You Will See Me Again

I was asked by a few people this week, whether we were going to get an Easter message today, or continue our preaching series through the gospel of John. The answer is, we’re going to do both.

We have been studying John’s gospel since April of 2017. We’ve taken a number of breaks along the way, but John has been our primary focus. It’s one of the four gospels, and the book was written to give us an up-close look at the life and the ministry of Jesus Christ.

All kinds of ideas exist about who Jesus was and what Jesus did, but the only authoritative source that we have is the Bible, written by Christ’s Apostles, superintended by the Holy Spirit, and preserved for us through the generations by the power of God.

From a human perspective, there is no book that matches the Bible, and I say that in terms of the number of ancient manuscripts that exist today, and the consistency between them. That’s a testament to the fact that this is not simply a human book. That’s why we give it the attention and the honor that we do. Every word is from God.

Saying that it’s a divine book, however, doesn’t mean that it’s inaccessible or inapplicable to our lives. Those of you who’ve received it know the profound impact it has on your life, from the big picture, and all the way down to the details.

This book is a gift. This book is an expression of love from an infinite God who desires to be near to you. He wants you to know Him.

The section we are going to be looking at this morning takes place on the final night of Jesus’ ministry before He is betrayed by His disciple Judas, and then rushed through a mock trial, and ultimately crucified.

Jesus’ death took place on a Friday, at the same time the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. The conversation we’re looking at this morning takes place on Thursday night. And yet, as we’ll see it has a direct connection to the Resurrection of Sunday morning.

At this point in the evening, Judas has already been dismissed. So it’s now Jesus with the remaining 11 faithful disciples.

Christ’s message that night is the longest message in John’s gospel. Some of your Bibles might have Jesus’ quotations in red. And if that’s the case you’ll see that starting from about the middle of chapter 13, all the way to the end of chapter 17, it’s almost all red.

This is a very significant message. And the Apostle John, writing almost 60 years afterward, wants to make sure we get the message. That’s why he gives us so many details about this night. And that’s why we’re working our way through every section of it.

In His final night with the disciples, Jesus wants to equip and prepare them for what’s coming next. His death is going to be traumatic. Multiple times that night, Jesus tells His disciples not to be troubled, not to lose heart. The death of Jesus is going to be a horrific experience for them.

That’s not just true for Jesus, right? Death, by its nature, is traumatic.

Some of us have very vivid memories of someone’s death—people who meant a lot to you, someone whom you cared about.

Think about what will happen when you die. How is that going to impact the people around you? As a parent with little kids, that’s not a pleasant thing to consider.

But if you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you say to your children? What would you want them to know?

Whatever it is, I’m sure you’d want them to remember it. And if you want someone to remember something, you have to repeat it. Repetition is a form of emphasis.

And that’s exactly what Jesus does in this final, farewell message. He repeats many of the same topics and themes. He talks to them about love. He talks about prayer. He talks about the Holy Spirit. He talks about obedience to His commands. He talks about bearing fruit.

And behind everything Jesus tells His disciples, is His desire to prepare them for the coming sadness. That’s why He tells them not to be troubled. And that’s why, repeatedly, He talks about joy.

Typically, when someone you love dies, joy is hidden. Joy is not at the forefront of your mind.

It definitely wouldn’t be there for the disciples. To them, the death of Jesus will look as if the sinful world who opposes Jesus has triumphed. Their hopes and their expectations will be shattered.

But Jesus has a message for them. And God has the same message for you this morning, concerning sorrow and joy.

Let’s read it in John chapter 16, starting in verse 16. And I’m going to read to verse 24. That’s what we’ll be covering today. John 16:16. This is Jesus speaking.

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

¹⁷So 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’?” ¹⁸So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”

¹⁹Jesus 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’?

²⁰Truly, 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. ²¹When 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.

²²So 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. ²³In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ²⁴Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Even if a person doesn’t celebrate the religious aspects of Easter, he or she will typically recognize the importance and the significance of spring. Winter is over. And in some parts of the world, that means the snow begins to melt. The temperature begins to rise. And living things everywhere begin to show signs of life.

There’s a transformation happening. There’s a shift from death to life. And as Christians, we recognize that all the earthly transitions from death to life, are pointers to the Author of Life, which is Jesus Christ.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the apex of the Christian faith. Apart from it, we don’t have a message to give the world. Apart from it, we don’t have good news. The Resurrection marks the triumph of Jesus and the victory of His people. It is the greatest transition from sorrow to joy, if you understand and respond to it correctly.

Jesus is anticipating the sorrow of His disciples, and in order to prepare them to face it, He gives them three lessons. That’s how we’re going to be organizing our message today. Three lessons from Jesus concerning the suffering of His disciples.

And as we go through them, I hope you’ll see that the lessons aren’t just for His disciples that night. They’re for me, and they’re for you. Christ wants to teach us and encourage us even in the midst of our suffering.

