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.”
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’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
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’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 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. 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. 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. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (John 16:16-24 NIV)
I once talked with a young woman who was struggling with depression. That’s such a dark, difficult struggle to face. On the outside, she seemed just fine. Popular. Successful. But not inside. She finally got the courage to tell her mom. And her mom said, “Stop complaining. Everybody goes through that. You’ll get over it. Just tough it out.” Good advice? No! That makes me think of the Christian woman who described her struggles with depression to me and said, “Of course, I don’t ever talk about this at church.” She’s right, isn’t she? At church, you’re supposed to be smiling, right? Your life is supposed to be going great, right? But often it’s not.
We need to be able to talk about sorrow and grief at church. First of all, because Jesus did. Often! Like in our lesson: “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.” Could he be any clearer? We need to talk about sorrow and grief at church. Second, because it’s here. If you ever think that the people around you have their lives all together, that’s not true. They are a mess. Every single one of us. We’re a mess! Isn’t that the truth? And being a Christian means you don’t have to hide what you’re struggling with. Church can’t just be a show. It can’t just be fake smiles and “I’m doing fine!” Church is where broken people find a Savior.
Jesus did everything he could to prepare his followers for the sorrow and grief of life. Especially on the night before he died. On Maundy Thursday, Jesus wanted his disciples to be prepared for the greatest sadness the world has ever known. So he told them this, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” Do you know what he was talking about? “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
His disciples didn’t have a clue. It’s amusing to hear them talk about it. 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’? They kept saying, ‘What does he mean by “a little while”? We don’t understand what he is saying.’”
Do you? I hope so. Have you ever heard how hindsight is always 20/20? To us, Jesus’ words make sense. Jesus was talking about the great events that our faith and our lives are based on. In a little while—that very night—Jesus was going to leave. He was going to be arrested and condemned and crucified for the sins of the world—including our sins. In a little while, those disciples weren’t going to see Jesus anymore. But what makes Good Friday “good” is that after another little while, they were going to see Jesus again. In three days, Jesus rose from the dead. He defeated death and sin and the devil. “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” That’s a beautiful summary of everything Jesus did for us!
That’s why he said: “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy…. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” Their grief would turn to joy!
Just like a woman in labor. Now I have to admit, it’s hard as a man to talk about childbirth, because what do I know? But I have watched my children being born, and plenty of women have told me it’s the hardest thing in life to go through. So is it worth it? I don’t think I’ve ever heard any woman say her kids weren’t worth it. Have you? I’ve never heard a woman say, “Yeah, I really could have gone without the last one.” The moment that baby is born, the pain is forgotten. So Jesus says, “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.”
So what’s the point? The sadness, grief, and heartache of this life are real. Try telling any woman who has gone through labor that’s it’s not a big deal. That it really isn’t that bad. It is! Just like the sadness, grief, and heartache of this life are real and hard and painful. Those disciples were going to cry real tears and grieve with real despair in their hearts. But Jesus wanted them to know that their sorrow was going to have an end. In a little while, it would be gone. In fact, it would be forgotten. Their grief would turn to joy. A joy that no one could ever take away.
When? “In a little while.” Did you notice how many times Jesus says that in just these couple verses? 7 times. “In a little while.” As the mother-to-be enters the delivery room, can you picture the nurse taking her hand and saying, “In a little while, it’s all going to be worth it”! Jesus took his disciples’ hands and made them the same promise: “In a little while, your grief will turn to joy. You can trust me. I know it’s going to look dark. But wait a little while. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if that promise were meant for us too? It is! That little riddle, “in a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,” was talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection. But Jesus wasn’t just talking about his death and resurrection. As he taught his disciples on Maundy Thursday evening, Jesus also told them again and again that he was going to Father. He did! What did Jesus do just forty days after he rose from the dead? He ascended into heaven. We’re going to celebrate Ascension Day next Sunday. Suddenly, Jesus was gone again. But with a promise: “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” What’s the promise? We will all see Jesus on Judgment Day.
What the disciples went through in those three days from Good Friday to Easter mirrors what life is like for all Christians on earth. We don’t see Jesus right here with us. It seems like he’s gone. We see all the wrong people winning. It seems like it’s going to be this way forever. It seems like we will never be happy again. It’s just like Jesus promised: “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.” Is that true today? Absolutely! But there’s more: “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” That was true for Jesus’ disciples during Holy Week. That is true for you and me today. “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”
What are you grieving today? You know what sorrow feels like. Maybe it’s some of the sins you’ve committed in your life. They haunt you. That guilt weighs down your soul. Maybe today it’s other people’s sins that keep slapping you in the face. Broken promises. Betrayal. Maybe your grief today is just like the disciples on Good Friday—someone you love has been taken from you, and you ache to see them again. Maybe you have no idea why you’re discouraged. Depression needs no reason at all to plunge us into the depths. What are you grieving today?
Whatever it is, do you know what Jesus never says in the Bible? “You’ve got to tough it out.” Or, “get over it!” Never. Instead, do you know what Jesus says? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus isn’t afraid of your sorrow. Jesus isn’t turned off by your grief or your depression. In fact, he understands it completely. On that same Maundy Thursday evening, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he told his disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). Jesus understands. Jesus knows. Jesus wants to give you comfort in the middle of all the sorrow.
Notice what he doesn’t promise. Jesus doesn’t say he’s going to take your sorrow away immediately. He doesn’t say it’s just a matter of believing more or trying harder. No! What Jesus does promise is that one day—in heaven—your grief will turn to joy. One day, like that mother who’s finished her labor, you’re not going to remember this anymore. No matter what you’re going through today, you are not going to remember this forever. Because the same Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead to give us eternal life is coming back! And when he does, joy will so overtake you that you won’t think about the sorrow of life ever again.
So we say, “When?” And Jesus says, “In a little while.” “In a little while,” your grief will turn to joy. Sometimes, by God’s grace, that happens right here on earth. Like for the mother of a baby. Life can change in a flash—for good! Just wait a little while. Sometimes, that joy doesn’t come for months or years. But then suddenly you look back and you realize God had a plan all along. But sometimes the sorrow doesn’t ever go away. At least, not in this life. Sometimes depression is like this cloud that follows you everywhere you go. But not to heaven. Then you’ll find joy!
That’s why, on his last night, Jesus gave us such beautiful promises. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3). “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). “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” (John 16:33). In a little while, your grief will turn to joy.
In the meantime, you have one more powerful tool from Jesus: Prayer. Our lesson ends with this: “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. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” You don’t have to carry any burden alone. You don’t have to hide any anxiety inside. God the Father—the Maker of the heavens and earth—invites you to bring it all to him. There’s another place in the Bible that says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). Pray your sorrows. Place your burdens on God our Savior.
And trust that the God who died for us and rose from the dead is able to turn any grief into joy. Maybe you’ve been a widow for twenty years. That’s a long time to be alone. Maybe you’ve been fighting cancer for a decade. Endless doctor visits and treatments and pain. Maybe you’ve bounced up and down with depression your whole life, never knowing what the next day will bring. It seems like it’s going on forever. But when you’ve been in heaven for ten thousand years, you will say it was only a little while. When you’ve been with Jesus for ten thousand years, you aren’t going to remember your sadness one bit! Jesus’ joy is waiting for you. When the tears come, remember this: “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” In a little while.
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