“‘A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.’ So some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What is this that he says to us, “A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”; and, “because I am going to the Father”?’ So they were saying, ‘What does he mean by “a little while”? We do not know what he is talking about.’ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, “A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me”? 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. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

1. The Blindness of the Flesh

So much of the beauty of God’s Word is that fact that it’s living. While we should never stretch scripture beyond its context, the start of today’s passage carries a significant double meaning. In what Jesus says we can see Him referring to His death and resurrection, but also to His ascension and second coming. While admittedly, the duration of these two are vastly different from a human perspective, they can both be called a “little while.” Jesus will die on the cross within hours of Him speaking these words, He will go into the grave, and they will see Him no longer, and yet in a matter of days they will see Him again. Forty days later, Jesus will ascend into heaven, and they again won’t see Him bodily anymore. But Revelation 22:20–21, the final two verses of the book and the end of the Bible says,

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”

From a human standpoint, we may look at two thousand years and say, “well that’s not ‘soon’ at all. Did I miss something?” but as usual, Scripture speaks for itself. 2 Peter 3:8–9 explains this, saying,

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

And so there is comfort offered in these words, both to the eleven remaining disciples, confused and afraid, and to Christians today, living as sojourners in a fallen world.

“So some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What is this that he says to us, “A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”; and, “because I am going to the Father”?’ So they were saying, ‘What does he mean by “a little while”? We do not know what he is talking about.’”

There are instances where we see the disciples take their questions or remarks directly to Jesus. In Luke 9:54, James and John ask Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume a group of Samaritans who have spurned Him, for which Jesus rebukes them. Peter would be our most consistent example, with him professing Jesus as the Christ in Matthew 16:16, and then in a rather sharp turn of events, rebuking Jesus in Matthew 16:22 for telling them of His coming death. We also see Peter speak up in John 13:36 to ask Jesus where He is going – a conversation that ends with Jesus foretelling Peter’s coming three denials. It is also Peter who we see in Matthew 14:28, call out to Jesus as He walks across the surface of the Sea of Galilee, asking to join Him on the waves. Though we witness Peter experience a crisis of faith, we don’t see much of a rebuke from Jesus, so much as a gentle correction and a hand of compassion. But in today’s passage, we don’t see a direct approach from the disciples, rather a sidebar conversation among themselves. Their hesitation to take their concerns directly to Jesus isn’t something we haven’t seen before. After Jesus again told them of Him coming death and resurrection, Mark 9:32 says,

“But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.”

During the last supper, after Jesus announces that one of their number will betray Him, Matthew and Mark show the disciples sequentially ask Jesus, “is it I?” But given that they don’t obtain a clear response, Luke 22:23 seems to show us the other side of things, saying,

“And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.”

It makes sense that in this situation, with the realization of Jesus’s words settling upon them, and their fear and confusion rising, they may be too intimidated, or simply too afraid to ask Him. This is something that I think, with a little consideration, any Christian can relate to in some capacity. When we first come to Christ, when the helmet of salvation rests newly upon our brow, the liberation from sin, the new life we’re born into almost defies explanation. We are starving people given whole and nourishing food. We are parched, and dried out people given an endless spring of pure, clean water. We go from having dead, hollow eyes, to holding clear, vivid sight of the world around us, and the glory of God our Father. This is a delight beyond delights. We’re renewed, we’re refreshed, and if we do what we have been commanded then we are drawn ever closer to God. The process of sanctification progresses, and we live our lives, more than conquerors, called good and faithful servants. But this path isn’t smooth. We’re not called to do what is comfortable and easy. We live out the will of the Spirit that is in complete opposition to the fallen aims of the world, we are born into a freedom that our flesh wars against. Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 16:24–25,

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Paul wrote in Romans 7:21–25,

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

 When the disciples were called, and left their respective lives behind to follow Jesus, they were raised to a new station, blessed to be given the highest calling, and spent years traveling with and learning from the Christ their people had spent generations waiting for. But while many of them seemed to grasp the station and authority of Jesus (at least in part), they also had their eyes set on some kind of earthly kingdom. The culture held the Messiah to be the One who would liberate them from Roman oppression. They looked to passages like 2 Samuel 7:13,

“He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

And, somewhat understandably, took that to be the kingdom of Israel, dominant and eternally established on the earth. However what Jesus delivers is infinitely over and above this. Rather than give prosperity in a world that has been stained by sin, where life will always lead to death, He brings the kingdom of heaven to us. He is the Way, the Door, the singular path by which we may come to the Father. Jesus has given guidance and teachings to raise the aim of His disciples higher than the world, to the will of the Father, but the message hasn’t quite sunk in. Again, we shouldn’t judge them harshly, as we all fight against the pull of our flesh in some way, and we have the extraordinary blessing of the Helper of the Holy Spirt indwelling us. But all this means that while the disciples have been given words of great hope they are confused, and afraid, and given the gravity of it all, confessing to one another that they can’t grasp what their Lord means, but unwilling to ask Him directly.

2. The Perception of the Spirit

“Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, “A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me”?’”

The disciples may not be comfortable taking their concerns to Jesus, but that doesn’t stop Him from knowing. There’s a similarity between this exchange and one that Jesus had with the religious rulers earlier in John’s gospel – though the differences between the two cases and the ultimate implications are vast. Jesus told His disciples in John 16:10,

“… because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer…”

and in today’s passage,

“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”

However in John 7:33–34, Jesus tells religious authorities,

“Jesus then said, ‘I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.’”

