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"A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "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 go to the Father'?" They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is saying." Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
"These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father."
His disciples said to Him, "See, now you are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
- John 16:16-33
This past week, we have been reading Jesus' Farewell Discourse to His Apostles. We began on Monday, when we read that Jesus told them, "In My Father's house are many mansions." On Tuesday, we read that He said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." Wednesday, we read His teaching, "I am the vine, you are the branches." In Thursday's reading, He taught, "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." Yesterday, we read Jesus' words: "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."
"A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." My study bible tells us that "the first little while is the period of the arrest, death and burial of Jesus; the second little while is the time He is in the tomb." But again, what we must note is Jesus' reference to the Father. In all ways, in speaking of His identity, Jesus continually references His relationship to the Father.
Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "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 go to the Father'?" They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is saying." The Gospel tells us of the confusion of the disciples. John witnesses to the truth, whether it is flattering or not.
Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy." Again, there is a strong warning here, a kind of caution against the future so that they will not be too devastated and lose hope because of what is coming: "You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice." This is similar to His teaching in yesterday's reading that there will be those who believe they are serving God by persecuting them: "They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service." They are prepared by His warnings for the time to come. Here the sadness is acute and poignant; they will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. And there is the full purpose of His warning: they will be sorrowful, but their sorrow will be turned to joy. These are words we must always remember.
"A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." My study bible tells us that "Jesus uses the powerful image of a woman giving birth to express both the pain and the joy of the birth of His new creation. . . . Joy will come with the revelation of Christ risen from the dead, after the sorrow of the Cross. Jesus does not promise sorrow will be removed. His promise is that no one can remove our joy. In Phil. 3:10 we see this same combination of sorrow and joy -- the sufferings of Christ combined with His Resurrection, giving us entrance into the Kingdom of God."
"And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." My study bible teaches: "They asked nothing in His name because Jesus was not yet glorified." But here, He teaches about asking. A new kind of relationship is being established through what is to come. Let us remember the great treasure of the Spirit, that will lead us to "all truth" (see yesterday's reading), meaning "every" truth. What we ask is implied, through time, to be the spiritual truth of inexhaustible treasure. It is the true discipleship and stewardship with which He leaves us, so that we may "ask the Father in His name." In this, their joy, and ours, is full.
"These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language but I will tell you plainly about the Father." A note reads, "The time is coming when Jesus will speak plainly, not in parables. That time, according to St. John Chrysostom, refers to the post-Resurrection 40 days, as confirmed by Acts 1:3."
"In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father." A note here teaches: "We know that prayer may be made in the name of God the Father, for Jesus Himself prayed 'Our Father' (Matt. 6:9) and 'Father, the hour has come' (17:1). Through Christ, we have direct access to the Father. Here, however, our Lord teaches us we may also pray in the name of God the Son. After Pentecost, we learn: 'the [Holy] Spirit Himself makes intercession for us' (Rom. 8:26) and we are instructed to be 'praying always . . . in the Spirit' (Eph. 6:18). Therefore, . . . we pray continually and with confidence to all three Persons of the Trinity, 'in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.'"
His disciples said to Him, "See, now you are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." My study bible tells us, "Despite persecution and suffering, Christians can maintain the peace and joy of Jesus Christ who has overcome the world of darkness through His saving work."
In today's reading, we once again observe all of Jesus' references to the Father. His identity is inseparable from that of the Father. This isn't only His nominal identity as Son, but it is all about a relationship of the deepest love. And this is a relationship into which we are invited, and included, and in which we are also invited to participate. Jesus notes that we will participate in prayer to the Father (my study bible's note referenced that Jesus' prayer which He gave to the disciples is the "Our Father"). It goes much further than that, they will ask and receive from the Father, so that their joy will be full. This is the fullness of a relationship of love -- but love here is dialogue, communication, true communion. Human beings, the great news is here, are directly in communion with the Father; through prayer we engage into this dialogue. And this is our real joy. Jesus tells us, "I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God." We are entwined (as branches and vine) in a direct relationship of love, even with the Father Himself. This is so that "our joy may be full," in Jesus' words. His final words are the most poignant of all: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." The world will present us with all kinds of obstacles to our faith, to the fullness of our joy. But He has already overcome the world, He has paved the Way, and His truth is there for the asking, so that we too may find His Way through the darkness we encounter. This is the fullness of His joy, and His love, which is the grace given to us, and the peace given in a way the world cannot give. Let us remember His promise, that while we have tribulation, and the pangs of childbirth, there is joy that is our fulfillment of His promise of faith. How do you experience that joy, that fullness, a peace that passes understanding? Let us remember it can't be counted in worldly terms. We can simply witness to what we know, and have "seen and heard" in our own lives. Let no one take away that joy from you.
