“After a Little While” [Matt's Messages] ~ Matt Mitchell

“After a Little While”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

September 8, 2024 :: John 16:16-24

The disciples just had the hardest time understanding what Jesus meant by the phrase, “a little while.”

I think John uses the words “a little while” seven times in the first 4 verses! They are really tripped up by it. And it must be really important for Jesus to spend so much time undoing their confusion. “A Little While.”

Remember, this is the night before His crucifixion, and Jesus has been preparing His disciples for His departure. We call these section, “The Farewell Teachings of Jesus.” Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

Last week, we read about how Jesus said that it will be better for His disciples if He goes away because He will send the Holy Spirit to take His place. Remember this? Because when He comes, the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and He will guide the church into all truth.

But before the Spirit comes, there is another important set of events that must occur. And that’s what Jesus is talking about, I think, in this section. In these verses, Jesus predicts what is going to happen in just “a little while.” And it will make all of the difference for everything forever for all of Jesus’ disciples including for you and me. Listen to what Jesus says in verse 16.

“‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.’”

Now, for you and me, it’s almost obvious what He means. It’s a straightforward prediction of what is going to happen that very weekend. That “little while” is going to happen in just...a little while!

But for the eleven disciples huddled with Him that night, it was anything but obvious. They just couldn’t understand what He was getting at. They didn’t have categories. They were confused. They were consternated. Look at verse 17.

“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'?’ They kept asking, ‘What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying.’”

“What’s He talking about? What’s this ‘little while’ thing? What does He mean by saying He’s going ‘to the Father?’”

Remember how last week Jesus said that He had much more to tell them, but they just couldn’t bear it? Well, they obviously couldn’t bear what He had already told them. How could He disappear and then reappear? What exactly is going to happen?

Well, you and I know. And Jesus knew. Jesus knew it the whole time. That’s what He was trying to get them prepared for. Look at verse 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'?” “Let me explain it to you.”

What does He mean? What was He referring to in verse 16? “In a little while you will see me no more...” What was that?

It was the crucifixion, wasn’t it? And His burial. In less than 24 hours, Jesus was going to be arrested, put on trial, tortured, mocked, and killed on a Cross. This time next day, He would be buried in His tomb. “In a little while you will see me no more...”

“....and then after a little while you will see me.'" What’s He talking about there? He’s talking about the resurrection! He’s not going to stay dead!!! No wonder they were confused. They were confused that He had to die. And they were confused that He was going to return from the dead. That generally does not happen!

And even though they had seen a kind of resurrection in Lazarus not that long ago, it was because of the power of Jesus. But if Jesus was going to die, where would the power come to resurrect Him? How could all this be true? What could it all mean? In just “a little while?”

And, of course, it didn’t feel like just “a little while,” I’m sure. The entire time Jesus was in the grave probably felt like forever. Whenever we go through something really hard, it can feel like it lasts forever. Right? There’s probably a lesson here in those words “a little while” referring to the difficult waiting periods of our lives, no matter how long they are (see also 1 Peter 1:6 and 5:10). But always worth it. Because of Jesus, always worth it.

I see Jesus teaching us two huge things that are going to happen to us because of what happened to Him between those two little whiles. And they are both incredible encouragements to our hearts. Here’s number one.

After a little while:

#1. YOUR SORROW WILL TURN INTO JOY.

Jesus tells it like it will be. Look at verse 20.

“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.”

That’s terrible. They are going to cry their eyes out. Theirs hearts are going to be torn in two. Their Lord and Teacher, their favorite person, their Rabbi, their Good Shepherd is going to be ripped away from them, stripped of all dignity, mocked, spit on, struck in the face, and whipped on His back and then nailed to a pole until He dies. “You will weep and mourn.”

And to make it worse, they will mourn “...while the world rejoices!” Remember the world is going to hate you. Jesus said, “It hated me first.”

You’re going to see it firsthand. The world is going to cheer.

“Crucify Him!”

“Yeah! They crucified Him! So much for that troublemaker. We should make this a holiday. Got rid of Jesus Day. What a Good Friday!”

I can’t hardly imagine how the disciples felt. But Jesus knew in advance. And He told them. So that when it happened, they had some categories to fall back on. And when the pain hit, to remember that Jesus said it would come...and then it would all go away! Verse 20 again.

“You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”

It’s going to hurt like nothing else, but then it’s going to get better. Unimaginably better. “After a little while” your sorrow will turn into joy.

Jesus has an illustration handy for this. He says it’s like a mom in labor. Look at verse 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.”

Ladies, is this true? Does it actually hurt to give birth? I’ve heard that it does. Yes, it does. And some moms are tempted to yell at their husbands, “What have you done to me?!” and vow to never have another child ever again. But then it all changes after the baby is born. Some moms even want to have another one...or three!

