When Jesus told his disciples in John 16:20, “your grief will turn to joy,” it’s an amazing promise and it illustrates one of the wonders of God’s creation, that, yes, there’s bound to be suffering and grief in this life of ours – and Jesus didn’t shy away from saying so either – but just as inevitable is the cause of the suffering becoming the cause of joy.
Jesus illustrates this by “a woman giving birth” (21), which inevitably involves “pain and anguish,” Jesus’ own words. And what is the cause of all that discomfort and worry? The baby. But the suffering only lasts until out pops junior, and unless there are complications all that discomfort and anguish melt into irreplaceable joy. And what is the cause of that joy? Again, it’s the baby. So what caused the suffering for the mother is also what causes her joy.
“And so with you,” Jesus continues in verse 22, “Now is your time of grief.” And the cause of it? Him. By leaving them he would cause them pain and anguish too; it was the last thing they wanted him to do – “but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” And the cause of their irreplaceable joy? Him again, when he came back to them. So Jesus being the cause of their suffering would also become the cause of their joy.
And that’s what Jesus wanted his disciples concentrating on, because he knew “a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered each to his own home, and you will leave me all alone” (32). All their love for Jesus, and their belief in him being sent by God (27), and their confidence in him “knowing all things” (30) – all of it would fly out the window when he was taken from them.
And he wouldn’t be around anymore to answer their questions either (23). So now what? How could that be a cause of joy? Jesus’ answer, same verse: “my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name,” and in the Father’s answer “your joy will be complete” (24). So in Jesus causing them suffering by leaving them it would also become a cause for joy as they experienced the Father himself now answering their requests, just as he had for Jesus.
So they were about to embark on a whole new relationship with the Father, which they’d seen Jesus have but not experienced themselves yet. It was time, then, for some “Plain talk about the Father”….(next blog)
