The Peace of Christ (John 16:16-33)

John chapter 16, verses 16 through 33.

John 16:16–33

If you're able, would you please stand for the reading of God's word?

Starting verse 16.

In a little while you will no longer see me.

Again, in a little while you will see me.

Then some of his disciples said to one another, What is this he's telling us?

In a little while you will not see me.

Again, a little while you will see me.

And because I am going to the Father.

They said, What is this that he's saying?

In a little while?

We don't know what he's talking about.

Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, Are you asking one another about what I said?

In a little while you will not see me.

Again, in a little while you will see me.

Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice.

You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come.

But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world.

So you also have sorrow now, but I will see you again.

Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.

In that day you will not ask me anything.

Truly I tell you, anything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.

Until now you have asked for nothing in my name.

Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech.

A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.

On that day you will ask in my name, and I am not telling you that I will ask the Father on your behalf, for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

I came from the Father and have come into the world.

Again I am leaving the world and going to the Father.

His disciples said, Look, now you're speaking plainly and not using any figurative language.

Now we know that you know everything, and don't need anyone to question you.

By this we believe that you came from God.

Jesus responded to them, Do you now believe?

Indeed, an hour is coming and has come when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone.

Yet I'm not alone, because the Father is with me.

I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.

You will have suffering in this world.

Be courageous.

I have conquered the world.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

Lord, we thank you for this exact passage here this morning that you've given us.

God, I pray that you would open our eyes and our ears, our hearts, Lord, every part of our being to the things that you want to do here this morning.

Lord, that you would carve us, shape us, mold us with your word here this morning.

Prune us, cleanse us, we pray, with it.

And that you would accomplish your perfect will uh in us as a church body, but in us individually as well.

So would you not allow us to come in here and leave unchanged, Lord, but that we would have the humility to come before you and say, Here we are, Lord, do what you desire in our hearts this morning, we pray.

In Jesus' name, amen.

You may be seated.

So as we continue through this section of John, where Jesus has been preparing his disciples over and over and over for what's to come, you know, we see these repeated themes through this section.

We see the themes of oneness in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and Jesus desiring that same oneness with his disciples.

You know, we see the theme of desiring what God desires for his disciples, to desire what God desires, to pray for those things, and then to do those things that God desires.

You know, we see a theme of abiding in Christ for everything, realizing that we can do nothing on our own.

We see the theme of walking by the Spirit and allowing him to do all of those things through us.

You know, and today we're gonna see all of those themes again.

But today there's an added layer of Jesus' resurrection that he's letting his friends in on.

So we're gonna focus on that a little bit.

So take a look at verse 16 with me and we're gonna jump right in.

In a little while you will no longer see me.

Again, in a little while you will see me.

So he's already told them that he's going away, but now he's adding that layer I was just talking about, and preparing them, his disciples for the resurrection.

You know, his disciples are gonna be in absolute turmoil for three days, the three days between his death and resurrection.

He knows the sorrow and the confusion and the doubt and the guilt that they're gonna be going through here very shortly, but he's trying to encourage them.

He's telling them, you're gonna be in this turmoil for three days, but you will see me again.

And the the two words that we see in verse 16 for the word see, they're different words in the Greek.

So I want to throw those up on the screen so we can look at the difference in these words.

The first one that we see, the word see, it means to be a spectator, to look at, behold, to view attentively, take a view of survey.

This is the word where we get the word theater from in English.

So think really of an audience watching.

Think of spectators when we see this first word see.

The second word for see here, it says to look at, behold, to allow oneself to be seen, to appear.

You know, this word has more to do with perceiving than it does with being at a theater.

And it's used in that way in the Greek metaphorically of perceiving something on a deeper level.

So less of a spectator at a theater, but more perceiving something below surface level.

So look at verse 16 again with that knowledge of those two words.

So in a little while, so only hours from his arrest at this point, you will no longer see me.

So you'll no longer gaze upon me as a spectator.

Again, in a little while, three days later, you will see me.

You will look and you will perceive me on a deeper level with greater understanding.

So even when Jesus ascends, they're gonna have a greater perception of Jesus than when he was right in front of them and they were actually gazing upon him.

You know, as the Holy Spirit leads them into all truth, that's gonna be a part of that.

They're gonna be able to perceive Jesus on a deeper level.

But the disciples still have questions here because they're still really just spectators at this point.

Look at verse 17.

Then some of his disciples said to one another, What is this he's telling us?

In a little while you will not see me, again a little while you will see me, and because I am going to the Father, still not getting it.

Verse 18.

They said, What is this he's saying in a little while?