And in John 8:21,

“So he said to them again, ‘I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’”

Those are chilling words, “where I am you cannot come,” and then, reiterated along with the clarification, “and you will die in your sin.” This shows a sharp contrast to what Jesus tells His disciples – that they will not see Him, then they will see Him again. That He is leaving, but He is sending the Holy Spirit as their Teacher and Helper, not abandoning them, but again providing. But we can see the differences in attitude, in spirit, and intent from the responses. John 7:35–36 says,

“The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, “You will seek me and you will not find me,” and, “Where I am you cannot come”?’”

and John 8:22 tells us,

“So the Jews said, ‘Will he kill himself, since he says, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’”

The council of the Sanhedrin, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the scribes, as a whole, as ruling body, do not understand Jesus. They don’t want to understand Jesus, they have no eye for the will of God, they have no ear to receive the Truth. Their aims are worldly, their ambitions are personal, and their god has become the Law itself instead of the One who gave the Law. The disciples on the other hand, are confused, and scared, and certainly wrongfooted by what Jesus is relaying to them, but they are not abandoning the mission of Christ. However imperfectly, they remain aimed at the will of the Father, and Jesus knows this. In Matthew 12:15-21, we see Jesus fulfill prophecy from Isaiah 42, which starts,

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”

There is a particular part of this prophecy that we see Jesus display here, from Isaiah 42:3,

“… a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.”

Jesus has told the disciples what they need to hear already. Not counting the teachings and conversations they had throughout years of time together that we don’t have recorded in the Bible, but simply through what Scripture tells us, we can see that they’ve been prepared and forewarned for what is coming. But Jesus sees them, He fully and truly knows them, and in His understanding of their distress, He shows them compassion. Not rebuking or berating them, He offers further comfort. Comfort in His simple perception, of acknowledging a question they hadn’t voiced.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.”

Jesus told the disciples earlier in John 14:30–31,

“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father…”

Somewhat recently, Dr. Jordan Peterson released a series where he and a collection of scholars discuss the gospels. At times, it’s been exceptionally grating to watch. Some of the men on the panel aren’t Christians, and while they show the Text delicacy and respect, to them, the Bible is simply an extremely powerful and deep piece of literature. However there have been several points where I learned something new, or else gained a perspective I hadn’t thought of previously. One of these instances was concerning the temptation of Jesus recorded in Matthew’s gospel, and the fact that Jesus ultimately does something similar to all of the things Satan tempts Him to do, but in the perfect service of the Father, not for personal gain. The first temptation that Jesus miraculously produce bread to sate His hunger after His fast is fulfilled in the feeding of the 5,000, where He shows mercy to the hungry people, but also guides them toward the Bread of Life. Next Matthew 4:5–7 says,

“Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’” and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”’”

Jesus does not yield to Satan’s temptation and throw Himself from the highest point of the temple, but He does willingly lay down His life on the pinnacle of the cross, giving up His Spirit after enduring the wrath of God, and it is by the will and power of God that He takes His life up again. Matthew 4:8–10 says of the final temptation,

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”’”

Jesus does not worship the enemy and obtain the keys to the world He Himself created, the world that is stained by sin. Jesus is fully God, but in also being fully Man, He exemplified perfect worship of the Father. In complete obedience to the Father’s will, Jesus holds the keys to the new, eternal kingdom. It’s odd and a little unnerving to see Satan quote scripture. Despite the fact that He’s twisting it and using it to encourage blasphemy, the simple fact that he knows any part of the Word is odd. At one point this made me ask the question, does Satan know everything that’s in the Bible? Does he know the details of the defeat that awaits him, or the glory of the victory that is God’s? I don’t know if Satan knows everything that’s in the Bible, but I am certain that whatever he does know, he does not understand. I know this, because if he understood it, his influence would not have guided Judas Iscariot toward betraying Jesus. I know this because the wicked world, the world that Satan is called the “god” of, celebrated over the victory Jesus claimed on the cross, having no comprehension of what was unfolding. If you need a contrast to show you the depth of the wickedness of the world, let it be this, that it looked upon the crucifixion and celebrated, thinking it had won.

3. The Assurance of the Word

“You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”

Genesis 1:28 says,

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

It’s important to see that this ability to have children, to “by fruitful and multiply,” is a blessing, not some automatic, biologic right. After sin and the fall, Genesis 3:16 says,

“To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children…’”

There is a curse laid on humanity, a penalty laid on the blessing God gave before because of the blight of sin. God didn’t just wipe out Adam and Eve and extinguish humanity, and He didn’t strip them of the blessing of being fruitful and multiplying so that there would be no humans after them. Suffering was brought to bear, a penalty was laid in place, yet the blessing was not removed.

“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

In Genesis 3:17–19, God says to Adam,

“… Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;  for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

By the very nature of our sin-stained flesh, we cannot live and not suffer. As Christians, by virtue of our salvation we find ourselves at odds with the world. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:18–21,

“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

We do not suffer as humanity suffers, because our citizenship, our identities lie, not in this world, but in Christ. When we suffer, we suffer with hope. Psalm 30:11–12, a Psalm of David at the dedication of the temple, says,

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”

We are not left to wonder, but are given assurance after assurance in the word – God does not simply make things tolerable, He doesn’t permit us to scrape by – He transforms, He delivers, and He grants victory, for His righteousness sake. There is a joy that comes from witnessing Christ – it came for the disciples in seeing Jesus, their Lord and Master, who was crucified, raised bodily from the dead. It is there for us to see in the work of the Spirit, in the fulfillment of the will of God, and in the transformation of worldly suffering into true, incomprehensible joy. Philippians 1:27–30 tells us,

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”

Pastor Chris’s sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IxXlppoDpI