John 16:1-24

Summary

In John 16:1–24, Jesus continues speaking to His disciples on the night before the cross. He knows what is coming, and He also knows what His disciples are about to face. He does not sugarcoat it. Hard days are ahead. They will be put out of the familiarity of their synagogues, and some people will even think that by hurting the disciples, they are somehow serving God. Jesus says this situation is not to trouble them more, but to prepare them. Jesus reassures them that when these things happen, they will not fall away.

Then Jesus says something that must have been even harder for them to hear: “It is to your advantage that I go away” (v. 7). 

From the disciples’ point of view, that could not possibly sound right. How could it be better for them when Jesus leaves them? Jesus tells them that His going away will lead to the coming of the Helper, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. He will also guide the disciples into the truth. And in all of this, the Spirit’s work will be to glorify Jesus. That is why it's better for them.

The disciples were still confused. Jesus says, “a little while,” and they did not understand what He meant. He compares it to a woman in labor. The pain is real, but it is not pointless. Joy comes through it. In the same way, the disciples will soon be overwhelmed with grief, but when they see the risen Christ, their sorrow will be turned into joy. And that joy will open the way for a new confidence in prayer, as they come to the Father in Jesus’ name.

Meditation

What I find especially comforting here is that Jesus does not pretend the Christian life will be easy. He loves His disciples too much to leave them unprepared. He tells them plainly that sorrow is coming. Opposition is coming. Confusion is coming. But He also tells them that none of it will be outside His care.

That matters because we often think something must be wrong when life becomes painful or unclear. We assume that if we are walking with Christ, things should make more sense than they do. But in this passage, Jesus reminds us that deep sorrow can exist right in the middle of God’s good plan. The disciples were not about to lose control of the situation. They never had control of it. Jesus did. Even now, on the eve of the cross, He is the one preparing them, leading them, and holding them.

I also love the way Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit. Jesus is leaving, but He is not abandoning His people. In fact, His going will bring a deeper blessing than the disciples can yet understand. The Spirit will come and make the truth of Christ known to them. He will not speak on His own, but He will glorify Jesus. That means the true work of the Spirit is always to make Christ more evident, more precious, and more central to us.

And then there is the promise: “your sorrow will turn into joy.” 

Jesus does not simply say that joy will come after sorrow, though that is true. He says sorrow itself will turn into joy. That is such a gospel pattern. The cross led to resurrection. The darkest moment became the very place where salvation was accomplished. And that means for the Christian, sorrow is never the final word. We may still weep. We may still wait. We may still feel confused. But because of Jesus Christ, we do not grieve without hope. He is risen. He has given His Spirit. And He has opened the way for us to come to the Father in prayer.

So this passage calls us not to deny our sorrow, but to bring it to Christ. It reminds us that confusion does not cancel faith. Weakness does not drive Jesus away. And even when we cannot yet see what He is doing, He is still leading His people toward joy.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

In John chapter 16, verses 1 through 24, Jesus continues speaking to his disciples on the night before the cross. He knows what is coming, and he also knows that his disciples will suffer much. He does not sugarcoat it, hard days are ahead indeed. And they will be put out of the familiarity of their own synagogues, and some people will even think that by hurting the disciples, that they are somehow serving God. Jesus says this situation is not to trouble the disciples more, but to prepare them. Jesus reassures them that when these things happen they will not fall away. Then Jesus says something that must have been even harder for them to hear. Verse 7, it is to your advantage that I go away. Now from the disciples' point of view, that could not possibly sound right. How could it be better for them when Jesus leaves them? Well, Jesus tells them that his going away will lead to the coming of the helper, the paraclete or the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, and he will also guide the disciples into the truth. And in all of this, the Spirit's work will be to glorify Jesus, and that is why it is better for them. The disciples were still confused. Jesus says a little while, and they did not understand what he meant. They could not yet see how the cross and resurrection fit together. But Jesus assures them that their sorrow will not be the end of the story. Verse 20, you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. He compares it to a woman in labor. The pain is real, but it is not pointless. Joy comes through it. In the same way, the disciples will soon be overwhelmed with grief, but when they see the risen Christ, their sorrow will be turned into joy, and that joy will open the way for a new confidence in prayer as they come to the Father in Jesus' name. What I find especially comforting here is that Jesus does not pretend the Christian life will be easy. He loves his disciples too much to leave them unprepared. He tells them plainly that sorrow is coming, opposition is coming, and confusion is coming. But he also tells them that none of it will be outside his care. That matters because we often think something must be wrong when life becomes painful or unclear. We assume that if we are walking with Christ, things should make more sense than they are they do. But in this passage, Jesus reminds us that deep sorrow can exist right in the middle of God's good plan. The disciples were not about to lose control of the situation. They never had control of it in the first place. Jesus did. Even now on the eve of the cross, he is the one preparing them, leading them, and holding them. I also love the way Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit. Jesus is leaving, but he's not abandoning his people. In fact, his going will bring a deeper blessing than the disciples can yet understand. The Spirit will come and make the truth of Christ known to them even more clearly. He will not speak on his own, but he will glorify Jesus. That means the true work of the Holy Spirit is always to make Christ more evident, more precious, and more central to us. And then there is the promise, your sorrow will turn into joy. Jesus does not simply say that joy will come after sorrow, though that is true. He says sorrow itself will turn into joy. Sorrow itself will turn into joy. Now that is such a gospel pattern. We may still weep for a while, we may still wait and we may still feel confused, but because of Jesus Christ, we do not grieve without hope. He is risen, he has given his spirit, and he has opened a way for us to come to the Father in prayer. So this passage calls us not to deny our sorrows, but to bring it to Christ. It reminds us that confusion does not cancel faith, weakness does not drive Jesus away, and even when we cannot yet see what he is doing, he is still leading his people toward joy. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, when our hearts are troubled and we do not understand what you are doing, help us to trust your Son. Thank you that Jesus does not leave his disciple alone, but gives the Holy Spirit to guide us in the truth. When sorrow feels heavy, remind us that in Christ it will not have the last word. Teach us to come to you with the confidence of children who are loved. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.

unknown 6:12

Amen.