We don't know what he's talking about.

So let's put ourselves in the disciples' shoes here again for a second.

You know, they've been really steeped in this idea of the Messiah being this politically earthly uh king that their whole lives.

That's just what they've been understanding their whole lives.

And Jesus is destroying that idea.

He has been, and he's continuing to destroy that idea like he's been destroying a lot of their other beliefs as well.

You know, imagine that.

Well, first let me ask you a question.

What color is my shirt?

How did how do you guys all know that?

Like you all know that it's blue.

Like, how do you know that?

You can answer, it's okay.

You can see it, but I mean, who taught you that?

Like, how do you know it's blue?

Like, really?

Who taught you that?

What if I stood up here and I said my shirt's orange?

Other than you thinking I'm crazy.

That wouldn't make sense because you all know that this is blue.

But say I'm sitting here and I'm like, no, you guys, you've been wrong your whole life.

Your kindergarten teacher was lying to you.

My shirt is not blue.

And then Jesus walks in and he stands right next to me this morning.

He's like, No, you guys, really, his shirt is orange.

Like you've just been taught incorrectly your whole life.

So we're just gonna sit here this morning and I'm gonna reteach you the colors the way that they actually are.

You know, that would just be like, oh, what on earth?

How was everybody scheming my whole life to teach me the colors incorrectly?

That's kind of what Jesus is doing to his disciples, but religiously, you know, talking spiritually about their understanding of the Messiah and what the Messiah would be doing.

But I love Jesus' compassion here.

He's not reprimanding them for not understanding the things that he's saying.

He's still trying to help.

Look at verse 19.

Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, Are you asking one another about what I said?

In a little while you will not see me again.

Again, in a little while you will see me.

Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice.

You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

If you highlight and you underline, highlight and underline that word turn right there at the end of verse 20, will turn to joy, and I'll explain that in just a second.

The disciples want to understand, and I love Jesus' heart here.

There was not condemnation for them being dense here.

He just patiently keeps going and explaining these things to his disciples.

But remember what he told them in our passage last week.

He said in verse 12, I still have many things to tell you, but you can't bear them now.

He's telling them everything that they can handle to this point, and the Holy Spirit will then lead them into all truth a little bit later.

Now, between his arrest and his resurrection, they're going to be, uh they as a collective are going to be wrecked.

They're going to be scattered like sheep.

Jesus told them that in Matthew 26.

He said, Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will scatter.

So he wants to let them know that they will weep and mourn and the world will rejoice at the same time.

But hang in there.

Your sorrow will turn to joy.

He's really just telling them, be comforted with whatever happens in these next three days, be comforted.

Because they're gonna find themselves in a really, really dark place in just a matter of hours at this point.

But their sorrow will turn into the joy of the gospel that they would then live and die for.

You know, if you think of all the examples in the New Testament of these disciples spreading the gospel, and you ask yourself, you know, or just think about try to find one instance in which they seemed sorrowful that Jesus died for their sins.

You know, I can't think of one instance where they were sorrowful that Jesus' blood that was spilled cleanses us of our sin.

It's quite the opposite.

They were celebrating that same concept.

You know, the sorrow they would experience when Jesus died would not be replaced with something joyful, their sorrow would turn to joy.

What made them sorrowful would be what then would bring them the most joy.

The cleansing blood of Jesus that was spilled for them.

Now, be honest, how often have we prayed that Jesus would remove a sorrowful circumstance and then replace it with a more joyful circumstance?

I think we probably all raise our hand there, right?

God wants to turn a sorrowful circumstance into joy.

That's I think what we need to be praying more for than God just replace it.

But God, would you take this sorrowful circumstance?

Would you turn it to joy?

Because all things can work together for good for those that love the Lord.

So Jesus goes on here with an example of what he's talking about, of sorrow turning to joy.

Look at verse 21.

When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come.

But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world.

You see how in this example, the very thing that caused the suffering is now the source of joy to the mother.

Our flesh, our human nature, hates pain and sorrow and suffering, and we tend to avoid that at all costs, don't we?

And I'm not saying that we should look for any of those things.

That's not what I'm saying at all, but God can and will and wants to use those very things for our benefit.

Romans 8 28 says, We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

You know, he often chooses to teach us through the pain.

He chooses to teach us through the suffering that we go through in this world.

You know, oftentimes that's how he shapes us to be more like Jesus, it's through those things.

It's a tool in his hand, like pruning shears in the hand of a vine dresser, like we went through in chapter 15.

And he can turn, that word turn is so important, he can turn that pain through pruning and shaping into joy when we will allow him to.

