Birth Pains Until He Returns
John 16:16-33
"Every time I shed a tear, every time I'm cold with fear, when I've got a broken heart, every time I fall apart, when I think I'm all alone on the road or when at home... it matters. It matters."
The OC Supertones, reigning champions of 90s Christian ska-punk, nailed it. The Father cares for you.
The Riddle That Confused Everyone
Jesus is just hours away from being arrested, tried, and crucified. He knows this. The disciples don't. Not yet. They haven't quite got it.
Not completely their fault, Jesus is speaking in riddles half the time. In verse 16 He says: "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."
Clear as mud, right? The disciples go: "Huh? What does He mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what He's saying."
So Jesus explains. And the disciples go: "Ah, okay, we get it."
And Jesus goes: "No, you don't."
But to those of us who already know the end of the story, who've already seen this play out, we know exactly what Jesus is talking about.
Three Timelines, One Truth
Part of the confusion in these chapters is that Jesus' comings and goings aren't always clear. What coming? What going?
Is He talking about going to the cross and coming back three days later in resurrection? Yes, He is.
Is He talking about going to the heavenly realms to be with the Father and eventually coming back at the second coming to restore creation? Yes, He is.
Is He talking about going to the heavenly realms and coming through the Holy Spirit as the other Advocate? Yes, He is.
There are three timelines intermingled and intertwined, like a Christopher Nolan film
All of this is taught to prepare the disciples for what's to come over the next 40-50 hours.
The Birth Pains Metaphor
Jesus knows the disciples are about to experience weeping, mourning, and grief—while the world rejoices. But He also knows their grief will turn to joy when He comes back from the dead.
And He uses this powerful metaphor:
"A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world" (vv. 21-22).
Incredible pain and anguish, toil and hardship, overcome by the triumph and joy of the child being born.
Jesus says the disciples will no longer ask Jesus for anything. It's the Father they get to ask. They get to talk directly to God. And through that, their joy will be complete.
"Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name" (v. 23).
The Prime Minister and Governor General
I’m organising a surprise for someone, and it involves getting special letters from the Prime Minister and Governor General.
Here's what I didn't do:
I didn't open up my phone, call "Albo," and go: "Hey mate, what you doing? Yeah, do you mind writing me a letter? Yeah, for next week, that'd be great. Cheers, thanks mate!"
I didn't call up "Sam. Samantha. Sammy" (the Governor General) and go: "Mate, how you doing? How's Simeon? Hey, do you mind just writing a letter for me?"
I just filled in a form.
Some junior-level admin assistant gets a notification in their inbox. They drag and drop it into some automated flow that gets pushed to the next-level admin assistant who checks that details were entered correctly. That gets flipped to middle management who prints it and passes it to the PM's executive assistant who uses an auto-pen to put his signature on.
I’m doubtful that if I receive them, neither Albo or Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC will have ever touched them.
That's NOT How God Works
Jesus' point is that's exactly NOT how God operates.
Jesus is not God's executive assistant who handles things God is too busy to deal with. That's His whole exact point.
"In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God" (vv. 26-27).
We can talk directly to the Father.
New Testament scholar and former Bishop of North Sydney, Dr. Paul Barnett, puts it like this: The disciples' experience of God to this point has been represented at a distance by Jesus' experience of the Father. Jesus has prayed to God on their behalf. They've looked to Jesus because they aren't yet confident they can talk to the Father.
But because of the next 50 hours: the cross, the tomb, the resurrection; they no longer talk through Jesus. They talk directly to the Father.
The Father Himself loves you.
Whatever Your Story With Fathers
There are many experiences of fathers and fatherhood or fatherlessness. Whatever your family situation, here is the truth of the gospel story:
Those who have trusted in Jesus, those who love Jesus, believe that He comes from God, have this promise you can always hold onto: The Father of this created world, the God of the cosmos, knows you, loves you, hears your direct prayers, delights to give you whatever you ask for.
New Testament scholar Tom Wright says this passage is all about the fact that Jesus' people have instant, immediate, direct, valued access to the very presence of the living God.
No online forms. No admin assistants handling your prayer requests, working it up the chain, finally getting to God's ears.
You have access to God the Father right now by virtue of being a Christian.
The Father Cares For You
The Father cares for you. Jesus won victory for you. The Holy Spirit is always with you, uniting you to the Father through the Son.
"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (v. 33).
This is the outworking of knowing we have permanent direct access to the Father. We can have peace. Christians have peace in this world of trouble. Not a trouble-free life. That's not what Jesus promises. It's peace in the midst of a troubled life.
How can this be true? Because of the very last words: "Take heart! I have overcome the world."
Jesus Is Not an Influencer
Jesus is NOT saying, "I have overcome the world, so if you try really hard, you too can overcome the world just like I did."
That's the message of our age. That's the message of the influencer age:
"I've overcome my eating disorder"
"I've overcome my mental health struggles"
"I've overcome my singleness"
"I've overcome my lack of fitness"
"I've overcome my productivity slump"
"I've overcome my addiction"
"I've overcome my spiritual dryness"
"If you follow these 10 steps, if you like and subscribe to my channel, if you buy my online course, you too can have victory and overcome just like me."
That's the story of our age. That's the invitation of the influencer. That is NOT what Jesus is inviting us into.
Jesus is absolutely not saying: "I have overcome the world. So if you sign up for these spiritual disciplines, if you follow this routine church-going habit, if you buy the right prayer journal, exercise these daily habits, then you too can overcome the world."
That is not what Jesus is selling.
If Jesus was just a successful influencer who managed to crack the code, and now if we follow His example we can too, we would be in for a hard shock.
Because we cannot live the perfect life. You and I cannot conquer disciple-maxxing. We can't overcome this world no matter what sort of processes and programs and steps we follow.
Where Our Confidence Actually Lies
Our confidence is in Christ's finished work:
His perfect life
His substitutionary death
His firstfruits resurrection
That's what guarantees our safe and secure inclusion in His restored, renewed, and resurrected kingdom.
Our confidence is only in standing on the ground that Jesus has already won for us.
Jesus has overcome the world by His work. And we overcome the world by His work.
As John tells us in one of his later letters: "Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4-5).
The Invitation
If you're a Christian, you can have peace in this troubled world. Not a trouble-free life, but peace in the midst of troubled life. Not because of what you do, but because of what Christ has done.
And if you're not yet a Christian, it's the same invitation we put out every week: Come and chat with us about it. Investigate. Find out if this invitation of Jesus is worth it, credible, reliable, trustworthy.
Take heart. The Father cares for you. Jesus has won victory for you. The Holy Spirit is with you, always, uniting you to the Father through the Son.
Soul Revival Church gathers across the Sutherland Shire [Kirrawee, Yarrawarrah, Miranda, Cronulla] and Ryde.