Written by Pastor John Eich
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Alma, MI
16“In a little while you are not going to see me anymore, and again in a little while you will see me, because I am going away to the Father.”
17Therefore some of his disciples asked one another, “What does he mean when he tells us, ‘In a little while you are not going to see me, and again in a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going away to the Father’?” 18So they kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don't understand what he's saying.”
19Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you trying to determine with one another what I meant by saying, ‘In a little while you are not going to see me, and again in a little while you will see me’? 20Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. 21A woman giving birth has pain, because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, because of her joy that a person has been born into the world.
22“So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. 23In that day you will not ask me anything. Amen, Amen, I tell you: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.
Typically, we want things to last. You don’t want the cell phone you paid a thousand dollars for to last for a few months, right? You want to get several years of use out of it at least. You buy a car for tens of thousands of dollars with the intention that you’ll be able to use it for many years. And if you’re able to buy a home, you spend a much larger amount of money hoping that it might last you a life-time. We want our education or training to last beyond the exam.
Jesus this morning focuses on something that endures much better than a well-made car or a good education. He zeroes us in on the joy we have in his resurrection.
It’s been six weeks since we celebrated the biggest festival in the Christian church year and the most important event in human history: Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Do you remember that day? The breakfast, the fellowship, the music…the fact that this building was packed with over 135 people? But where are all those people now? Have you ever wondered why churches that are packed on Easter are not only six weeks later? What changed? Did Jesus go back into the grave? Why is the joy of Easter lost so quickly? Actually, it’s not a mystery at all. Jesus explained it pretty clearly in the parable of the Sower. With some, the Gospel simply bounces off their hard hearts and then the devil steals it away from them. Some joyfully receive the Word but when trouble and persecution come, they fall away. For others the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out their faith (Matthew 13:1-23). For various reasons, many are prevented from understanding the kind of joy Easter brings. But they’re not the target audience for this sermon. You are. Do you understand the kind of joy Easter brings?
Clearly, on Maundy Thursday in that upper room, the disciples did not understand. You can’t blame them. Put yourself in their shoes: they’re celebrating the Passover meal when Jesus tells them a riddle “in a little while you are not going to see me anymore, and again in a little while you will see me, because I am going away to the Father.” If Jesus intended these words to be cryptic, he succeeded. The disciples discussed among themselves whether anyone understood what this meant; finally concluding: “we don’t understand what he’s saying.” Given the benefit of 2000 years of hindsight, we can be pretty confident in identifying the two “little whiles” Jesus is referring to. 1) The first “little while” is the time between when he spoke these words on Maundy Thursday and his death and burial on Good Friday when they would not see him. 2) The second “little while” refers to the time – the three days – between his burial and resurrection, after which they would see him alive again. To disciples who would soon be overwhelmed with sorrow, Jesus identifies the “riddle” of Easter joy: that it is joy delayed; it will only be theirs in a “little while.”
Just as interesting as this riddle is where this joy would come from: “amen, amen, I tell you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.” So Jesus explains one riddle with another? Jesus promises that his disciples will mourn while the world rejoices – but then, somehow, their sorrow will turn to joy? How is that even possible? Jesus uses the familiar illustration of a woman in labor. I wouldn’t dare try to describe the pain of childbirth to those of you who have experienced it first-hand. But I have been there to witness my wife experience the pain of child-birth, only to watch that pain (in a sense) melt away the moment she heard our children’s first cry. That’s what Jesus is describing here. That’s the kind of joy Easter brings; a delayed joy, one preceded by pain and sorrow. Jesus puts it this way: so you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
What exactly is Jesus talking about here?
Christians hurt sometimes. We weep because of loss. We mourn over sadness. We grieve over guilt from sin. The disciples would mourn as they saw Jesus crucified. They would suffer as they proclaimed the Gospel. So we too grieve as we suffer from the fallenness of our own natures, and the brokenness of this world. We suffer when the unbelieving world persecutes us for proclaiming the truth. So the question is not “will we suffer.” The real question is what do with it? Jesus had the answer for his disciples.
The disciples had been on an incredible journey. They had experienced both terrible heartache and profound joy. On Good Friday, they were feeling despair and grief. Their close friend and leader had been put to death by Roman soldiers. Their grief was mixed with fear. The disciples didn’t know if the Jewish leaders would be coming for them next. They were probably wondering what purpose, if any, remained for them. They had thought that Jesus was the Messiah. Now they wondered how that could be true, since he had been put to death. Perhaps they doubted God’s plan of salvation.