For the disciples, Jesus’ lessons here are not immediately understood. And you can tell that immediately in the opening verses. In verse 16, Jesus said to them: “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 

What in the world is Jesus talking about? That’s what the disciples want to know. And John highlights their confusion by repeating the statement.

Verse 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’?” 

What is Jesus talking about? They kept asking themselves the question over and over again. What is Jesus talking about?

The end of verse 17 says “I am going back to the Father.” He may have said that again in verse 16. Some versions include that. But He said it to them first back in verse 10. I am going to the Father.

The difficulty with Jesus’ statement has to do with that phrase “a little while.” If Jesus was going to be leaving them in a little while, it meant that His time with them was limited. And that’s actually something Jesus had said before. His time with them would be limited.

In their minds, though, it didn’t make any sense. They were expecting a Messiah, a Savior who would release them from the oppression of the Romans, and who would restore Israel as the most impressive and glorious nation on earth. And the prophecies indicated that the Messiah would reign forever.

So if Jesus is the Messiah, and if the Messiah is supposed to reign forever, why would He leave? Does that mean the kingdom isn’t coming in the way they think it will? And if the kingdom isn’t coming, or if Jesus isn’t the true King, then why would He come back? That’s the confusion here. It centers around Jesus saying “a little while.”

Verse 18 continues with their questions. So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”

Maybe they thought Jesus was speaking in some kind of parable or metaphor, which He had done before. To them, it’s like riddle. And nobody has the answer.

Well, the discussion is so pronounced and their confusion is so evident, that Jesus talks to them about it. Verse 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’?

Jesus’ doesn’t actually respond specifically to the question they’re asking. What He does, in a sense, is go behind their question to address their hearts.

The real issue here is their sorrow. And in order to help them process the sorrow that is beginning to blossom within them, Jesus gives them three lessons. And again, they’re lessons for Christians today as well.

The first lesson that Jesus gives is this: A Christian’s sorrow lasts only for a little while.

A Christian’s sorrow lasts only for a little while

What exactly is Jesus talking about with His disciples? We have the advantage of being on the other side of history. First of all, Jesus is talking about His death. In a little while, He is going to be separated from them. He’s going to be arrested that night, and He will be put to death on a cross. And the disciples are going to be scattered in fear. Their Master will be gone.

That’s what Jesus means by “a little while and you will see me no longer.” He’s going to be gone. And as far as they’re concerned, He’s gone for good. He’s not coming back.

But Jesus also said to them, “Again, a little while, and you will see me.” What is that talking about? It’s talking about Jesus coming back to them. When will that happen?

Well, their next reunion with Jesus is going to be on Sunday. Jesus is going to rise from the dead, and He will personally make Himself known to the women who went to the tomb, and to His disciples.

If you read on in John and in other parts of the Bible, you find out that Jesus showed Himself many times to His followers. Those appearances are part of the evidence of the truth of the Resurrection. And they are part of the fulfilment of Jesus’ words here. In just a short while, after Jesus is taken from them, they will see Him again.

It’s so important that you understand that the Resurrection of Jesus was not simply a miracle that God decided to do to fix what had happened. The Resurrection was ordained. It was planned from the beginning. Jesus would not be gone for long.

When the Apostle Peter gave his first sermon on the day of Pentecost, he quoted from Psalm 16—“God will not allow His Holy One to see corruption.”

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus even compared what would happen to Him to what happened to Jonah. This is from Matthew chapter 12, verse 40. Jesus said to the Pharisees and the scribes, “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” 

Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. And He knew that the defeat His disciples would experience would only be temporary. The sorrow of His disciples would only be for a little while. Because Sunday morning, Jesus would rise again. Jesus would rise again.

That was a tremendous message for His disciples, and a fair question then is: does that kind of message still apply for us today? Yes, it does. So then, how does it apply to us?

In our lives, we can’t really apply this principle of “suffering for a short time” to the death of Jesus, because we know the whole story already. We aren’t going to face the same kind of suffering that the disciples did.

But there are two distinct ways that this principle can be applied in our lives today. The first way is to apply it to the act of coming to faith.

When someone comes to Jesus and surrenders their life to Him, it hurts. It’s a painful thing. You don’t become a Christian by some external act of signing some paper or walking down an aisle.

Coming to genuine faith means that by prayer, you call out to God for mercy and forgiveness. You recognize your own wickedness. You recognize the judgment you deserve. And you surrender your life to Jesus Christ.

Jesus said it like this: you deny yourself, and you take up your cross, and you follow Him.

That is a painful process. Because you feel the sting of conviction. You feel the loss of all your prior allegiances. You feel the condemnation you’re declaring on all who have rejected or will reject Jesus. That is not a simple act. It’s painful. Jesus said taking the kingdom of God is violent.

