Sermon Tone Analysis

A New Perspective

Jesus sees the hearts of his disciples.

They are overcome with grief.

Their hopes and dreams of what was yet to come are coming to an end.

Jesus has made plain that his departure from this earth is at hand.

Their hopes for the restoration of the kingdom of Israel are not going to unfold as they had envisioned.

Worse yet, Jesus just told them that as a result of their faith in Him, the world would hunt them down and take their lives in the name of God.

So often, our hearts are consumed by grief because we are only able to look at our circumstances from our perspective.

Jesus though sees what we face with a perfect perspective.

He can see not only in the moment but he know every moment.

With this knowledge, He turns to His disciples and spurns their hearts to trust in Him.

It is for their good that He is leaving.

It is for the good of the Lord that their plans are not going to unfold as they envisioned.

Jesus’ departure would mark the sending of the Spirit.

This is the fullness of the gospel.

God is no longer afar.

He is not merely near.

God is coming to indwell his people.

The Spirit comes and convicts the world of how far they have strayed from God.

The people had deceived themselves to believe that their actions and deeds were not only good and just in their eyes, but in God’s eyes as well.

The believed that in killing Christ, they were doing the work of God, but if the people could only see the heavenly perspective, they would know that their belief had gone astray for Christ was raised to sit with God and the enemy stand condemned.

The Spirit has come to preach this truth to our heart, to preach to our hearts the eternal, heavenly perspective.

We are no longer limited by our sight.

We have been given God to trust and know that tomorrow is His, that the victory has already been won.

Our Grief Turns to Joy

Jesus continues to emphasize the shift in perspective that comes from trusting in God’s plan.

The world will rejoice, believing that they had done the work of God.

Jesus flips this rejoicing on its head though.

He states that the mourning that the disciples will experience as the world rejoices is temporary pain before overwhelming joy.

Jesus equates it to childbirth and the pain felt by the mother that is quickly overrun by utter joy as new life is experienced.

Jesus

The world will rejoice for they will believe that in killing Christ that they have won, but really, this is God’s plan.

As Christ rises from the grave, the disciples will be filled with joy for the work of Christ will be made complete.

The Jews believed that condemning Christ to death preserved their belief system, but what they failed to see was that their belief system was condemning them.

Jesus came to redeem us, to save us from condemnation.

He tells his disciples that this is the paradigm shift that is taking place.

They will rejoice as Jesus raises and no one will be able to steal their joy for the Almighty One has secured them for all eternity with Him.

My brothers and sisters, our joy is held secure in the resurrection of Christ.

He has raised and overcome.

I Have Overcome the World

John 16:

Jesus further shows what happens when our perspective changes, we receive direct access to God.

The disciples respond to Jesus’ words of joy by beginning to understand.

But Jesus takes it a step further.

Not only would the disciples experience joy, but now they would be united in perfect relationship with God.

Throughout all of history, the people of God needed an intermediate between them and God.

The people never had direct access to God without fear of death.

Now, Jesus would restore the line of access between the people and God.

Now we can go to the Father on our own.

We can beseech the Lord with the desires of our hearts.

It is out of this relationship that Jesus finds peace in the midst of what He is about to face.

In the same manner, we can come to have peace as a result of knowing the Father.

When you recognize who is in control, your heart can be set at peace even in the most trying circumstances.

This truth is even set further in stone as a result of the work of Jesus.

He has overcome the world.

Our trust in Christ is trust placed in the One who is not going to be victorious but rather who is already victorious.

We will scatter, worry, fret, and even doubt in times of trial, but our perspective must shift back to the Lord’s perspective.

This is how we give testimony to the work of Christ.