No One Will Take Away Your Joy

December 12, 2022

John 16:22 - Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

In this scripture, Jesus is talking with the Disciples and explaining that He soon will be leaving them and that He will suffer and die for the sins of the world. He reminds them of the pain and misery that they, His followers, can expect from the world, but He is also offering comfort. He wants them to realize that the outcome is going to be powerful and world changing. 

Every time that Jesus tried to explain to the disciples that His path to His Father was through a horrific crucifixion, they seemed baffled and didn’t want to believe it. But they also didn’t understand the great joy that they would have after the three days were over and He was with them again. He warns them that sorrow is coming. He doesn’t actually come right out and say, I’ll soon be dead. He just says, “In a little while, you will see me no more”. 

The verse right before this one, verse 21 talks about how when a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but that once she delivers the baby, she no  longer remembers the anguish because she now has joy for the new baby she brought into the world. If you are a mother and have ever given birth, you probably understand this verse pretty well! I’m a brand new grandma of my second grandson. Baby Gannon is 2 weeks old now. Labor pains don’t just come before a child is born, they actually produce the child. The baby comes because of the labor pains. 

Jesus is explaining that He will be going through his own labor pains and sorrow in order to bring us to God. And they too will have their own labor pains as they watch God’s plan unfold right before their eyes. They will have sorrow that they’ve never experienced before, but it will all be worth it in the end when they also have joy that they’ve never experienced before as well. He also said that that joy will never be taken away from them. Only the resurrection of Jesus Christ can bring that kind of joy.