disciples endure not only the trauma of the cross but to help them remain faithful and fruitful for the rest of their lives. Our passage today brings this long section to a close before, as we’ll see next week, Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17. But one of the themes of this long section is that of endurance/perseverance in the face of difficulties, hardships, and persecution. How will the disciples will be ok? How will they survive the pain and suffering of this broken world with Jesus returning to the Father? How will any of us survive the troubles of this world? Doesn’t it sometimes feel as if this world will shatter to pieces? Doesn’t it sometimes feel that we’re powerless in the face of such pressing darkness? Jesus has been teaching about endurance, but here, at the end of his discourse, Jesus lifts us up far higher than mere survival to the joy that is possible in him. Followers of Jesus don’t have to simply endure. We can have real joy — the joy of Jesus himself, the very joy of heaven. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 16:16. We’ll unpack this as we go.
John 16:16–22 (NIV), “16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” 19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” Ok, let’s pause here. One of the consistent themes in John’s gospel is how little the disciples really understood about the person and work of Jesus until after his death and resurrection. They just could not envision a dying messiah, much less one who would come back from the dead. That had never happened before! But here, they’re confused about everything Jesus said about his departure. What did Jesus mean by saying, “In a little while?” or that they won’t see him, but then they will see him? What does all this mean? Jesus knew they were asking each other about this and wanted to ask him, so he answered their questions in v. 20. And remember, in John’s gospel, the phrase “Very truly I tell you” means to pay attention because what I’m about to say is important. He says, “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” This refers first to his suffering and death. His hour had come, just as he predicted. Jesus was about to be arrested, tried, condemned, and crucified. And his disciples would be devastated by this, not yet realizing that it was necessary for salvation. However, they will not grieve forever. Jesus would be buried, but on the third day, he would rise again. And their bitter grief would turn to astonished joy. Jesus then gave the analogy of a woman in childbirth. He says she has pain because her time (lit., her hour) has come. Part of the grief/trouble the disciples would experience over the next several days had to do with what time it was, the hour. But he assured them that just as a mother forgets the anguish of labor because of her joy in her new little child, so in the same way, the disciples would rejoice when Jesus appears alive once again. Now, the analogy of a mother giving birth is used many times in the OT, which makes sense. They didn’t have hospitals or birth centers at this time, so childbirth normally took place at home. And, of course, they didn’t have anesthesia or other modern methods for reducing pain. As a result, the intensity of both the pain and joy of childbirth made a powerful analogy everyone understood, which is why it was used so often. One of the OT passages that used the childbirth analogy is Isaiah 66, which has several interesting connections to what Jesus said here. First, a cataclysmic time was promised — when judgment would come, but restoration and comfort would follow. In other words, grief followed by joy. After the analogy of childbirth is made in Isa 66, God says, “When you see this [this salvation/restoration], your heart will rejoice and you will flourish…” (Isa 66:14). This is exactly what Jesus says will happen for his disciples, using language that mirrors Isa 66. So joy is in the foreground of what Jesus is promising. But there must be other implications if something this big, big enough to fulfill Isa 66, was about to happen, right? That’s where Jesus takes the conversations in v. 23. Let’s keep going.
John 16:23-28 (NIV), “23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” 25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Let’s pause one more time. So, the disciples will have a time of grief and mourning, but their grief will turn to joy. And in that day of joy, there will be a new pattern of life, including a new pattern of prayer. In that day, they will no longer need to ask Jesus for answers or clarifications. They will have new access directly to the Father in Jesus’ name. Until this point, the disciples didn’t pray in Jesus’ name. But once Jesus is risen and exalted, once he ascends and is seated at the right hand of the Father in glory, their faith in Jesus will give them the kind of access to the Father that only the Son and Spirit had ever enjoyed. Jesus didn’t say that by praying in his name, he would take their prayers and forward them up to the Father or ask on their behalf. “No,” he says, “the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” Because of their faith in him, a faith that will fully blossom after the resurrection, and their love for Jesus, they are already known and loved by the Father. A relationship with Jesus means you have a relationship with the Father with direct access to the Creator and Source of all life, light, and love. We’ll see next week in his prayer that this is Jesus’ deepest desire — that his disciples would experience the joyful love and unity he always experienced with the Father. It’s in this new kind of relationship with God that comes by faith that Jesus says, “…your joy will be complete.” What an incredible promise! Think about some of the things Jesus has been talking about for the last few chapters of John’s gospel. When the disciples stay connected to the life-giving, fruit-bearing, and nourishing power of the Vine, they won’t merely survive; their joy will be complete. When the disciples humbly serve and love one another, showing themselves to be disciples of Jesus, they won’t merely survive; their joy will be complete. When the disciples learn obedience to the word of God, when they are saved and sanctified by the word of God, they won’t merely survive; their joy will be complete. When the disciples receive the gift of the Spirit, the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, they won’t simply survive; their joy will be complete. As God promised through Isaiah some 700 years earlier, when they would see this salvation unfold in Jesus, their hearts would rejoice, and they would flourish. However, this doesn’t mean that after the resurrection, all the troubles of the world would disappear. Not at all. The disciples would still be in this broken world; there would still be trouble. Jesus addresses this, starting with v. 29.
