Gospel of John [16:16-24]. Faith and hope make the future a reality. Rom 8:24-39; Isa 55:8-13.

Title: Gospel of John [16:16-24]. Faith and hope make the future a reality. ROM 8:24-39; ISA 55:8-13.

 

With that faith they didn’t have to wait for the time of actually seeing Him to occur to rejoice in its reality.

 

JOH 16:16 "A little while, and you will no longer behold Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me."

 

JOH 16:17 Some of His disciples therefore said to one another, "What is this thing He is telling us, 'A little while, and you will not behold Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?" 

 

JOH 16:18 And so they were saying, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is talking about."

 

JOH 16:19 Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, "Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, 'A little while, and you will not behold Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'?

 

They didn’t have to wait until heaven to have joy; they just simply needed to know the truth of His victory and their seeing Him again in heaven and have faith in it so as to make it a reality.

 

Of course, seeing the resurrected Lord would help greatly with faith in His victory and their certain eternity with Him in heaven.

 

JOH 20:20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

 

At His ascension He would leave them and so their joy could only continue if they believed that they would see Him again and that it was a certain future.

 

Notice how Paul, in Rom 8, brings the reality of our transformation to heaven, face to face with Christ, to the reality and experience of our lives in time through faith in its certain future (hope).

 

ROM 8:24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?

 

ROM 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

 

ROM 8:26 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

 

ROM 8:27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

 

ROM 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

ROM 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;

 

ROM 8:30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

 

ROM 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

 

ROM 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

 

ROM 8:33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;

 

ROM 8:34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

 

ROM 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 

ROM 8:36 Just as it is written,

"For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long;

We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

 

ROM 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

 

ROM 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

 

ROM 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

The disciples did not live to see the return of Christ, but they did not doubt that they would see Him again nor that He would return in glory. This gave them joy.

 

1JO 3:2

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.

 

1PE 1:8

and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory

 

They didn’t have to wait until heaven to have joy; they just simply needed to know the truth of His victory and their seeing Him again in heaven and have faith in it so as to make it a reality.

 

With that faith they didn’t have to wait for the time of actually seeing Him to occur to rejoice in its reality.

 

JOH 16:16 "A little while, and you will no longer behold Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me."

 

JOH 16:17 Some of His disciples therefore said to one another, "What is this thing He is telling us, 'A little while, and you will not behold Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?" 

 

JOH 16:18 And so they were saying, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is talking about."

 

JOH 16:19 Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, "Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, 'A little while, and you will not behold Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'?

 

And yet He says that seeing Him will be in a little while. God’s timing is not man’s timing. To Him, 2000 years or more is a little while.

 

HEB 10:36-37

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

For yet in a very little while,

He who is coming will come, and will not delay.

 

So, as they often did, whether arguing about who was greatest or what the Lord was actually meaning they deliberated amongst themselves rather than asking Jesus directly.

 

It is so often we deliberate amongst ourselves rather than going to God with our questions. Is it because we didn’t receive answers before? Or was that we did receive answers but in our immaturity and deafness we didn’t recognize the answer? They have already asked Jesus questions about what He said and He gave them answers, answers that they did not quite understand. So it is here that rather than asking Him directly they deliberate amongst themselves in secret, and after three years with the Son of God they apparently think that He can’t know what they discussing.

 

The Lord knows our ignorance and our misunderstanding. With men this is sometimes embarrassing, but never with God. He’s already known it and loves you like He loves Christ. He is for us and not against us. With questions about anything we should go to Him first, and since we don’t have the presence of Christ among us now so that we may ask Him, we have prayer, which the Son of God mediates at the right hand of God, so in essence He has never left us, and so we should go right to the Father in quiet, intimate, and reverent prayer to find the answers to our questions. He will answer them, as He has promised, and He will use circumstances, people, the pulpit, and anything and everything - all of which is at His disposal.

 

JOH 16:20 "Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep [loud weeping] and lament [weep in mourning], but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy.

 

The object of such grief, the cross, would become a source of unspeakable joy.

 

After the gospels we never read of any of the disciples reflecting on the cross with any sorrow whatsoever.

 

The source of the disciple's weeping and mourning:

 

1. It was the loss of His personal presence. They felt that they would be sheep without a shepherd: orphans bereft of their best friend and helper.

 

What would you think if your best earthly friend was hurried away from you by a shameful death?

 

2. The world would be rejoicing because their Lord was gone. How bitter is the course laugh of an adversary that exults over your misery.

 

When already miserable it is grating like fingernails on a chalkboard to have your adversary laugh and celebrate your loss. Your tears seem to nourish these evil people. The Pharisees, Saducees, and scribes rejoiced and the KOD had no less rejoicing until they had seen Him risen, then their rejoicing was turned to anger and bitterness.

 

3. His death was for a time the disappointment of all their hopes. They at first had fondly looked for a temporal kingdom.

 

How can they be happy who have seen an end of their fairest life-dream? This is such an important principle to make a part of our very core. God's purpose seldom progresses the way that we envisioned it would. We may believe in the victory of life but the outworking of that deliverance usually does not proceed the way that we imagined it would and then disappointment envelopes the soul.

 

ISA 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord.

 

ISA 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

 

ISA 55:10 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

 

ISA 55:11 So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

 

ISA 55:12 "For you will go out with joy, And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

 

ISA 55:13 "Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up; And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up; And it will be a memorial to the Lord, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."