I remember seeing my kids being born and thinking, my wife is never gonna want to have another kid again.

And then she would hold those babies and be like, I want another one.

And I'd be like, you know, it's okay.

I understand if you don't want another one.

She's like, Why wouldn't I?

You know, and I could never fully understand that.

But the disciples are going to experience that when Jesus is raised, when he's resurrected.

Look at verse 22.

Sunday's coming.

So you also have sorrow now, but I will see you again.

Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.

You know, when we see these disciples post-resurrection and post-Pentecost after receiving the Holy Spirit, they were ministering from the joy that they had with Jesus, being in Jesus.

Even in their persecution, if you remember, they rejoiced.

And I want to show an example here of Acts 5, 40 through 41.

It says, After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, think of the pain, they ordered them to not speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the name of Jesus.

And then James chapter one, verses two through four says, Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Jesus uses trials and suffering and pain to mature us and to make us more like Him.

His disciples found joy, as we just read, in suffering because of Jesus, and because they knew this concept that we're talking about here.

Therefore, their joy could not be removed.

Even in death.

And some of them are gonna die brutally.

Because their joy wasn't based on their circumstance, it wasn't based on how they were feeling.

Their joy was found in Jesus, and Jesus never changes.

So their joy doesn't ever have to change either.

You know, these disciples they spoke of Jesus' death in celebration of what Jesus did for them.

That's why when we take communion first Sunday of the month, we try to remind ourselves often that we take it seriously, we do it in a sober manner, but it's a meal of celebration also.

The sorrow of Jesus' death should lead to joy and celebration of what that means for each and every one of us.

Which I think leads us right to verse 23.

It says, In that day, so his resurrection, you will not ask me anything.

You know, so far, they've been full of questions the last couple of chapters, haven't they?

And wondering what happens to them specifically, kind of selfishly, when Jesus goes away.

But when they see him resurrected, they're gonna be so full of joy that these things that are concerning them now, they're not gonna really matter to them anymore in comparison to the joy that they're gonna have in seeing Jesus.

For once, Peter's gonna be speechless.

You know, I want to point out real quick too that this word ask that we see in the beginning of verse 23, it's an inquisitive asking.

It's asking for more information.

It's a different word in the Greek than the second half of verse 23 here, which means to make a request.

So look at the second half of verse 23.

Truly I tell you, anything you ask, anything you make a request for from the Father in my name, he will give you.

Until now you have asked for nothing in my name.

Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

They weren't used to asking God the Father for anything in the name of Jesus to this point.

But he would now be the mediator between God and man.

Again, as we talked a lot about last week, kind of think of it in a legal sense.

You know, without Jesus as our meteor, uh Meteor, media, that's a whole different religion, isn't it?

Oh my gosh.

Without Jesus as our mediator, it's like saying to God, like, I'm gonna represent myself in the courtroom that decides my eternity.

With Jesus, he's not only representing our case, he is our case.

God looks at us and sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ when we're following Jesus, when our faith is placed in Jesus.

When we do that, we are justified by and through Jesus.

And I know it's cheesy, but it's a great way to remind ourselves justified, just as if I'd never sinned.

That's what we get in Jesus Christ.

And they don't realize all of this yet, but this is another truth that the Holy Spirit's gonna guide them into after his resurrection.

And it's going to be in Jesus' name that all this is gonna take place because he is our high priest.

And they will now, as we just saying, be able to boldly approach the Father themselves in Jesus' name for the first time.

Hebrews 4:16 tells us a little bit about this.

Hebrews 4:16

It says, Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

But it all starts with Jesus, his forgiveness, his cleansing blood that allows the boldness or allows us to have the boldness to ask the Father for anything in the first place.

He goes on in verse 25.

I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech.

The time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.

So he just said, In a little while you will.

No longer see me, again in a little while you will see me.

Then he just gave us the example of the mom with the child giving birth and the sorrow being turned to joy in verse 21.

So he's been speaking to them in parables.

He's been speaking to them in parables for three years, really.

But they can't handle everything right now.

They're already brimming to the rim with sorrow.

You know, so for now, it's figures of speech.

But after the resurrection and after Pentecost, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, they're gonna start laying things down more plainly to these disciples.

Look at verse 26 with me.

On that day, you will ask in my name, and I'm not telling you that I will ask the Father on your behalf.

Think direct access.

For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

Jesus has brought his followers to the Father because the Father loves us just as much as Jesus.

I'm gonna say that again.

Jesus brought his followers to the Father because the Father loves us just as much as Jesus does.

For we just saying this too.

For God so loved the world, he gave his only son.

Think about it this way.

