Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
November 26, 2023
INTRO
Good morning! I’m Pastor Brent, and I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. I just want to say that I’m so thankful for all of you. Our church family is truly a blessing to me personally, and I’m grateful for you!
We’ve been working our way through the Gospel of John, and we’re coming to the end of a major section of the book where Jesus has been teaching his disciples in the Upper Room during the Passover Meal the evening before he is crucified.
Jesus is preparing his disciples for what is about to happen, and the culmination of this pivotal moment is Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17. Advent starts next Sunday, and since John 17 is such an important text, we are going to spend our time leading up to Christmas with a special focus on this prayer of Jesus, specifically drawing our attention to prayer that brings glory to Christ, prayer as we are sent into the world with the message of Christ, and prayer for oneness in the Body of Christ.
But first, we need to see the last words that Jesus says to his disciples. He is about to be arrested, tried, and crucified the next morning. So, what are Jesus’ parting words to his disciples? What do they need to know before he goes to the cross?
Here is the last thing he says to them, the last verse of our text today: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)
This may seem odd. You would think that Jesus, knowing he is going to the cross to achieve our redemption by conquering sin and evil and death, knowing that he is inaugurating the coming of the new creation through his resurrection, knowing that his victory is anticipating the final restoration of all things, you would think that Jesus would say to his disciples, “Everything is going to be fine. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is going to get easier from now on.” But he doesn’t.
Rather, Jesus presents a tension. He presents a sobering reality. He presents a picture of what life will be like after he is resurrected and ascended to Heaven. He says, “Troubles won’t go away in this world, in fact things might get more difficult if you say you follow me. But I need you to remember this, despite present circumstances: I have overcome.”
This tension is felt by all Christ-followers who genuinely walk by faith as pilgrims in this world that is no longer our home. It is probably felt by you, and I know I certainly feel it.
ILLUST — There’s a pastor and theologian named Dane Ortlund who describes it this way: “Christianity is hard. One reason for this is the jarring tension between what we say is true of us now, that we belong to God, and what we experience day in and day out emotionally, relationally, physically, and all the rest. If we are God’s children, we may wonder why there is so much senseless adversity in our lives. Such pain can be disorienting for those seeking to walk faithfully with God. The difficulty is not just that life is painful, but that life is painful despite the spectacular redemptive realities we believe have washed over us.”
In our text this morning, Jesus actually looks his disciples in the eye and says that this is by design. He knows perfectly well that we will encounter troubles in this world, but he doesn’t promise to automatically remove difficulties. Rather, he promises that he has overcome the world in the grandest sense through his redemptive work on our behalf.
We are going to see this tension all throughout our passage this morning, and so rather than try to resolve it right up front, we are going to read our text and let the words of Jesus sink down deep into our souls. Let’s listen to what Jesus says to his disciples and ponder the gravity of his final words before he goes to the cross. READ John 16:16-33.
This passage is filled with contrasts. This is deliberate and purposeful, because everything is about to change in the course of history. Everything pivots at the cross. And we have to remember that these disciples did not have a category for a crucified Messiah who would rise from the dead. We take this for granted because we look back with clarity on the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but this passage illuminates the moment just before everything changed.
ORG SENT — So, we’re going to do two things this morning: First, we will highlight the tensions and contrasts in this passage so that we can better understand the pivotal moment that is about to happen at the cross. Second, we will come back to consider Jesus’ final words again, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
MAIN 1 — Contrasts in John 16:16-33. (SLIDE 2a)
Go back to verse 16 and look again at what Jesus says here. READ v. 16.
This cryptic statement becomes a point of confusion for the disciples. They don’t understand what Jesus means. And, frankly, some modern commentators and Bible scholars have also debated what Jesus meant by this statement: Is he talking about his death and resurrection in the coming days? Or is he talking about his first coming coming now and his second coming at the end of history? In other words, is Jesus describing the three days he is in the tomb, or is he describing the church age to come?
Well, I think this is a good opportunity to teach you how to do some basic exegetical work. How should we interpret these verses in order to figure out what Jesus is saying here? The key lies in Jesus’ response to the disciples in verses 20-22 where he introduces the contrast of grief and joy (SLIDE 2b). Let’s look at this together, look at your Bible:
READ v. 20 — (SLIDE 2c) The words Jesus uses here are critical for our understanding of what he means.