Then on Easter Sunday, they were pulled out of the pit of grief and fear with amazing news. Jesus was alive! He had appeared to the women at the tomb. Peter and John had seen the empty tomb. The disciples on the road to Emmaus confirmed the stories—they had broken bread with him! Then he had appeared to most of them in the upper room, telling them not to be afraid. If ever they had doubted God’s plan, those doubts disappeared as Jesus stood right in front of them.
Because of that sure hope won for us on Easter, we can confidently trust our God through all of life’s challenges.
While our experiences today are not exactly the same as the disciples, we certainly have experiences that could lead us to doubt God’s love and blessings. Do you understand why the Lord allows you to suffer and be sorrowful for a “little while” here in this world? Why he lets you struggle to pay your bills and fill your gas tank; why he allows the deviancy of homosexuality and transgenderism and the tragedy of abortion to not only be legal, but celebrated in our society; why, sometimes, pregnancies don’t end with the joy of a child but the tears of a miscarriage; why so many people you know and love have absolutely no interest in trusting Jesus as their Savior from sin; why instead of granting healing to your body and mind he allows them to break down in painful and frustrating ways; why you’ve had to stand there, tears streaming down your cheeks, as the body of someone you love is lowered into the ground? Do you understand those things?
The real mystery is not why we have pain and sorrow – that’s obvious. No, the real mystery is why sinners like us should have any reason to rejoice.
Nobody knows what’s coming “in a little while,” but Jesus does. So when he says it, this is so much more than a pat on the back and a “hang in there, pal.” Jesus is all knowing. Jesus is eternal. He knows precisely how long “a little while is” for the hardships you face just as he did for those disciples. Jesus knew that his disciples would weep and mourn and grieve, but then three days after his death, they would see him again and rejoice. Jesus knows what troubles you. He sees your burdens and he counts your tears and into your ear he whispers, “only a little while.” Not to appease you with an empty thought about an uncertain future, but to remind you of the quintessential Easter truth: that he lives. He lives to fulfill his every promise just for you. He lives to bring you all the good gifts of Easter – peace, forgiveness, hope, life, and a lasting, deep joy.
Jesus said it, no one will take away your joy. Because our joy isn’t found in our circumstances, which constantly change, but in our Savior, the One who is the same yesterday and today and forever. Jesus died to pay for our sins of seeking joy in all the wrong places. But he didn’t stay dead. He came back to life, proving that your sins are forgiven, your eternity is guaranteed, and he is the only one in the universe with the perspective and the ability to say something like, “in a little while…your grief will turn to joy…and no one will take away your joy.” Jesus lives to bring you all the gifts of Easter – right now and lasting into eternity.
But sometimes, we just want to skip to the end! As though once the “bad thing” is behind us, then we’ll be happy? Look closely at what Jesus says and what he doesn’t say. Jesus does not say, your grief will be replaced with joy, or your grief will coexist with joy. He says, “Your grief will turn to joy.” This is what Easter and the Easter Season are all about. The resurrection of Jesus takes what seems like a hopeless situation and turns it into joy. Easter means that sin, which separated you from a holy God, has been removed from you, ground into dust under His feet. Easter means that the struggles you now experience are the roads to deeper fellowship with God. The challenges you experience are the exercises to strengthen your faith and trust in Jesus. Easter means that the last and greatest enemy, death itself, is nothing but a doorway to eternal life with Jesus. God is making those unhappy times bright and shiny. He starts here and now by keeping his promises, even through times of weeping, mourning, and grieving.
How do you feel on Easter Sunday? In my memories of Easter Sundays past, there is a common thread of joy. There is a special feeling on Easter Sunday. The church is full of bright colors and smiling faces; laughter and fellowship and the smell of Easter lilies fill every corner. And, best of all, God’s people
loudly sing their Easter praises.
I don’t have a special guidebook on how to make every day like Easter Sunday or an easy way to summon those special joyful feelings when we must face trials. And yet, we have Jesus.
Your grief will turn to joy. Jesus made his disciples a big promise here. It took them a little while to realize it. Because of Easter, Jesus makes you that same big promise. Your grief will turn to joy. Think about that for a little while and rejoice in that forever. He’s telling the truth:
Easter brings a deep and lasting joy.