Jesus doesn't have to beg an indifferent father to listen to his friends.

He's not mediating in between God, like trying to break up a fight.

You know, like, please don't be angry with them, dad.

Please don't hate them, dad.

That's not what we're talking about there.

He says right here, for the father himself loves you.

A lot of Greek today.

But in the Greek, this is phileo.

This is brotherly love.

It means to treat affectionately or kindly, to welcome, to befriend.

God the Father loves us like Jesus loves us as friends.

So please stop and let that blow your mind for a second.

God the Father loves us like Jesus loves us, and that's as friends.

He's had that love for us before the foundations of the world.

For God so loved the world that he sent Jesus.

Jesus didn't die so God would love us.

He died to show how much God loves us.

Think about it.

He didn't die so that God would love us.

It wasn't like this angry dad that was furious.

He died to show how much God does love us.

And God is pleased to accept us because of the righteousness of Jesus that we can now call our own by coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

And through the name of Jesus, his disciples will now have direct access to God themselves as sons and daughters, just like we do as his modern-day disciples as well.

That's how much God loves us.

Think about it this way: God likes you.

Do you believe that?

Honestly, think about it for a second.

Do you believe that God likes you?

This is so important that we believe this.

You know, I think it's sometimes easier to believe that God has this agape love, like this godly, unconditional love for us, than it is to believe that he has phaleo love for us.

That he actually likes us.

You know, if you think God doesn't like you, you're believing a lie.

God likes you.

We're kind of giggling right now, aren't we?

Like, it's kind of weird to think about that God actually likes us.

And he values us so much that he sent his only son to die for you.

To die for me.

Jesus goes on.

Look at verse 28.

I came from, and right here, this means at every time always.

I came from the Father at every time always, and have come into the world, incarnation.

Again, I am leaving the world, death, and going to the Father, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

So basically it's like his itinerary.

We're getting the travel plans of Jesus here.

And it's really a summation of so much of what he's already told them.

Look at verse 29.

His disciples said, Look now, you're speaking plainly and not using any figurative language.

Now we know that you know everything and don't need anyone to question you.

By this we believe that you came from God.

No, I think this is the moment for the disciples of, oh Jesus, you know, we've been so confused and so dense, but we get it now.

Oh, you know, what were we thinking?

Okay, we're all good now, Jesus.

Good, you know, good to go.

Which leads to verse 31.

Jesus responded to them, Do you now believe?

Indeed, an hour is coming and has come when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone.

Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

They think they've got it.

They think they understand it.

But Jesus is really saying, You guys, you're about to abandon me and scatter like sheep and leave me all alone in my darkest hour to go through the tortures that are awaiting me in just a matter of minutes at this point, probably.

You know, they may believe in Jesus, but they're still not giving it yet.

Their faith is going to be shaken really quick.

And we need to learn, I think, from the confidence of what Jesus says right here at the end of verse 32.

Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.

He will never leave us or forsake us.

We are never alone when we're in Christ Jesus.

Now look at how Jesus sums up these last four chapters in verse 33.

He says, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.

In all of this, and all of the prep and all of the warnings and the teachings, he never wanted his disciples to lose peace.

His peace.

In chapter 14, he said, Peace I leave with you, my peace, my peace I give to you.

And I think about the peace that Jesus is demonstrating here.

With everything that's on the horizon, he knows it's coming.

Jesus never lost his peace.

And it's his peace that he offers us.

So at this point, place yourself in Jesus' shoes.

Do you think you would have peace knowing that that evening and the next day you would be tortured and that you would die on a cross?

Would you have peace today if you knew that was happening tomorrow?

I wouldn't.

I'm gonna be honest with you.

But Jesus has peace throughout this whole thing and he offers that same exact peace to us.

So how are we doing with that?

Having peace in Jesus Christ.

How are we as a church, how are we as individuals doing with that?

Are we peaceful people in that regard?

Do we have that internal peace of Jesus Christ that he so freely offers us?

You know, I think to some extent, every single person struggles with not having peace.

But somehow, I feel like we don't treat that as sin.

That we don't treat fear and worry as sin in our culture, in our Christian culture for some reason.

Jesus tells us to not fear.

Those are part of his loving commands that he has given to his disciples.

You know, but I feel like in our culture we view those sins as something that are more acceptable and somehow different than things like lust and addiction and anger and things like that.

Fear and worry are sin.

And Jesus wants to save us from and make us more like him in those areas just as much as the other sins that I just listed.

Because fear and worry are joy stealers, they're peace stealers.

They so quickly can take our focus off of God and others and place the focus on self.