When you hear the words “weep” and “mourn” and “grieve” what do you think of? A funeral! The same goes for these words in Greek. These words, especially when they are used together in the same sentence, almost always refer to death.
So, here’s clue #1: We are talking about someone dying.
READ v. 21 — (SLIDE 2d) Here’s the same contrast of anguish/ joy illustrated by the pain of a mother in labor that results in inexpressible joy when her baby is born.
This illustration describes a sudden intense pain that ultimately is a short duration compared to the on-going joy of the advent of a new life in the world.
Here’s clue #2: We’re talking about lasting new life after brief intense pain.
READ v. 22 — (SLIDE 2e) Here Jesus takes his contrast of grief and joy and says that they will see him again and that their joy will be permanent, which is exactly what happens when Jesus appears to his disciples after the resurrection in Jerusalem and in Galilee.
You could hardly argue that the disciples will have to wait to be filled with joy until Christ’s second coming. Rather, we see them overjoyed when Jesus appears to them later, and their joy overflows as they witness during the early days of the church.
Here’s clue #3: We are talking about temporary grief and permanent joy.
KEY: When you put this all together, it is clear that Jesus is referring to his own death, his resurrection, and the resulting joy that the disciples will experience. So we now know that Jesus is speaking to them about the intense experience of pain they are about to endure in the next three days, but that is not the end of the story.
This all points to the cross, and so far in this text Jesus has been using time (SLIDE 2f) as a way of marking a contrast. And as the passage unfolds, Jesus develops further this contrast of time to help us see how his work of redemption is the pivot-point of history. But this contrast of time also illustrates the deficiency in the disciples’ understanding.
Let me draw your attention to some key words that develop this contrast of time. We already saw one of them in verse 22. The key words are: “now” and “in that day/a time is coming”
Now (SLIDE 2g) — Jesus uses this word to describe the pre-cross reality
“Now is your time of grief.” (v. 22)
“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.” (v. 24)
In that day/a time is coming (SLIDE 2h) — Jesus uses these words to describe the post-cross reality
“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.” (v. 23)
“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name.” (v. 26)
KEY: Here’s what this contrast means for the disciples: Everything they have known up to this point has foreshadowed the impending cross. Until now they still had to offer daily sacrifices, they had to keep the law, they had to approach God through a priestly mediator at the Temple, and they were not born again and indwelled by the Spirit of God himself as a downpayment of the life to come.
But, as Jesus says here, a time is coming when those who trust in Jesus will approach God’s throne directly through the blood of Christ as he has paid for our sin and fulfilled the law on our behalf and extended the free gift of forgiveness and redemption to become new creations, anticipating the renewal of all things.
In other words, Jesus looks at his disciples and says, “Everything is about to change. You will endure the temporary pain of watching me go to the cross and everything may seem lost. But this is for your redemption, and your joy will overflow when you see me rise, precisely because an entirely new reality will dawn.”
How do the disciples react to this? Our key contrast words come up again, this time ironically displaying the disciples poor understanding. (SLIDE 3a) Listen for our key words again: READ vv. 29-32.
Did you hear the odd tone of the disciples’ response. It was almost arrogant, or somehow foolish and short-sighted. (SLIDE 3b) They used the word “now” repeatedly, like a nervous turn-of-phrase to impress Jesus. “Now we get it! Yeah, now we understand!”
But then Jesus rebukes them in verse 31. Many of your Bibles form this response like a question, but the Greek is actually just a statement. Jesus literally says, “Now you believe!” as an ironic praise of their foolish understanding. He actually uses a specific word for “now” that is more intense and immediate than the previous words used so far.
He is calling their bluff! Even though they claim they believe Jesus came from God, he says that “a time is coming” (SLIDE 3c) when they will in fact scatter and abandon him when the moment of truth comes. This is exactly what happens, and it fulfills what was written by Zechariah the prophet in Zechariah 13:7, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.”
But don’t miss this: The very next words after this rebuke are words of encouragement. Jesus stops here, at this final moment before he goes to the cross, and he reminds his disciples of why he is saying these difficult things. He pauses here to draw them back into intimate fellowship with him, revealing his heart for them. READ v. 33a (SLIDE 3d) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.”
