Waiting on Jesus
The Trial of the Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsOur grief in waiting on Jesus cannot compare to the joy that will come when we see Him.
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I don’t think anyone likes being told no. In general, when we ask for things, we want to get what we’re asking for, and so we don’t like to hear the word no, but I think that this is especially true for children. When I was growing up, I hated hearing no. In my family, all of the kids understood amongst ourselves that “no” was the expected answer to every request for something that we wanted. And still, I would ask because of that small glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, I would get a yes.
But as much as I hated no, there was a second phrase that I was scared of. There was this four word phrase that my mother used all the time. It goes like this: In a little while. In a little while. In a little while was an eventual yes. In a little while meant that eventually, there was a chance that what I was asking for would happen or would come to me. Eventually.
Eventually. And there was the problem. How long is a little while? When is eventually? It could be an hour. or two hours. or two days, two weeks. Who knows how long a little while is! Hearing that phrase meant that my parents wanted me to do the hardest thing in all of this world to do: they wanted me to wait.
Open your Bibles, if you will, to John 16. I missed you all last week. I hope that you enjoyed my brother, Andy Jordan. I pray that you had a good Father’s Day celebration. But as we return to the Gospel of John this morning, you’ll remember that when we were last together, we were talking about the Holy Spirit, our Great Helper, the One who does all of the things that you and I can’t do.
And for as much as talked about Him and the truths about the Spirit from verses 5-15, One thing that we didn’t really emphasize was how the promise of the Holy Spirit in those verses is evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. You see, Jesus didn’t just say that the Spirit would come, He actually came. The Holy Spirit did bring power to us as Christians. He came and empowered Peter to speak at Pentecost when 3000 people got saved. He came and worked mighty miracles through the apostles. He did what no one could do, and He continues to do so as He moves in the hearts and the lives of those of us that believe today.
And there are two key pieces here that point us to Jesus as the Son of God. First, Jesus told us of the future, and it happened. Jesus showed us, once again, that just like God the Father, He knows everything. But secondly, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, He did what He said He would do, and He did it after His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven. And we can believe that Jesus is God’s Son because Jesus constantly says and does things that no one else could say and do. We’ll see it again this morning.
So, as we look at John 16, we’re going to begin this morning in John 16:16, and as is our custom as a church, I’m going to invite you wherever you are this morning, if you are able, to stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word:
“A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?”
So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.”
Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘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, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.
“Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
“Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You, Holy Spirit, for coming and teaching it to us, showing us things that we could not see or understand. And Father, this morning, that is our prayer, that the Holy Spirit would move in and amongst Your people as we study Your Word together. Lord, we long to be useful servants in Your heavenly Kingdom. God, we want hearts that are far from You to be drawn near to You. Lord, would You come and stir us up, change us from the inside out to be more like you. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
Thank you, you may be seated. And as you get situated again, let me take you to the focus words of our time together this morning: In a little while. In a little while. These are words that point us to a season of waiting. I’m not good at waiting. I never have been. Whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent, just don’t make me wait for it. Waiting makes the clock slow down. Waiting makes the world turn slower. Waiting makes me pull my hair out. and yet, waiting is exactly what Jesus says that we need to be ready for.
“A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
In a little while. They are agonizing words. In a little while. It is the indefinite time. It is this block of time that you and I struggle with so mightily. And I want to focus in on these words as we consider these verses this morning, because in this passage, Jesus is talking about something concrete that happened. He is predicting His death and resurrection. And His disciples are trying to put together the pieces of His death, resurrection and ascension before they’ve happened.
And to you and I , these aspects of what Jesus is talking about are clear, because we are looking back on them after they have already happened. And that is really important for us, because this passage doesn’t just talk about what happened back then. He isn’t just talking about His work of atonement on the cross, He is talking about the waiting we’re doing now, and some things that have yet to come.
And I don’t know about you, but I take some assurance from the fact that the disciples needed Jesus to explain this to them. Let’s look at verses 17-18:
Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?”
So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.”
The disciples were confused about the whole thing. They didn’t understand what Jesus meant that He would die, even though He told them. They didn’t understand that He would rise again, even though He told them. They didn’t understand that in the middle, there would be this uncomfortable period of waiting.
And so, I want you to know that you and I are in good company. These men that didn’t understand were the very ones that Jesus used to turn the world upside down with the Gospel. And I want you to see this morning that Jesus is ready to meet us right where we are. Look at verse 19:
Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’?
He knows everything because He is the Son of God. As we look at the world around us, as we look at the craziness of what has happened in our country in just the last few weeks, all of this is surprising to us but none of it is surprising to Jesus. He knows where we’re at, what we’re struggling with, and the things that lie in front of us. And, not only does Jesus know the questions and doubts and anticipations that flood our minds in the midst of our waiting, but He knows the answers for them. And even as the events of this morning’s text would act as a reassurance to the disciples, it can reassure you and I right where we are this morning.