John 16:29-33 (NIV), “29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” 31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This is God’s word. Ok! So the disciples think they finally get it, but Jesus knows they don’t. The fact that Jesus knew what they had wanted to ask him made them believe that he had come from God. This, even though Jesus had said and done many more impressive things before which should have utterly convinced them that he had come from God. Commentator C.F. Dodd writes, “It is part of the character and genius of the Church that its foundation members [meaning, the apostles] were discredited men; it [the church] owed its existence not to their faith, courage, or virtue, but to what Christ had done with them; and this they could never forget.” (PNTC, p. 549). Still, Jesus is so patient with them and helpful to them, even in the fragility of their faith, even in their lack of understanding of what God was doing, and even though they were about to be scattered. Jesus can be this way for them because he is completely secure in his relationship with his Father. “You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” This is all Jesus needs. But this stability, this security, is what Jesus is trying to give his disciples. “I have told you these things,” probably referring not just to this passage but to all of John 13-16, “so that in me you may have peace.” “In me” is a key phrase here. Our faith in and our love for Jesus unites us so closely to him that we can be described as now being in Christ as much as his Spirit is within us. The Apostle Paul picked up this language of being found “in Christ” and all its expansive meaning in his letters. We could spend the rest of our lives contemplating what it means to be “in Christ” and not run out of riches to discover. So, in his death and resurrection and the gift of the Spirit, Jesus was about to launch the final age of this world. But this isn’t the new heavens and the new earth. And despite the promise of joy, disciples of Jesus are still in this broken world. “In this world you will have trouble,” promises Jesus. “But take heart!” have courage; do not be afraid. Why? Because Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.” His death conquered our sins. His resurrection conquered our death. In Him, we are forgiven and freed from our sins. In Him, we have life — real life, eternal life.
At this point on that night of nights, Jesus turns from teaching to prayer, which we’ll see next week. But for now, how might we apply this teaching to our lives? What does this mean for us today? Well, I have three thoughts. First, I love how realistic Christianity is. We live in a world of trouble. No amount of faith in God changes that reality. It’s part of the reason why we needed a Savior. So, we shouldn’t deny this trouble and pretend everything is perfect when it’s clearly not. But neither should the trouble of the world cause us to cower in fear or fall into despair. Because Jesus has overcome! So, we who are in Christ can have joy in the midst of sometimes very difficult circumstances because the source of our joy lies far above our circumstances. Just as Jesus was prepared to be abandoned by his friends when he arguably needed them the most, he could face that sad circumstance because he knew he wasn’t alone. His Father was with him and loved him, and that was all he needed. His joy wasn’t dependent on his circumstances. The author of Hebrews writes, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross,” (Heb 12:2). Even the horrors of the cross couldn’t shake his joy. Second, the joy that Jesus is talking about here doesn’t have to be passive joy. This joy must work itself out actively in life if it’s truly the joy of Jesus. Here’s the truth: even if it feels like it sometimes, we are not powerless in the face of all this trouble. We can put our joy to work, and, just like Jesus, our joy ought to motivate our work. Christians can joyfully work today to fix what is broken — in our work, home, cities, nation, or wherever it’s needed. Christians can bring justice to bear on what is evil, we can love our neighbor, and we can and should do all kinds of things to make life better. This is what Jesus meant by calling us to be salt and light in the world. This is what Paul meant by writing, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10). The joy we have in Jesus is joy that motivates our work in the world. Third, again, this isn’t about mere survival. Followers of Jesus don’t have to simply endure while the world rages around us. We can have real joy today — the joy of Jesus himself, the very joy of heaven, a joy that comes from the reality of the resurrection. Jesus says our joy will be worth it, worth the pain of grief. And our joy can’t be stolen by anyone because our joy is rooted in the new relationship we have with the Father, which is only enhanced through prayer in Jesus’ name. So, in Christ, we can have joy in a world of trouble. And this joy drives our loving work in this world of trouble. Because the source of our joy is the loving communion of God going on forever and ever. So today, may we be people whose lives are marked by this deep and abiding joy. And may this church be a place where all people might come and experience this joy as we lift up the name of Jesus. Let us pray.
