The Community Faces Pain and Joy

April 4, 2010

Background Scripture: John 13:21 – 30; 16:16 – 24; 20:11 – 16
Lesson Passage: John 16:16 – 24; 20:11 – 16

“One of you cannot be trusted. Although I selected each of you and have been teaching you for three years about a new way of living, nevertheless, one of you is going to turn against me. You are going to turn against me and become my enemy. Don’t be sad but I will be leaving you soon. When you look for me you won’t be able to find me. Later on you will be able to find me and it will make you very happy. When I am away, the people of the world who do not follow me will be exceedingly glad but you will be in tears. When I return, then your tears will be turned into happiness. If you need something, you won’t be able to ask me for it but you can ask it of my Father and, because of our relationship, He will accommodate you. You have not had to do this before but that will be the only way you will be able to receive later. When you learn to ask and receive in this new way, you will be happy about it.”

What a shocking conversation this must have been. Now that the disciples were finally starting to understand Jesus better and were getting comfortable in their roles as his assistants, Jesus lays this truly depressing conversation on them. “Why can’t we just continue doing like we have been doing for these pass three years? Why are you now talking like this? Can’t we just avoid trouble and continue to go about doing good things for people? If you are going to leave and go somewhere else, then tell us where you are going and let us know how to get there. You keep talking about the Father so let us see the Father and that will be sufficient to satisfy us.” No matter how confused the disciples might have been it was not going to stop Jesus from doing what he was telling them about. What they did not understand was that this was not Jesus’ personal plan but it was his mission and reason for being born into the world. He was going to have to suffer shameful public torture and die. It was not Jesus’ desire to die. Jesus’ desire was to do the will of his Father and to make him happy. In fact, Jesus prayed and asked for another way to make his Father happy without going through this but this was the only way. Not only would Jesus’ suffering and death be painful for Jesus but it was going to cause great emotional pain for his followers as well. Jesus was informing them to help them brace themselves for it and Jesus was also speaking future facts to them so that after these things were over, they could go forth and declare the truth of this good news. As the disciples listened intensely to the words concerning his going away, they were not paying attention to the words that he was coming again in the midst of their sorrows and they will be made glad by his presence. Jesus was assuring his disciples that there would be joy on the other side of their pain. Just as they would feel despair, they will later experience a joy that would be stronger that anything in this world. The community of faith that followed Jesus would endure a rollercoaster weekend of extreme pain but it would end in unimaginable joy.

Robert C. Hudson
March 23, 2010