Jesus doesn’t mean that she totally forgets how much it hurt, but in comparison to the joy of the little girl or little boy being placed in her happy arms, it doesn’t matter any more. The pain and the heartache are totally worth it.

That’s what Jesus decided for Himself, isn’t it? He decided that the joy set before Him was worth enduring the Cross and scorning its shame. And He decided it worth it for His disciples to weep and mourn while the world rejoiced because, after that, His disciples would rejoice and never stop rejoicing. Verse 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.”

Oh, I love that! “I will see you again.”

Death is not the end. “I will see you again.”

“And you will rejoice, and no one (not no one) will take away your joy.”

Your joy will be un-snatchable.

Your joy will be un-ending.

Your joy will be forever and ever and ever and ever.

This verse makes me think about what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4. Which I often read at funerals, and, boy, there seems like there’s been a lot of funerals recently.

Paul is talking about how hard it is to live the Christian life. We all feel it. Our lives right now are marked by some weeping and mourning. Not because Jesus has died but because we are waiting for His return. And everything has not yet been made right.

So Paul writes to the Corinthians with this same logic of Jesus, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles [“a little while”] are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. [There’s no comparison!] So [Paul says] we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18 NIVO). And that includes our joy.

“No one will take away your joy.”

The application of that is obvious. It’s to rejoice. To rejoice because Jesus is alive. To rejoice even because Jesus died. Because He died for our sins. And He paid the just penalty for them. It WAS a Good Friday! Because in a little while Jesus went to the Cross carrying our sins on His shoulders, and then He buried them far away from us. And then He walked out of that tomb on Sunday morning as alive as you and I are today. More alive, in fact!

Because He will never die. And neither will our joy!

Rejoice! Our weeping and wailing will turn into whooping.

Woohoo! And our whooping will never stop. So never stop whooping.

Are you rejoicing today? You cannot rejoice unless you have first repented. Because the Cross is not good news for you if you have not put your trust in Jesus. Remember it’s when we believe in Jesus that we get life in His name. Have you put your faith in Jesus? Then rejoice. And never stop.

Now, that doesn’t mean that we always feel happy. The disciples didn’t feel happy that night. And there would be more sorrow yet to come even after Jesus was raised from the dead. Because the world was going to come after them.

Persecution is on the way. But there is joy underneath, isn’t there? No matter what happens, we know that Jesus is alive and that nobody can take that from Him, and therefore nobody can take away our joy.

One of my most favorite passages in the whole Bible is Isaiah 35 with its prophetic prediction of the kingdom to come. Here’s the last verse.

Isaiah 35:36 says, “...and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

After a little while, your sorrow will turn into joy.

#2. THE FATHER WILL ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS.

Look at verse 23.

“In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

Wow! I think that’s like the fourth time that Jesus has promised answered prayers in the Farewell Teachings. He may be going away, but that doesn’t mean that we are alone. We are still allowed to ask and to expect to receive.

“In that day you will no longer ask me anything...” Now, I don’t think He’s actually talking about prayer there. I think He’s saying that after the resurrection, all of these questions they have been asking will be cleared up. They will finally “get it.” And they will soon have the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth. Their confusion will melt away, and the answers to their prayers will roll in.

“I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

Whatever. We are allowed to ask for whatever. Nothing is too difficult. We are invited to ask for anything. Provided...that we ask in Jesus’ name.

Remember, a name in the Bible refers not just the thing which you are called but to the thing signified by the thing by which you are called. The name stands for the whole person. Your reputation, your authority, your character, your will. So when we ask “in Jesus’ name” we are asking for God to do what Jesus would ask for.

It’s not just a talisman or some magic words to add efficacy to our prayers, “inJesusnameIprayamen.” No, but it is a powerful thing to pray in Jesus’ name. Especially because of what happened between “in a little while” and “after a little while.” Because of the Cross and the Empty Tomb. When we pray in the name of Jesus now, we are praying “in the Person” of the crucified and risen Son of God!

How do you think God the Father is going to feel about answering prayers that are prayed in that name?!

I think that’s what Jesus is getting at in verse 24.

“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

It’s not that God didn’t delight in answering the prayers of His people in the Old Testament. Of course He did; just read it. But now what the Old Testament prefigured has been fulfilled! Jesus, the Word of God, has come and taken on flesh and, in His flesh, has died and come back to life.

That’s the name in which we can now pray. You can ask for God to do things in that day!

Praying to the Father, through the Spirit in the name of the crucified and risen Son.

“Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

That’s the application, isn’t it?

Ask!

And receive.

And rejoice once again.

What are you asking the Father these days?

What are you praying for?

Don’t bother praying for things you know that the crucified and risen Son would never authorize. But if you believe it is something He might get behind, then don’t stop asking in His name. Because the Father loves to pour out good gifts on His Son and those who are in His Son.

“Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”