But, once you do that, what comes next? It’s joyful isn’t it. You feel the comfort of God declaring to you that your sins are forgiven. You feel the affirmation of the church receiving you by baptism into the family.

To use a very childish analogy, it’s like removing a deep splinter. It hurts. But that pain is only temporary.

If you have never bowed in submission and worshiped Jesus Christ, God calls you to do it today. It’s not easy. It can cost you everything. But the payoff is infinitely valuable.

Every single person who has genuinely come to faith will tell you the same thing. You will not regret it.

Now, does that mean that once you surrender to Christ, you’ll never suffer again? No, it doesn’t. It means you won’t suffer under the wrath of God, but there will definitely be suffering in this world. And that is the second way we can apply this principle to ourselves today.

No matter what kind of suffering you’re going through right now, or will go through in the future, if you have surrendered your life to Jesus, it will only be for a little while.

Because Jesus is coming back. He will rescue His own. And the time we have spent suffering in this life, will have only been the opening note to an eternal song of joy.

Roman 8 says the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Time is relative, isn’t it? And as we mature, we recognize that “a little while” can include a little more. So when dinner is going to be served in “a little while” some people are fine with it, but the least mature of us will struggle. Because maturity brings a more accurate perspective. A more mature Christian understands that the problems of this life are only for a little while.

David, the Hebrew king and shepherd and songwriter, expressed this in Psalm 30. He said that difficult circumstances are only a moment, but God’s favor is for a lifetime. We may spend all night weeping, but joy comes in the morning. 

The Apostle Peter understood the same thing. Here’s what He wrote: After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 

Peter came to understand the lesson Jesus gave Him that night. The sorrow of a Christian lasts only for a little while. It might feel long right now, but in the grand scheme, it’s only for a little while. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, you can remind yourself that whatever difficulty you’re facing is only for a little while. It’s only for a little while.

The second lesson Jesus gives His disciples is very similar. Not only is their suffering going to be temporary, lesson number 2 is: A Christian’s sorrow turns into joy.

A Christian’s sorrow turns into joy

We’ve already been talking about this, but this just makes it very clear. It’s not just that sorrow is going to end. That sorrow is going to be transformed. And in order to make that point, Jesus gives them a very simple, very vivid analogy.

Look at verses 20 and 21—Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice [That’s talking about Christ’s enemies thinking they’ve won]. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. ²¹When 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.

The key statement here is the final line in verse 20, “Your sorrow will turn into joy.” That’s a very interesting way to say it. He doesn’t say that the sorrow is going to be replaced by joy. He says it will turn into joy. What that means is that the source of their sorrow will become the source of their joy. Both are going to be produced by the same thing.

And I think that’s what Jesus analogy draws out. When a woman is in labor, what’s the source of her pain? The baby.

But when a healthy child is delivered, and mom gets to hold her newborn baby, she typically isn’t mad at the baby for the pain. She loves that child. He or she is now the source of her joy. That which had caused her so much pain for a short while, is now the source of her joy.

And that’s what’s going to happen with the disciples. What is it that for the disciples will be a source of sorrow initially, but eventually a source of joy? It’s the cross. It’s the death of Jesus Christ.

For a Christian, the death of Jesus means we see God’s righteous wrath on display, and we see the ugliness of our own sin, and we see the judgment we deserve. We see our sinless Savior dying because of what we have done.

But the cross also means we see God’s love and His mercy. We see our sins being paid for. We see a faithful Son seeking the glory of the Father.

We’re on the other side of the Resurrection. We have the complete story. So for us, the cross is not a reminder, ultimately, of death. It’s a reminder of salvation and forgiveness and new life. Because Jesus rose from the dead.

That’s why evangelical crosses are typically empty. Because Jesus isn’t on the cross anymore. He isn’t suffering anymore. And there isn’t any sacrifice or offering that remains to be done. Jesus Himself said, “It is finished.”

And this risen Lord will come back for His people one day. And they will receive new bodies. And He will bring them in to a new heavens and a new earth.

It is so important that we not miss the connection between the Resurrection of Jesus, and the final restoration of all things.

In fact, Jesus may actually be alluding here, not just to His own resurrection, but to the final resurrection of His people. And I say that because there are Old Testament and New Testament passages that uses the language of a woman in birth pains to talk about the final restoration.

Romans 8:22 says that the creation is groaning in the pains of childbirth.

And listen to what the prophet Isaiah said. This is from Isaiah 26, and it’s a prophecy saying that even though the people are suffering under God’s judgment, God will restore them. Here’s what it says:

¹⁷Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O Lord; ¹⁸we were pregnant, we writhed… [and then God says to them] … ¹⁹Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

What is that talking about? It’s talking about a resurrection. The earth will give birth to the dead. And the first glorified Resurrection is Jesus Christ. And He sets the pattern for what will happen to all who believe in Him, and for what will happen to the world.

