Looking Past the World’s Response: John 16:16-33
Focus Passage: John 16:16-33 (NIV)
During Jesus’ last conversation with His disciples before being arrested and crucified, He shares with them a big picture idea that can help us frame God’s perspective on our world. When trying to help the disciples see past what was about to happen, Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 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. 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.” (v. 20-22)
The idea I find very interesting in this is while the world is rejoicing, Jesus’ disciples and followers will be mourning. This tells me that the world had a different goal than Jesus’ or God did – or did it?
While Jesus was in the grave, part of me wonders what was happening in heaven. Was heaven filled with joy over Jesus’ completion of His salvation sacrifice, or was heaven filled with sadness over Jesus’ death on the cross? While the world was rejoicing over Jesus’ death and the disciples were sad, was heaven rejoicing with the world, or shedding tears with the disciples?
I am inclined to believe that both joy and sadness were present in heaven on that Sabbath that Jesus rested in the grave. I think that day was a day with mixed emotions unlike heaven had ever experienced up to that point.
But the perspective Jesus shares here in these words to His disciples is a much bigger, broader perspective then the immediate moment. Jesus tells His followers that the world looks at the immediate moment for its emotions, but they are to give equal or greater weight to the perspective that looks at the ultimate end. This means that whatever comes our way, whether we experience things that cause us joy or events that bring tears, we can find joy when looking at the big, big picture that reminds us that Jesus returns, and when history has ended, Jesus will stand victorious!
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