There are four things that you and I need to see in this text this morning that were true then and are true now. There are four facts of things that Jesus told His disciples about ahead of His crucifixion and resurrection that you and I can now look at, and we can apply them to the situation that we find ourselves in right now, in this moment in time, and we can find hope and direction because of the truth that rings in them. Let’s look at them together. Back to verse 16:
“A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
And so, the first truth that you and I need to cling to this morning is this:
Jesus has gone for a little while
Jesus has gone for a little while
Jesus has gone for a little while. When He spoke these words to the disciples, He was speaking of His coming death. As you and I read them, they speak to us of this time that has past since His ascension into Heaven. When He died, He was gone just three days, but since He has ascended, He is gone still, and both of these times fit into the category of “a little while!”
That seams crazy to us, doesn’t it? How can three days and thousands of years be put into the same category? What does the Psalmist write Psalm 90:4
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or as a watch in the night.
There’s an old joke about this. A man asks God, “Father is a thousand years like a day to you, and a day like a thousand years?”
God says “so it is, my son.”
The man says, “Father is a million dollars as a penny to you, and a penny as a million dollars?”
God says “so it is, my son.”
The man says, “Father, may I have a penny.”
God says “tomorrow.”
To us, the time since Jesus ascended into heaven has past like an eternity because we have no inkling of an idea how long eternity truly is. A thousand years will seam like nothing to us when we are with Jesus, but in the here and now it’s forever. Jesus has gone for a little while.
Jesus said in John 14:1-3
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus told us this was the case. He told us that He was going. He told the disciples He was going, and when it happened, at first they freaked out. They didn’t know how to respond. But then, Jesus kept His promise and He rose from the dead. And so, when He left again, we now have the promise in confidence that it will only be for a little while:
And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Jesus has gone for a little while. How long until He returns? Not long? How much time do we have? Not a lot. We have marching orders. We have things to get done. We have the command of our King, which He gave us just before His ascension in Acts 1:8
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
How long do we need to be busy making disciples? A little while. How long will Jesus be gone? A little while. We may not know how long he’ll be gone, but we know enough. Not long. And while we are waiting, we need to be busy about what He has given us to do.
Our job isn’t to be standing around waiting. We’re not to be standing, looking up at the sky. No, our hands need to be busy with the task we have at hand. When Bethany and I went out one night, we’d asked the kids to do the dishes. When we returned, we arrived to hear our kids furiously running around the house. “They’re back!” I heard one of them say to the other two. “I told you we should have gotten started!”
Jesus has gone for a little while, and so for a little while, we are waiting. For a little while, we need to focus in and be present in the here and now. For a little while, we need to live out our lives focused on the task of knowing Him and making Him known because that is what He commanded us to do in His absence. And while we may not know how long He is gone, we need to go forward as those that are prepared for the realities of the world while He is gone. Look at verse 20:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.
This is our second truth this morning, friends, that
While Jesus is gone, we will experience grief and the world will celebrate
While Jesus is gone, we will experience grief and the world will celebrate
Are you surprised, friends, at the chaos around us? I’m not. Friends, there is nothing new under the sun. 2000 years ago, crowds stood in the streets and chanted for the death of my Savior. Those that would call themselves religious laughed and mocked as He died on the cross to pay for my sins. They sealed His grave, and posted guards and breathed a sigh of relief for the victory they had just won and the enemy of our souls thought the fight was over, while the children of God mourned.
The disciples of Christ hid in a locked room, afraid even to go outside. Are you truly surprised, that in His absence nothing has changed? Are we surprised that our wold celebrates hatred? That violence and bigotry and racism dominate? And I’ll say this, SHAME ON YOU if this describes your heart at all. But does it really surprise you? It shouldn’t. It shouldn’t surprise you because Jesus said it was going to happen.
In our youth camp this year, the material offered a jarring thought and a provocative question in Bible study. Our young people were asked to consider something I would ask you to consider now. How many Christians do you know that complain about the state of the world that we live in? And how many Christians do you know that have done something about it? Here’s the hard part? I know that the first number is bigger than the second one, if there even is a second number.
Our world is going to give us cause for mourning. That race is still a problem in our community is something that we should mourn. And I’ll say this, friends, at Friendship Baptist Church, we are going to love every single person that enters into our fellowship. We are going to love people outside of our fellowship. We are going to love them, black, white, asian, Hispanic, we are going to love them however they show up or wherever we find them because that is the command of our Savior.
We are going to love because the church of Jesus Christ is different than the world around us. And this should be the source of our mourning: that while Jesus still tarries, while Jesus is still gone, the world is not as it should be and all that is evil is celebrated. It should never be that the world sees and evil to be corrected before the church of the Living God. And when we hurt, when we grieve, when we experience hatred, we will remember: it’s just a little while.
