Third Avenue Baptist Church Sunday School — The Gospel of John Series February 28, 2021 We're in John chapter 16. And after we pray, we'll begin in verse 16 of chapter 16, as we are seeing the groundwork laid for the high priestly prayer of Jesus coming in John 17, let's pray. Father, we're just so thankful that you give us what we need. And, that means sun and sometimes it means rain. And Father, you knew that now we need rain. Thank you for giving it to us. Thank you for watering the earth. How many people throughout history have had to pray in a time of drought for the gift of even a drop of water. Thank you for watering us abundantly. Thank you for giving us your Lord. May we feast on your Word this hour, and we pray your Holy Spirit will apply the Word to our hearts. Even as the Holy Spirit, he inspired John to write this gospel. Father, we pray that all of this will come full circle in increase through us for your glory. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Our Lord, amen. The Farewell Discourse of Jesus is ending. And as we have to remind ourselves, this is one conversation. It's one very long conversation and it's not just conversational, in the sense that every once in a while you do see the disciple ask a question, It is didactic. It's pastoral. It's didactic, in the sense that it's teaching. This is Jesus telling them things. It's like a final briefing. It's like a general before an army goes to war. It's a final briefing. Things are about to happen that he's been trying to tell the Disciples now for what we might say is three years. You look at the gospel of John and, and you look in the very beginning until now. How many times has Jesus spoken about his hour that's coming? Now sometimes he says it negatively. My hour is not yet come. And so if his hour is not yet come, then his hour is coming. And of course, then what is his hour? Well, it's the culmination of his earthly ministry, but it isn't come yet. His hour has not yet come, but it's coming, it's coming. It is not at all clear that the disciples had any sense of a timetable and of any quickening of that timetable. And of any immanence of this hour that is coming. Furthermore, Jesus has told them things that will make sense in retrospect. And they only make sense to us because we've read the gospel of John and we know these things and the disciples don't. We're going into a passage right now in which the disciples at one level seem to understand what Jesus means. And yet they still don't seem to understand his timetable. Now he has told them that one of them will betray him. This is back in chapter 13 and, and he has spoken to those issues happening. But here in John chapter 16, where we had just seen Jesus speak the gift to the Holy Spirit last week, we were in that amazing passage earlier in this chapter where Jesus says it is better for you, that I go for I am sending the helper. So we're looking at, in salvation history, one of these great hinge moments, it's like salvation history is a symphony and, and there's a climactic movement coming, but we're right in the central movement, that is the hinge in which everything turns the incarnation of the Lord, Jesus Christ, his accomplished mission. And, and then there's another age coming, the age of the church when Jesus will ascend to the Father, he will leave the disciples, but the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send and he will send will be with us. As you look to verse 16, Jesus says 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? 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'm 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. The joy of having children, little, little children, preschool children, children, just learning to talk and minds just soaking everything up. The joy of that is that they ask the questions they want to ask. And you say something and they don't understand it, they’ll say something like that. Grandchildren turn out to do the same. And Benjamin and Henry, Benjamin's five, Henry's two. We were FaceTiming with them while we were in Florida for my mother's funeral. They had been in Florida with us earlier in the month of January. And we're just FaceTiming. And it came up that we were in Florida and Benjamin just said, what'd you mean you were in Florida? Like, it can't be, you were just in Florida, you weren't in Florida anymore. How can you be back in Florida? This doesn't make any sense. What do you mean you're in Florida? Well, this is like the disciple saying what'd you mean this little while? What does he mean? A little while I won't be with you and then a little while I'll be with you. What's he mean now? The amazing thing is that this has been said before in chapter 13. In chapter 13, verse 33, Jesus said to them a little while, and I will not be with you. And then in a little while you will see me and it's this little while see me, little while not see me. And the interesting again, is that the disciples asking the question is actually in the text. So they went on and spoke. So they were saying, what does he mean by a little while? We do not know what he's talking about. So again, very honest, the disciples don't know what he's talking about. And you want to look there at chapter 16 and say, how can you not know what he's talking about? But then again, just humbly realize we would be in the same position as they are, because we only know what Jesus is talking about because we know the rest of the story. In verse 19 we’re told Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him. So he said to them, “Is this what you were 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 to joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow. 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 will, you have sorrow now, but I will see you again. And your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you. And that day you'll ask nothing of me, truly, truly I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now, you've asked nothing in my name asking, you'll receive that your joy may be full.” So Jesus knows in himself what they're asking. You see the same thing in John chapter six, Jesus knows what they're thinking. And so he speaks right into their thinking. He knows what they're asking. And so he even repeats himself. I know this is what you're asking about, but then he doesn't exactly answer it. Not, immediately. It's kind of like going up to a child and saying, I know this is what you're asking about. Well, let me tell you about this and Jesus uses the example of a woman in childbirth. But even as he's speaking to them, beginning in verse 19, he says, this is it. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. But even as you weep and lament, the world will rejoice. So when Jesus is tried and when he is crucified, he says the world's gonna rejoice. And he means by that, of course, the powers that be. The powers of evil, he means those who will seek to take his life. He means those who believe that their political and social power will be protected, if Jesus is gone, those who hate him. And as Jesus has said, hating him will hate his disciples. They will rejoice in his death. And, and we see that. This is done. We put him out of the way, but he says, even as the world will rejoice and you're filled with sorrow, you will be filled with joy. And that's just made very clear. And he refers to what is going to happen and his hour. And he even uses that expression. He, when her hour has come. Now, all of a sudden doesn't that clarify everything. Doesn’t that clarify everything? A baby is coming. A woman knows the baby is coming. And yet the process of labor is the hour that’s it. Her hour will come. And when it comes, there's anguish. Anguish in that process goes back to Genesis three. But the mother doesn't remember the anguish when she's holding the baby. And Jesus speaks of his own atoning sacrifice. In those very terms, it's going to be like childbirth. When his hour comes will be anguish, but as the scripture says, joy is coming in the morning. Now, again, they can understand part of this, maybe. They don't appear to understand much of it. Jesus went on also to continue something of the theme of what it will mean that he is no longer with them. And this is what you really find in the agency in prayer, that Jesus mentions in verse 23 and following. “In that day you'll ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give to you. Until now you've asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you'll receive, that your joy may be full.” Now, those are just two little verses, and generally they're read the wrong way and prosperity theologians or someone saying, well, there's Jesus. Just saying, if you ask him my name, the Father's gonna give it to you. No, there's something earth shatteringly swinging like on a hinge here. Have you, you noticed that no one has invoked the name of Jesus in prayer, until now. We pray in Jesus’ name. We think nothing of it, because we're taught to do that. But how is it that we pray in Jesus' name? On what authority do we pray in Jesus' name? If you look at all the prayers in the old Testament, the prayer’s to the Father. If you look at the prayers Jesus has prayed, they are prayers to the Father. As you think about how the Jewish people have been trained to pray, the