As Jesus is about to go to the cross, what does he leave with his disciples? Does he promise them they will be spared from the agony of watching him die? No. Does he promise them they will avoid persecution and troubles when he is gone? No. Does he promise them that following him will make them rich and famous? No. Does he give them material things or false promises or superficial answers to the difficulties to come? No.
Rather, he gives them himself. (SLIDE 3e) He says, “IN ME”…in me you will have peace. No other source, no other person, no other thing, no other name could bring about the true and lasting Shalom of God than Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection.
Yet, we come back to the tension we started with this morning. We have the peace that surpasses understanding. We have Jesus himself. And yet Jesus concludes his final teaching to his disciples by saying, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” What are we to make of this? We need to ponder what it means for the Overcomer himself to allow troubles in our lives.
MAIN 2 — Troubles In This World (v. 33) (SLIDE 4a)
ILLUST — Remember I mentioned Dane Ortlund earlier. He has helped shed some light on this reality. He writes this: “A Christian is someone who has undergone a transfer of citizenship. We now belong somewhere else. Before the new birth, we were at home in the world and strangers to God. After new birth, we are strangers in the world and at home with God. While this exchange results in new joy for the next life, it also results in new pain for this life. We are suddenly aliens here. Ambassadors, as Paul says—that is, someone who represents the king in a foreign land while their homeland lies elsewhere. This world is not our home.”
Because of this radical shift as we move from death to life, from lost to found, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, we often find ourselves quickly bombarded with things in life that test our new-found faith. When we say we want to trust in Jesus, it suddenly gets real when we actually have to follow-through (SLIDE 4b).
ILLUST — Its like saying you trust in a parachute. It’s easy to say, “I believe a parachute will float me safely down to earth.” That is basically what the disciples said in our passage, “Oh, now we understand! Now we believe that you came from God. That’s easy, we get it now.” And Jesus looks at them and says, “Those are some fancy words you’re using there, but you haven’t jumped yet.”
ILLUST — The great 18th century theologian and pastor Jonathan Edwards was someone who grew to have a deep and genuine faith in Christ. One author describes him this way, (SLIDE 4c) “Jonathan Edwards simply walked with God. His mind was fixed on things above. He exulted in the world no further than such exultation brought his mind to rest on another world. Edwards was out of place in this world: blessedly out of place.”
How did he get this way? It was not through ease and comfort! Rather, it was through growing in maturity and learning to see God’s goodness in the midst of divinely ordained troubles that tested his faith, including rejection and public humiliation in his early ministry.
Edwards once wrote to a friend, (SLIDE 5) “I have much to learn to behave as a pilgrim and stranger on earth…If we would have Christ, we must be cut down as to our worldly happiness. We naturally place our happiness in the things of this world, yet to part with all the world and sell all for Christ is like death to us.”
ILLUST — Dane Ortlund says that this process is often like the waves in the ocean. (SLIDE 6, blank) When we wade out in the ocean, we feel the waves tugging and pulling at our ankles, legs, and waist. These are like smaller trials that nudge us off-balance, but we quickly recover on our own and we can be tempted to continue to trust in our own strength or the things of this world.
Ortlund says, “Those who live into their later years and are quietly walking with the Lord from a posture of fundamental trust have often weathered something deeper. At some point in their lives a wave washed over them that could not be out-jumped. And somehow they survived. They softened rather than hardened. [We must come to] a point in life where we suddenly, for the first time, bank all that we are on [Christ]. Our true trust must be proved.”
This is precisely why Jesus says to his disciples, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” These disciples are about to encounter a wave that will swallow them up. Jesus is not promising to remove troubles, even as they are about to endure incredible challenges in the early years of the church. Rather, he promises to give them his peace and to give them himself, as he sends his Spirit.
The same is true for us. In this world we will have trouble. But our King is the Overcomer!
My prayer is that you would have peace in your heart as you walk with Jesus, especially when you are overwhelmed by a wave you can’t out-jump. Trust fully in him. Give your heart fully to him. Taste and see that he is good. ILLUST — As Jonathan Edwards once preached, (SLIDE 7) “Have you had that divine comfort that has seemed to heal your soul and put life and strength into you and given you peace after trouble and rest after labor and pain? Have you tasted that spiritual food, that bread from heaven, that is so sweet and so satisfying, so much better that the richest earthly pleasures?” Seek him, Jesus Christ. He has overcome at the cross.