It’s just a little while. When your own family hates you because you love Jesus, it’s just a little while. When the world calls us names because of the God we serve, it’s just a little while. When our love is returned with anger and spite, it’s just a little while. It’s just a little while. And we’re waiting, and we’re enduring, because of the second half of verse 16. What does it say?
“A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
Beloved,
Jesus will come back in a little while
Jesus will come back in a little while
Jesus will come back in a little while.
One of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible is Revelation 22. And the reason that I love it is the chapter is full of affirmations from the voice of Jesus and testimonies to the truth from John, who saw the visions the book discusses. But probably the best thing is that in verses 7, 12, and 20, Jesus says that “I am coming quickly.”
Jesus is coming quickly. Jesus is coming back in a little while, and a little while is coming quickly. We might be waiting now. And right now, this waiting seams to take forever. But one day soon, our waiting will end. One day soon, Jesus will come. It’s just a little while now.
We read the pages of Scripture, and we find that Jesus was dead for a little while. He died and was buried in a tomb. The world celebrated, while the faithful mourned. But everybody thought it was over until it wasn’t. And the stone was rolled away. And death was defeated, and Jesus was raised by the power of God the Father.
Jesus was gone for a little while, but then He came back. And now, He is gone for a little while, but He is coming back.
My family likes theme parks. We like rides of all shapes and sizes. Some of us really like roller coasters. And when you’re standing in line for a roller coaster, the wait takes forever. Sometimes, you can spend more than an hour waiting to get on a ride that takes mere minutes to experience. But as insane as that sounds, for someone that enjoys roller coasters, the wait is worth it.
Look at verses 21-22
“Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
“Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
The last truth that we need to cling to from our text this morning is this:
When Jesus returnsin a little while, the joy will erase our pain and grief
When Jesus returnsin a little while, the joy will erase our pain and grief
I am thankful that I am a man. I didn’t choose it, God did, and I’m thankful for His choice to make me a man, because I have seen my wife carry three children. I’ve seen her go through three c-sections and the recovery that comes after them. And I am thankful that I don’t know what that feels like. And yet, three times I have witnessed a miracle. Because even in the midst of her pain, I have seen the joy that each child brought to their mother, a joy that nothing could ever take away.
There are few joys in this life like the joy of a mother and her newborn baby. I didn’t have to do the hard part, and I can say that the birth of my children stand as some of the greatest moments in my life. And regardless of the number of days and years that I have together with them on this earth, they have given me joy that nothing can take away. And now realize that this joy is a mere shadow and flicker of the joy that will be ours in Christ when He comes. I will die. My children will die. And none of us know how many days and years the others have. But the joy that comes in Christ has no end.
Our suffering will end, His joy never will. Right now, our pain and grief seam to go on forever, but in a little while they’ll end. Our joyous morning seems an eternity away right now, but in a little while it will last forever.
If we can only wait for a little while. It’s hard for us to focus on these things in the midst of this little while, because to us, we don’t know how long this will go on. We don’t know how long we can endure. We don’t know just how much more of not knowing, not seeing, not understanding we can take. In in the middle of what will amount to a second compared to eternity, our time here on earth seems to go on forever. But all of this will be over. All of the grief will end, while His joy will last forever. We just have to wait a little while.
Can I ask you, friend, this morning, where you are this morning? If today, a little while was over, where are you. If today, the waiting ended, the mourning was over, and the eternal joy of Christ was here, where are you? Would you be found among those whose joy had come? Would you be found doing what we have been called to for a little while, or complaining in surprise for what our Savior promised would be brief? Would you be astounded in your brokenness, or freed from your agony.
Come to the Savior, my friend. Come to the only One who can ever promise you eternal joy. Come lock arms with those of us who know that the length of our sorrows pails before the breadth of our joy. Come to the Savior. Come join us in our waiting. It’s only for a little while. We will only be here without Him for a little while. You won’t have to wait but for just a little while.
This morning, the altar is open to hearts that would long for our Savior. Let this morning be the morning that You join those who find their hope in Jesus. Come, find your joy in the coming eternity that will fade away our current trials forever. Fall into His loving arms today, while we’re still here waiting- come while there is still time...for you only have a little while.
Let’s pray together: Lord, Jesus, I thank you that for your assurance that our waiting won’t last forever. I thank You for Your sweet mercy, that won’t leave Your church to suffer long. And yet, Lord, if I’m honest, I must confess that from where I am a little while seems so long. Lord, would You help me carry on. Would You give me strength in the midst of this little while, to cling to Your promise of eternity. Would You turn my eyes from the distractions and the problems of this broken world I live in and help my focus be on those things that will last beyond this time of waiting. Lord, as we suffer in the midst of this long night, would You use it to build in us a longing for the coming morning, when You will be with us forever. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.