John 16:17-33
17 At this, 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’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 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’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 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. 22 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. 23 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. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
25 “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. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” [1]
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Jesus’ promise in verse 33 is comforting and encouraging. He wants us to be realistic about being His disciples in a broken troubled world, but He wants us to be hopeful and joyful because of His victory.
But the thing that struck me this morning about this very familiar verse are the words “I have told you these things.” Having meditated on “these things” over the past few days helps me place this comforting verse in context. The teaching that Jesus has been doing in Chapters 13-16 is all leading up to 16:33. He is teaching these things so that we have peace, finding hope in His victory.
In other words, we take heart and find peace as we learn and take to heart “these things” that He has taught us. This applies specifically to the things in the previous few chapters, such has His teaching about remaining in Him and bearing fruit, loving one another, keeping His commands, relying on the Holy Spirit. But I think we can apply this to all of His teaching.
The point is that Jesus wants us to have peace in this world. And the way to know it is to know His teaching, which means being in His word. This is why daily time in the Word, meditating and applying the Word, listening for the Spirit’s prompting in the Word are all so important. The Word leads to peace for us in this broken world
So my prayer is for the Spirit’s blessing on my time in the Word, that I would indeed take them to heart and find peace.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Jn 16:17–33). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