Satan loves to work through fear and worry just as much as he loves to work through addiction, lust, and anger.

You know, it's all his plan to try and distance us from God, to take our focus from him, to take our focus from loving one another and serving each other as Jesus commanded.

You know, fear and worry are self-focuses.

And I'm preaching to myself here, not just to you guys.

I'm just as guilty of this.

But it's not God's desire for his children to live in fear and worry and to lose their joy and to lose their peace.

You know, I've never seen a parent say, you know, I just hope that my kids can grow up to know the depths of fear and worry.

For all of the same reasons, that would be really weird for a parent to say that.

It's the same reasons that God doesn't want his kids to be steeped in fear and worry and to lose their joy and their peace all the time.

So Jesus offers peace.

He doesn't demand it, he doesn't even require it, he offers it to us, his peace.

You know, in Philippians, Paul lays out so clearly how we can battle this sin of fear and worry and losing our joy and losing our peace.

You know, it's great to pray that God would remove that sin from us, that he would help us in that process.

The Holy Spirit will help us in that process.

But there are some things that Paul gives us that require some effort and some intentionality and some choice on our part in experiencing the peace of God.

So I want to read you Philippians 4, 6 through 7.

It says, Don't worry about anything, but in everything.

Here's our part through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Here's the result.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And here is our part to intentionally play in this process as well.

Look at verse 8.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence, and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.

It's so easy, I think it's a part of our human nature, to dwell on the negative, isn't it?

We can have five amazing, wonderful things happen to us all in one day, and one negative.

And what do we tend to remember and dwell on as we go to bed that evening?

The Holy Spirit through Paul says, no.

He says, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence, and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.

Dwelling on the good is part of how we experience the peace of God.

But like I was saying, it takes intentionality, it takes choice on our part to actually do that when we're in the midst of the fear and the worry and the loss of peace and the loss of joy.

And look at how Jesus ends this section.

He says, You will have suffering in this world.

Be courageous.

I have conquered the world.

This is a promise.

Suffering in this world.

Not usually a promise on a coffee mug, as Ben was saying a couple of weeks ago.

Not the kind that we posted in our house and really like to remember.

But you see, when Adam and Eve sinned, this was a result.

It was one of the results of the curse.

As long as we are here, we're going to experience suffering.

But look at what Jesus says next.

He says, be warmed and filled, don't sin anymore, and hopefully I'll see you in eternity.

Good luck, guys.

No, look at what he says.

Be courageous.

I have conquered the world.

He lived through the curse in the world, and he didn't yield to it.

He didn't succumb to it.

Instead, he conquered the world by living perfectly in it, by dying on the cross for it, and resurrecting to prove it.

You know, Jesus told his disciples some really hard things in this section of John.

But I love how he followed each one of those hard things.

He offered them his peace.

He offered them his joy.

He told them to not be filled with sorrow.

And he told them that he has conquered the world.

Then he told them, go out and be courageous.

That's what he wants from his disciples.

That's what he wants from us here today as well.

He wants joyful, peace-filled, courageous followers.

Followers that face trials and hard circumstances just like he did, with joy and peace and courage.

You know, we're going to see his perfect example of this as he heads to the cross as we continue on through John.

And he asks us to follow him in all of those same things that he's going to exemplify as we take up our cross and we follow him daily.

That's our takeaway.

Let's go out into the world as joyful, peace-filled, courageous followers of Jesus in every circumstance.

Will you please pray with me?

Lord, we're talking about hard things this morning.

Things that are not in our nature or not second nature to us, maybe is a better way of saying that.

Lord, we love to dwell on the negative.

We love to seek out comfort in everything that we do.

We love to avoid trials and pain and suffering and sorrow and all of those things.

But Lord, we're going to have those things in this world.

So would you show us how to navigate each and every one of those things just like you did, Jesus?

With peace and with joy and with amazing courage, you face all of those things.

So as we become more like you, may we take on your character in those things as well.

Will you teach us through the power of the Holy Spirit living in and through us to act in those ways, to be joyful, to be filled with your peace, and to be courageous to boldly go out and live out all the things that you're calling us to?

To be courageous to allow the Holy Spirit to live through us.

Lord, so would you lead us?

Would you guide us?

Would you show us how to walk in that way?

And may we be dependent upon you more and more each day to do all of this in and through us as we abide in you and as we realize that we can do nothing on our own.

So Lord, help us in this process of being of becoming one with Jesus.

Show us how to do this well with love in our hearts, with love for you, with love for others, with our focus on you and others.

And help us to do it with great courage, filled with peace, filled with joy, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.