THE AGONY OF DEFEAT, THEN THE JOY OF VICTORY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me.”

At this, some of His disciples said to one another, “What does He mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what He is saying.”

Jesus saw that they wanted to ask Him about this, so He said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 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. So with you: 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 that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.”

John 16:16-23

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him and spit on Him; they will flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.”

The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about.  Luke 18:31-34

Before Jesus led His disciples into Jerusalem where He would spend His final week of life, He shared this message with His faithful followers. Not only did He intend to prepare them for the great suffering He would bear, suffering that would result in death, but He also wanted them to know that He would not remain in the grave forever. Rather, on the third day, He would rise again.

There would be agony in apparent defeat but this would be swallowed up by the joy of resurrection victory. It was an important message for the disciples to hear but not one they needed to fully understand, at least not yet. There would be a later time for that.

Fast forward now to the night before Jesus’ crucifixion. He had just shared His final Passover meal with His disciples and then did what He loved to do, provide instruction and direction to His followers. And this instruction and direction served to revisit and reinforce the earlier words He had spoken and center His disciples on the immediate future and its events.

For indeed, Jesus would soon be gone. His broken body would sag and droop on the cross after His Spirit departed and would then disappear from human sight once placed in the tomb which was sealed by a large stone. He would be seen no more but only for a little while. The agony of seeming defeat on the cross wouldn’t prolong because just as quickly as Jesus lost life, He would regain it as God would resurrect His Son in power and once again, He would be able to be seen by His disciples.

Think about how much of a game changer that must have been for the Eleven, the number of remaining followers after Judas betrayed Jesus. Yes, there would be mourning over Jesus’ loss but on the third day after His crucifixion, the disciples sorrow would convert over to joy and rejoicing, just like a expectant mother would suffer through labor during the run up to delivery but then find her hurting turned into elation once the child which developed inside her emerged into the world and was placed in her arms for the very first time.

The agony of defeat felt at death would give way to the ecstasy found in Jesus’ new, resurrected life.

Friends, ever since that day when Jesus went to the tomb and then was raised again, this process has repeated itself over and over and over again. For those who are in Christ will die and see this earthly life end, just as Jesus did. But those same people in Christ will also be resurrected in power into their own eternal life, made new by the One who makes all things new.

It’s the promise that forms the foundation of the Gospel and provides the Christ believer hope day after day after day.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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