“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:4b-7)
Introduction
It is often the case, that in our immaturity, when we are in a situation where we know that a loved one is only with us for a time, and will soon have to depart from us and go away, we avoid the issue. We don’t like to talk about it, or look it straight in the eyes. We may not be joyful with our loved one, if what they are going to is a joyful situation. We prefer to hold on to our sadness and remain feeling sorry for ourselves. Certainly there is a real and right sadness that we feel when a loved one must depart. But there is an immature way to turn inward, when we are in such a situation. This is essentially what we see from the disciples, particularly in a certain way that Jesus speaks to them. On the one hand we certainly see the loving and shepherding care of Christ for His disciples, all throughout this section, as He desires that they be prepared for when He must leave them. In verse 4b when Jesus tells them that He did not tell them these things in the beginning, but has waited until now, I take that to be a sign of the way Jesus gave them just what they could handle in each moment, and did not overwhelm them with things they were not ready for, but gives them what they need at each point along the way. The things that He did not tell them would refer to all that Jesus has been talking about in this context, such as the persecutions they will face and His departure.
Explanation of Passage as Directed at the Disciples
But then we get to verse 5, where Jesus says that none of them has asked about where He is going. Similar questions have been asked, like what Peter, at a little earlier of a time, asked where Jesus was going that they could not follow. But as it seems, the focus of these questions were always on the disciples and their own sorrow, and not asked with a genuine concern and care about Jesus Himself, the mission He is accomplishing, and what that entails for them.
So I would see verse 5 as a bit of a rebuke, Jesus essentially saying that the disciples have been so self-absorbed in their own sadness that they haven’t been asking the thoughtful question of where Jesus is going and what that means for Him.
Would it not be quite joyful for Jesus to return to His Father who sent Him? Should the disciples not be happy for Jesus, knowing that He will return to His glory and heavenly throne with the Father whom He loves? Love rejoices with those who rejoice. But the disciples are turned in on their own sadness of heart.
Despite their feelings of sorrow, Jesus tells them the truth. Seeing that they are sorrowful, Jesus does not withhold the truth from them. Yet He does so in a way that is to their advantage – He’s not being a jerk, speaking to their detriment, or seeking to wound them without a purpose. He desires that they be built up and strengthened in faith. Sometimes we must be wounded with the truth in order to be strengthened to endure times of testing and trouble. He tells them that He must go away, in order that the Holy Spirit may come to them, who is The Helper. They will need a Helper to face the persecutions they will face, and to say the words that need to be said when on trial. Jesus says then, His departure is to their advantage, because that means The Helper will come.
Essentially the reason that Jesus’ going away and the Helper’s coming is of advantage to the disciples is because the Holy Spirit empowers the mission that Jesus will give to His disciples. Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus has spent three years discipling, teaching, preparing, and training His disciples for this mission that He will give them when He must depart. So there is a time of preparation; then the teacher leaves; then The Helper comes in order to carry out the mission. This is a biblical pattern that we see in other places of Scripture as well. Preparation; teacher departs; Helper comes to empower the mission.
Elijah/Elisha
One example of this in Scripture is Elijah and Elisha. Elisha was a follower of Elijah, if you will. After his time of preparation, you will read in 2 Kings 2 that Elijah was telling Elisha that he was about to leave him. But Elisha would not leave Elijah until Elijah was taken up away from him.
What is interesting is that in 2 Kings 2, Elisha asked for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah to be given to him when Elijah leaves. After Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind, it becomes evident to the other prophets that the spirit of Elijah now rests upon Elisha, and they say as much still there in 2 Kings 2. That situation is so similar to that of Jesus and His disciples.
The disciples are sort of like the new Elishas with Jesus being the greater Elijah. The disciples also had a similar call as Elisha. In 1 Kings 19, Elisha was plowing when he was called to follow Elijah, just as the disciples were busy doing things like fishing when Jesus called them to follow Him. Preparation, departure of the teacher, mission.
Moses
Not only do we have the same pattern with Elijah and Elisha as with Jesus and His disciples, but we also see some correspondence to the situation of the Israel people and Moses.
This seems to have some correspondence to Moses not going with the Israelites into the promised land. If you remember, Moses of course led the people out of Egypt, and then led the Hebrew people throughout the wilderness, as they wandered the wilderness for 40 years because of their unbelief. The 40 years of wandering was of course preparation for the Hebrew people. They were not yet ready to conquer the land of Canaan. They had been slaves and were not yet mature enough to handle the conquest, they had to be tested and learn to trust God. And if you remember, Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land with Israel. This was in large part due to his sin. He died first. Moses had to die for them to enter and begin to take the promised land. So also, the disciples were not immediately ready to take on the great commission conquering the land. They had to prepare and be tested and be trained by Jesus, in order to mature and be ready to go into the land. So also, like Moses, Jesus had to die and depart to the Father for the disciples to begin to take the nations. Of course Jesus was not being punished for His own sin, as Moses was facing the consequences of his own sin; but Jesus, as the greater Moses did have to die for the sins of His people, He had to die for other people’s sins, so that they could go and carry out the mission. Moses died and Joshua was given to lead the conquest mission. Jesus died and the Holy Spirit was given to lead the conquest mission.
