Day 4 — Sorrow turned to joy

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, meet me in sorrow and fix my eyes on the joy secured by your cross and resurrection. Amen.

Headline

The pain of the cross gives birth to a joy that no one can take away.

John 16:16–24

¹⁶ Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

¹⁶ Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Hebrews 12:1–3

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Comment

On the night before his death, Jesus compares what lies ahead to childbirth. The disciples will weep while the world rejoices. Their Lord will be arrested, condemned and crucified. Their hopes will seem buried with him. But, Jesus promises, their grief will turn to joy – like the anguish of labour giving way to delight when a child is born.

The Christian good news depends not only on Jesus dying but on Jesus rising. In his sermon, Andrew asked us to imagine a mother who gives her child life but then dies from complications. The child is alive, yet alone: without the one who would hold, feed and warm it. In the communities where Andrew works, losing a mother makes a child ten times more likely to die before the age of five. If Jesus had remained in the grave, the disciples would likewise have been left alone, scattered and afraid. Death would still appear to have the final word.

But the resurrection transforms the meaning of the cross. Jesus’ suffering is not pointless tragedy; it is the labour through which new creation is born. When the risen Jesus meets his disciples, their grief gives way to joy. Filled with the Spirit, those frightened people go on to carry the gospel across the world—which is why we ourselves have heard it.

Hebrews 12 lets us see something of Jesus’ own perspective. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross and scorned its shame. Andrew asked, ‘What is that joy?’ It is the joy of people like you and me being born again. As a mother receives her newborn child with delight, heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents. Every person brought from death to life is part of the joy for which Jesus suffered.

The disciples’ experience confirms his promise. On Friday they hide in fear; after Easter they become witnesses who carry the gospel into the world. Their circumstances remain costly and often dangerous, but the risen Jesus gives them a joy no enemy can remove.

Christians still grieve. We do not need to disguise anguish with cheerful words. Yet Christian grief is held inside a larger promise: because Jesus lives, pain will not be wasted and death will not win. The resurrection is the beginning of the world’s rebirth, and everyone who belongs to Jesus shares its hope.

Andrew noted the terrible contrast between the joy surrounding a safe birth and the grief when a mother or child dies. In the places where he has served, childbirth can still carry a risk many times greater than in Australia. Jesus does not use labour pain to minimise anguish. He chooses an image in which anguish is severe, embodied and real, yet not the end of the story. His disciples will watch him die and believe hope has died with him. Then they will see him alive. Resurrection does more than compensate them for a sad weekend; it transforms frightened followers into witnesses who can endure suffering because death’s verdict has been overturned. Hebrews says Jesus endured the cross ‘for the joy set before him’ (v.2). That joy includes bringing forgiven people into the life of God. We are not disposable spectators but the beloved children whose new life he desired. Fixing our eyes on him does not suppress grief. It keeps grief from becoming our final horizon and gives us courage for the race of faithful love.

Why does God want me to hear this today? Because the risen Jesus turns grief toward indestructible joy and gives courage in the midst of suffering. He wants you to face present sorrow with resurrection hope, confident that suffering and death will not have the final word.

Reflect

• Why would Jesus’ death have seemed like total defeat to the disciples?
• What was the joy set before Jesus as he endured the cross?
• How does the resurrection change the way you can face present grief?

Closing Prayer

Risen Lord Jesus, thank you that you endured the cross and defeated death. Hold me when I grieve, deepen my joy in you and make me a courageous witness to the hope of resurrection. Amen.