March 15, 2021
John 16:19-20, “Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are 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 into joy.”
Here you see Jesus pointing to an important contrast between the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God. The world will actually rejoice at the death of Jesus, and they did. They cheered at the trial, shouting out, “Crucify him!” They knew that Jesus claimed to be God, he disappointed the Israelites in his lack of political ambition, while simultaneously infuriating the Romans with the fear of political ambition. Jesus is a threat to everything, whatever you put your trust in - the nation, your social ideologies, your money, your family - Jesus rules over them all. It’s natural for those who acutely see Jesus threatening their way of life to rise up in anger and rejoice at his death. But for those who recognize, even in part, who Jesus is and what he is doing on the earth, they will weep at the loss of their leader. But again here Jesus promises something new in the resurrection. He knows that they won’t rejoice right away - not at the death of Jesus, because they can’t understand it and have really no category yet for substitutionary atonement. But at the resurrection, the pieces will begin to fall into place. It will make sense to them what Jesus said about himself at the Passover Meal, that he is the lamb who was slain, to take away the sins of the world. And as his new life promises new life to every believer, it’s a reason to celebrate, to dance, for that sorrow to be turned into eternal joy.
Prayer: Lord, this is a long season of winter; it’s complicated due to the pandemic. We lament the pains that are happening in the world right now. And yet, out of this pain is incredible promise - that this isn't the end of the story, that because of the resurrection, we have this confirmation that all is being made new - that even those bad things can be redeemed, and that’s what we long for, Lord. Be with us as we anticipate the celebration of your resurrection at Easter. Amen.
40 Days of Joy: Amelie. Though not everything in the story is redemptive in scope - it takes some odd turns - it’s joy is contagious and wonderful. For adults only, this one, but another fantastic and fun movie.
