John 16:20-22

April 12, 2020

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

The sermon starts around 14:00 in the audio file.

Or, Sorrow Must Give Way to Easter

We live in an amazing world. Not everyone sees how amazing it is, and not everyone will appreciate it even when they do finally see it. The world is the theater of it’s Creator, and because of who He is, certain things cannot help but be.

It may appear that the world is dominated by death; there are over 100 deaths every minute. Of course, death only stands out because of life, and life has a built-in preference for life and laments over what we lose from death. Because of death’s finality, death enslaves men in fear (Hebrews 2:15). Other generations may have been less risk averse, while our generation is so cautious and safety-conscious that we would much rather make each other miserable with petty rules than face the possibility of dying. Look around.

Death is inescapable. In the post-Genesis 3 world death is certain. And, death is not God. The glory of today, however, is more than a celebration of life, it is a celebration of the God who is resurrection from the dead.

We actually live in a world dominated by resurrection, which is a key part of what makes it amazing. I already said that not everyone sees it, but as Christians, it is why we exist. In the world that God created, resurrection is not just possible, resurrection is inevitable. Resurrection had to be because of God’s nature. We live in a world made by the God of resurrection, a world overcome by resurrection, and a world being remade by resurrection.

In John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion he spilled pages of ink against idols, including the speculations of men who claim to know the true God. He famously described the hearts of men as idol factories, that idolatrous errors spew from us all the time. All those who say, “My God is not like that,” who don’t then immediately say, “because He declares Himself in Scripture thus,” are as guilty as those who bow before totem-poles.

When we talk about the attributes of God we talk about Him as the sovereign God, the holy God, the Triune God, the God of love. He is the living God, compared to the lifeless idols, and He is the God of resurrection. As Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). The world can’t help but be dominated by the defeat of death.

Jesus told His disciples a lot of things on the night before His death. They gathered for the Passover meal together, Jesus washed their feet, commanded them to love one another just as He loved them, foretold the coming of the Spirit who would guide them in truth and convict the world of unrighteousness, urged them to abide in Him as a branch in a vine, and prayed for them in front of them for their union and fruitfulness.

Jesus’ final words to His disciples, at least as John recorded them, prior to His priestly prayer, are His promise to see them again. He was seeing them at the moment, but in “a little while, you will see me no longer” (verse 16). The disciples started asking each other if they understood what Jesus meant: “What is this he says to us?” “What does he mean by a little while?” “We do not know what he is talking about.” The phrase “little while” comes up seven times in four verses.

Jesus perceived that they were confused, and He explained what was coming.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. (verse 20)

This was Thursday night. What Jesus said was about to happen happened within hours. This was their preparation, but there is no way that they had categories to appreciate these upcoming realities.

Other than Jesus Himself, who has wept and lamented in sorrow more than Mary and the disciples as they watched their Master be torture[...]