The dead will come to life and our sorrow will be turned into joy. Because God’s plan will be completed. As certain as the resurrection has taken place, so can we be certain that Christ will restore all things. And our sorrow will be turned into an everlasting joy.

That’s what Jesus says to His disciples in verse 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.

What an amazing prophecy and promise from our Lord! And what a comfort that should be to us. Jesus has risen from the dead, and our sorrow will be turned into joy.

The final lesson for today comes in verses 23 and 24. Let give you the lesson up front, and then we’ll unpack it. Lesson number 3 is this: A Christian’s sorrow brings nearness to God.

A Christians’ sorrow brings nearness to God

²³In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ²⁴Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Lesson number 1 had to do with the duration of our sorrow. Lesson number two was about the transformation of our sorrow. And now, lesson number 3 has to do with the intention of the sorrow. What’s the purpose? What’s the result?

Jesus is telling His disciples that because of His death and resurrection, a shift is going to take place.

The opening words in verse 23 say “in that day.” That’s a general reference to life on the other side of what’s about to happen. Once their sorrow turns to joy, once Christ comes back to them, and once Christ sends His Holy Spirit to live within them, something is going to change.

“In that day,” Jesus says, “you will ask nothing of me.” Up until that point, Jesus was like the disciples lifeline. They depended on Him for everything. And the disciples knew that Jesus and God the Father had an intimate relationship. Jesus taught them with authority. He answered their questions. And they would have noticed that Jesus never had a prayer that didn’t get answered.

So, if Jesus is that close to God, they depended on Him. They asked Him things and asked Him for things all the time.

But very soon, that’s going to change. They aren’t going to be talking to Jesus anymore. They re going to be talking directly to the Father, and it will be in Jesus’ name. And God will listen.

I would imagine that the president of a bank has a key to the bank. He can open the front door if he needs to. But if he was the only person with a key, he would have to be there all the time, to open the door and to lock up.

But what happens? The president finds some men or women that he trusts, right? And he makes them managers. They oversee what’s happening. And those people get a key of their own. So they don’t have to call the president whenever they need the building to be opened up. Because of the authority given to them by the president, they have their own access.

In the same way, because of what Jesus has done for His disciples, they all get direct access. And it’s an access in Jesus’ name. We belong to Him. We’ve been united to Him So the Father will not turn us away.

In other words, Jesus is telling His disciples, “Because of what’s about to happen, I am going to give you the same access to the Father that I have. You will go to the Father in My name.”

This is what makes the idea of praying to anyone other than God contradictory to the gospel. We don’t need to talk to angels. We don’t need to talk to Mary. We don’t need to talk to some saint. We don’t need to find a priest. Because in the name of Jesus Christ, by virtue of His death and Resurrection on our behalf, the Father hears us. The Father receives us.

Jesus Christ is our only Mediator. He is our Great High Priest.

When Jesus died, the veil in the Temple was torn. There is no dividing line between God and those who embrace Jesus. The dividing wall between God and us is our sin. But Jesus took our sins upon His body and paid the price to ransom us.

He has reconciled us to the Father, and by His grace through our faith, we have become children of God. And God loves His children.

That which brought the disciples great suffering, is the very thing that brought the disciples nearn to God.

Once Jesus leaves, He will send His Holy Spirit. And then the disciples will have the Son interceding in heaven and the Spirit interceding from within. They both pray for us. We don’t need any dead saint praying for us.

When we go to the Father in Jesus’ name, with the desire to see Christ glorified, to see our lives bear fruit, Jesus says, “Whatever you ask, He will give it to you… Ask and you will receive. that your joy may be full.”

Isn’t it a joy to have your prayers answered? Of course it is! And if you’re praying in accordance with the will of God, for the glory of Christ, the joy isn’t because you got some selfish thing you asked for. The joy comes from knowing that your Father loves you and hears you. And seeing how He has delivered you.

Suffering brings you closer to God. That’s a principle that we know to be true eternally with Christ on the cross. And it’s a principle we know to be true experientially. Because when we suffer in this life, it draws us to God in dependence. It brings us close to Him.

In the Bible, we have the example of Job, who went through a horrendous ordeal with his family and his livelihood. But at the end of it all, he says: “Now I see God. Now I have a relationship with Him that I didn’t have before this all happened."

And one day, your prayers for relief—and your prayers for Christ to be glorified, and your prayers for there to be some fruit—will be answered. And when God answers your prayers, you will have great joy.

Before we close in prayer, I just want to emphasize that the lessons we learned today are all about the sorrow of a Christian. These are unique promises to those who have surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. If you have questions about that, or if you want to talk to someone more about what that means, find someone to talk to today.

I’ll be up here after the service. The music team is up here as well. Or you can talk to the person who invited you. We would love to have that conversation with you.