Sorrow Turned into Joy (John 16:16-33)

The disciples did not understand some of the things Jesus said. For example, Jesus told His disciples: “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” (16:16). Some of His disciples heard this and replied, “What is this that He says to us?” (16:17). They didn’t understand what He meant by “a little while” (16:18). Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him and used this time to teach them that their sorrow will be turned into joy.

The Teaching: Jesus Turns Sorrow into Joy 

What did Jesus mean when He said “A little while, and you will not see Me…” (16:16)? Jesus is preparing His disciples for the sorrow they will experience when He leaves them. Jesus loves His disciples and He knows that they will be devastated when He is crucified. Jesus said, “You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful…therefore you now have sorrow” (16:20,22). It must have been awful to see Jesus crucified while onlookers mocked and ridiculed Him. Jesus concluded by saying, “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (16:32). When Jesus died, the world rejoiced and His disciples had sorrow.

Jesus wanted His disciples to know that their sorrow is temporary. Even though they are sorrowful now, they will have great joy. Jesus reassured them by saying, “…and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father” (16:16). Jesus told His disciples that “…your sorrow will be turned into joy…I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you” (16:20,22). When did this take place? Jesus tells them that the day in which they will rejoice is when “…I leave the world and go to the Father” (16:28). Jesus’ departure to the Father, as we have seen earlier, is good news because it means He will send His disciples the Holy Spirit (16:7). Jesus has promised that the joy of the world will turn to sorrow and the sorrow of the world will turn to joy.

The Illustration: Childbirth

How does Jesus choose to illustrate the truth that their sorrow will turn into joy? He compares it to childbirth. He said, “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” (16:21). If you have ever experienced (or to a much lesser degree witnessed) childbirth, you know how difficult the process is. In fact, what is amazing is not that a woman will go through childbirth once, but will go through it more than once! Why is this? It is because the moment she holds her newborn baby, the joy far surpasses the grief. She concludes that this was worth the price to pay. Just as a woman experiences anguish followed by great joy, so too, shall Jesus’ disciples have sorrow turned to joy when Jesus goes to the Father and is enthroned as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus comforts His disciples with these words.

The Application: Prayer

Jesus makes two points of application. The first is to call for His disciples to pray in His name. Earlier, Jesus said, “whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (14:13-14). Jesus continues this teaching in John 16:23-24, “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. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” Later He said, “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (16:26-27). The “day” in which this occurs is when Jesus goes to the Father. We have clear testimony from Jesus that He wants us to pray and to ask for what we need. We are not bothering God when we pray, but we are demonstrating childlike faith (Matt 18:3). We are told in Scripture: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). When we pray, we recognize that we are completely dependent upon God. He must act and deliver and save or else we are ruined.

The Application: Joyful Courage

The second application is for His disciples to be courageous. It may seem like a contradiction to say we must completely depend upon God and be courageous, but it is not. The balance is that we wait upon the Lord for His wisdom and direction (prayer) and we then act (courage) when He tells us when, where, and how to act. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (16:33). Jesus calls for His disciples to “be of good cheer”. The Greek word tharseite is translated a few different ways as the Amplified Bible shows well: “but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy].” When this word is used elsewhere (Matt 9:2; 9:22; 14:27; Mark 6:50; 10:49; Acts 23:11) it is always a call to be joyfully courageous in mind and action. 

Christians need to be joyfully courageous. Peter wrote, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12-13). The trials we undergo are meant to test the genuineness of our faith. This is difficult to endure, but we can have joy knowing that with God “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). Peter wrote, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Jesus calls his disciples to be bold and courageous because He has overcome the world. How did Jesus overcome the world? When Jesus gave Himself as a sacrificial offering for sin, He conquered sin and defeated death. Paul says that when Christ was resurrected from the dead, the result was “having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col 2:15). Jesus is the Son who has been given the nations as His inheritance and the end of the earth His possessions (Ps 2). Paul also wrote, “then comes the end, when [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power” (1 Cor 15:24). All authority, Jesus told His disciples, has been given to Him. What does that mean for us? He makes it clear in the Great Commission, “Go…make disciples” (Matt 28:18-20). Be a disciple who makes disciples. Be bold and courageous. Pray with confidence. Know that your sorrow is turned to joy.