So here we are, many generations later, products of that mission of discipling going to the nations, handed off the gospel torch to carry and continue to take throughout the world, the same Helper given to us, to indwell and keep us.
As 21st century disciples of Jesus, we look at John 16 and we see how our same Lord, prepared His first disciples, and how He dealt with them and shepherded them. And as we read about the lives of the disciples we look at them, and the sorrow of their hearts, and their weakness of faith at times, and while we don’t have the same literal problems, we have yet the same sin struggles. We have the same immaturity problems, maybe. We may have the same sin struggle with doubts and fears. And yet, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we have the same Lord and Shepherd. And in how Jesus shepherds His disciples, we can see the same principles and ways that He shepherds us and works to mature us and prepare us for things in life. So I want to consider our text and look at a few various principles and ways that we see here of how God relates to us and works to mature, prepare, and sanctify us.
Principles of How God Relates to Us & Gospel Application
God Feeds us as we are Able to Consume it
First, God feeds us as we are able to consume the food.
Remember verse 4, “I did not say these things to you from the beginning…” Jesus said, and He had His reasons. This is how Christ shepherds His people along – milk for the babes, meat for the mature. Little by little He grows us and feeds us what we need. Little by little we understand things. Gradually is how God often works in us. This is the biblical principle that he who is entrusted with little and is faithful, can then be entrusted with much. We see throughout the Bible, times of testing, in order to bestow or not bestow more responsibility, or more knowledge. We are not responsible to know everything, but to be faithful with what we do know and with what we do have.
This is how our Great Shepherd works: He gives us what we are able to consume, not everything at once. If you set a steak in front of a newborn baby, it would be nothing to him. He could not eat it. He is not ready to consume steak. He must be given the milk he is able to consume in order to one day be able to consume that steak.
There are many ways this principle could be applied in our lives. What has God give you charge of? What are the current responsibilities you have? Will you be faithful with what you have? If you are, it is possible that God is preparing you for greater or more responsibilities. And that usually does not mean easier. It usually means heavier. More knowledge often means more sorrow, like with the disciples. Maybe God has given you little babies to change diapers, feed, and clothe. Maybe God is preparing you to have elderly parents that you will one day be called upon to do that very same thing for.
Or maybe there is some difficult thing in your life, and you don’t understand why God has placed this difficult thing in your life; you don’t see the good that it is bringing; and it doesn’t make sense to you. If that is the case, it is because God knows that you are not yet ready to see behind the curtain. He knows you could not handle it. He knows it would be too much. He knows it would be like setting a steak in front of a baby. Therefore, it is your job to trust Him, rest in Him, and believe Him.
So let us be content in God’s sovereign wisdom to not show us “why” all at once – we could not handle it, it would be too much for us – He knows what is best…we do not.
When our Hearts are Filled with Sorrow
So now, at the right time, when they are ready, Jesus tells them of the persecutions to come, and tells them more of His departure. From these things, sorrow fills their hearts.
Now we know that as Christians, pain and sorrow are not meaningless or without purpose. This is so because we live in a world in which all things are ordained and come to pass by God’s sovereign decree and for His all wise and sovereign purposes, which include the good and benefit of His people. So if our Lord sends things into our lives that fill our hearts with sorrow, we can rest in the fact that somehow, someway, it will be to our benefit and advantage.
While there is a good and right way to have sorrow, sorrow is not a virtue. Sometimes our sorrow is sin. Sometimes we wallow in it and glory in our sorrow. Let us learn from what A. W. Pink says here, “How often is it thus with us [that sorrows fills our hearts]! We magnify our afflictions, and fail to dwell upon the blessings which they bear. We mourn and are in heaviness in the ‘cloudy and dark day,’ when the heavens are black with clouds and the wind brings a heavy rain, forgetting the beneficial effects upon the parched earth, which only thus can bring forth its fruits for our enjoyment. We wish it to be always spring, and consider not that without winter first, spring cannot be. It was so with the disciples. Instead of making the most of the little time left them with their Master, in asking Him more about His place and work in Heaven, they could think of nothing but His departure. What a warning is this against being swallowed up by over-much sorrow! We need to seek grace to enable us to keep it under control.”
How can we know if we have a right sorrow or a sinful sorrow? If our sorrow causes us to turn inward and despair, then we may have some idolatry issues. But if we are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, then we are being sorrowful as a Christian. A Christian doesn’t not have sorrow, he just also has joy. The Christian believes and has faith that God will make good come of it, even if he cannot see what that may be – he rejoices because this is what his God has ordained for him to endure to make him more into the image of Christ and bring him closer to heaven. In his sorrow, a Christians knows that through death comes resurrection. If we believe that Jesus resurrected from the dead then we have every reason to believe that the sun waits behind the dark storm clouds we endure. Because Jesus rose from the dead, and because God ordains all that does come to pass, Jesus will at times afflict the hearts of His people. And we can rejoice that our occasion to sorrow comes from His hand, and not a meaningless universe or impotent god. Sorrow is not the end of the story for the Christian.
