Our Sorrow Will Turn to Joy!

John 16:16-24

16 "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."

17 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'?" 18 They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is saying."

19 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'? 20 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. 21 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. 22 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.

23 "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. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Deep sorrow is turned to great joy in seeing Jesus suffer and die for our sakes with the certainty the knowledge of His imminent return after first going to His Father.  This is what the disciples of the Christ Jesus were told by Him as an assurance of joy and hope which we now also enjoy.  They would see Him again because He went to the Father and not in spite of Him disappearing to Him while leaving them.  But remember that He did not leave them alone, but would send God’s Spirit to inhabit their bodily temples (1 Corinthians 6:19) that they and all who follow Him since will have God’s very presence to lead and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).  The disciples did not yet have His Spirit of understanding in them and relied on the Lord Jesus outside of them to reveal God’s will and word by speaking to them out loud.  We now have that inner voice guiding us (Isaiah 30:21) and do not have to wrestle with asking, “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me” and not finding the answer.  We now know that the Son of God came to suffer and die and rise from death to life to pave the way for our own resurrection of spirit now in our rebirth and into eternity with incorruptible bodies (1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Peter 1:4)!  Jesus then explained only that their sorrow would be followed by great exhuberant joy as the world celebrated His death and they His resurrection out of that empty tomb.  Such joy would overwhelm their sorrow with hope that cannot disappoint (Romans 5:5) just as woman giving birth quickly forgets the agony of childbirth upon holding her newborn baby in her arms full of life and a future of hope that would grow before her.  Such joy nobody can take from we who are born again to this living hope with joy made completely full in certainty and with the internal proof of His presence sealing (2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13-14) us as His own until that Day.  This is our hope of joy out of sorrow as we await the return of our Lord, our great God and Savior (Titus 2:13), Jesus Christ!