John 16:16-22 (NIV)
“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
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.”
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’? I tell you the truth, 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.”
Jesus wasn’t being trying to be enigmatic or mysterious by saying, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,” although the clear meaning of His words didn’t make sense to His disciples. They were still so focused on His sad statements about His upcoming departure that they couldn’t see past that.
Jesus knew that His arrest, trial, and execution were going to be devastating to His followers, so He was trying to show them a reason for hope and joy in the events that would happen on the other side of all that. Jesus’ crucifixion would happen in less than twelve hours, His death in less than eighteen. But His resurrection was less than sixty hours away and would last forever.
After Jesus’ arrest, death and burial, the disciples were going to be without him for a time. But Jesus was trying to help them understand that that short period of darkness was not to be a period of despair, but one of hopeful, expectant waiting for the fulfillment of His prophecies.
Jesus used the image of a woman in labor to help His followers understand that their pain, understandable though it would be, was not only NOT going to be the last word on the issue but would soon be forgotten in the joy that they would experience afterwards. And that joy in seeing the resurrected Jesus would never be taken from them; it would become a permanent reality that was going to transform the world.
The reality of the resurrection should still inform every event in a Christian’s life today. That reality lies behind Jesus’ statement: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV) And it lies behind Paul’s statement that “our light and momentary troubles (which, in Paul’s case included such things as persecution, beatings, and imprisonments) are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV) When we experience the reality of the resurrected Jesus, everything else in our lives, all our trials and even persecution and suffering, lose their sharp edges and become far less significant in the light of His glory.
Father, this is a really good reminder. So often the events in our lives can overwhelm us and drive us to despair, pushing aside the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and our sure salvation because of it. Help us to always keep Jesus front and center in our lives, so that, despite the problems that we will surely face, our joy in that reality will be our assurance, a solid place to stand, and our guiding star. Amen.
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