It is to Our Advantage
As a Christian, whatever sorrows fill your heart, or whatever sorrows Jesus has stricken your heart with, it is to your advantage. Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
In our sorrow we must hold on to the promise that it is for our good. If you do not believe that whatever it is you are going through is for your good, then you are not sorrowing like a Christian. You are sinning, and you need to repent and trust God. Trust Christ that He loves you and knows what He is doing. Let God be God. For God is God and we are not.
All sorrows and hard providences, for the Christan, are for our good: loss of loved ones, a difficult marriage, difficult children, difficult parents, physical ailments, job and finance difficulty – all of it is for your good and for your advantage. It takes faith to believe that.
Jesus tells His disciples that it is to their advantage that He goes away. Now generally, we are thinking of Jesus’ going away to the Father, His ascension to heaven, and then the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And that is true.
But of course as Jesus says this to His disciples, He has yet to be arrested and suffer and be nailed to the cross and die and rise again. Before His departure to the Father, He must go to the cross. The cross is the way to the Father. There is yet greater sorrow on the imminent horizon for Jesus and the disciples. Yet also there is greater joy to come. The greater the sorrow we endure the greater joy we will receive.
Hear what John Gill says: “Christ’s going away was expedient for His people; since he went to open the way for them into the holiest of all, by his blood; to take possession of heaven in their name and stead; to prepare mansions of glory for them; to appear in the presence of God for them; to be their advocate, and make intercession for all good things for them; to transact all their business between God for them; to take care of their affairs; to present their petitions; to remove all charges and accusations; and to ask for, and see applied every blessing of grace unto them…if Christ had not gone away or died, there would have been nothing for the Spirit to have done; no blood to sprinkle; no righteousness to reveal and bring near; no salvation to apply…”
If the disciples had gotten their way and kept Jesus with them, they would have never sent Him to the cross. He would have never suffered for sinners. He would have never spilled His blood to atone for our sins. He would have never died and resurrected. We would be without hope and without a Savior, and would indeed have no occasion for rejoicing. The disciples were so confused and so mistaken on what they thought was best and what they thought Jesus was doing. But later on they realized that Jesus knew best all along. Indeed it was better that Jesus go away and go through the cross and the grave. Indeed it was better that Jesus then go away to the Father, ascending to Heaven. For there in Heaven, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father as our advocate. There He ever lives to intercede on our behalf. It is far better that Jesus be there in Heaven advocating for us and praying for us than He be here on earth. For if He were not there, who is there to advocate before the throne of God for us? Who would’ve been there to throw down Satan and his accusations against God’s elect? It is to our advantage that Christ is with the Father in Heaven. While the Son is there in Heaven seated on His throne, He is yet still with us, as Jesus told His disciples before He departed, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” He sits in Heaven acting on our behalf, while He is yet with us by the sending to us of His Spirit. This is the best case scenario for us here on earth.
A Mission to Accomplish
How is it to our advantage that Jesus has gone away? We have a mission to accomplish. There is still yet a harvest to be brought in. There is still yet a gospel to be preached. There are still yet nations to be discipled. There are still yet enemies to be defeated. There is still yet forgiveness of sins to be had for lost and dying sinners. There are still yet eyes to be opened and hearts to be raised from the dead. There are still yet sheep to come into the fold. There is still yet dominion to be taken. There are still yet kids to be raised and responsibilities to be stewarded faithfully. None of this can we do by the power of our own flesh. None of this can we do on our own. For none of this are we sufficient to accomplish it. We need The Helper, we need the Holy Spirit, to empower the mission, to give us success, to enable us for this purpose. And The Helper is who we have, as Jesus has gone to Heaven and sent The Helper to us.
All of this also means that it is better for us to be alive in the year of our Lord 2021, than in the time of Christ, or the early church, or whatever church history period we like the best…Often times we romanticize the era of the apostles, since they literally walked with Christ and were witnesses to His miracles, teaching, death, and resurrection. While indeed that was an unmatched privilege, it is better for us to be alive here and now, and we know that because we are alive here and now, and all things work to our advantage if we are in Christ. We live now in the day of salvation, in the time of the Holy Spirit empowered mission, in the time of the Church, in a more mature time of the Church than the first century, despite all the false churches out there. We live now in a time where we have a great amount of history to look upon and see the working of Jesus by His Spirit in and through His people.
Jesus’ departure did not mean the end of his work on earth, but rather a new beginning. The Helper, the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus on earth and in history.
So whatever sorrows that you have been ordained to endure, no matter how difficult it may be, trust in Jesus, that He knows what He is doing, and that He is working it for your good and advantage. Repent for where you have refused to hope and look to Christ, for where you have refused to trust His promises that it is for your good. And now that since we are yet sinners, it is better that Jesus be in heaven with the Father to advocate for and intercede for us, while we are yet on earth, where He has sent the Helper to be be with us and empower us as we seek to be faithful with the mission God has given to us.
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