Fourth Sunday of Easter (1905)

John 16:16-23 In today's Gospel the Lord Christ comforts His disciples concerning His passion and death and concerning His going away to the Father. He wants to mark this comfort very deeply in the memory and hearts of His disciples. Therefore He used, as before in his last discourses1, some unusual, strange words.2 These words were certainly not dark and incomprehensible in and of themselves. But because the disciples at that time made all sorts of misconceptions about Christ's kingdom, they did not grasp the meaning of them. However, even all the words of their Lord and Master were for them and especially the words that He spoke in that solemn hour with them are of great importance. So they first consult with each other what the Lord could have meant.3 But the Lord, who knew very well what stirred their hearts, comes to their aid and explains to them the previous words still further. The proper understanding of these words is for all disciples of Christ at all times, indeed even of the highest importance for His enemies. What is this that He says, "In a little while"? This is 1. a word of comfort for the grieving disciples of the Lord. a. "In a little while", says the Lord to His disciples, "and you will not see Me", and proclaims to them first of all His passion and death.4 At the same time, He also suggests that His death will sink them into the deepest sadness.5 This prophecy of the Lord has come true also "in a little while", in a few hours. So the disciples were mourning over the death of their dear Lord and Master, over their own faithlessness and the alleged destruction of the great hopes they had placed on Him.6 This mourning of the disciples over the death of the Lord is also a picture of sadness which even today suddenly and unexpectedly falls over so many disciples of the Lord, and this often "in a little while." There sometimes come special sufferings and afflictions over them, especially in the imitation and because of the imitation of Christ. Because it appears to them even at times as if the Lord Christ is dead with His grace and help, as if He did not hear their cries and screams.7 Yes, the whole church is, as long as it is on earth, a kingdom of the Cross8; she is afflicted, tossed

John 13:33. John 16:16. 3 John 16:17-18. 4 John 16:16a. 5 John 16:20-21a. 6 Luke 22:62; John 20:25; Luke 24:17. 7 1 Peter 1:6; Romans 5:2; Psalm 13:2, 42:10; Isaiah 49:14, etc. 8 Acts 14:22.
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with tempest.9 (Heresy, all sorts of scandal, garbage, persecution, struggle with flesh and blood, the world and the devil.) All disciples of Christ often meet with great, deep sadness. However, they should not despair, not allow courage utterly to sink; because b. "A little while", says the Lord, "and you will see Me" etc.10 So He promises his disciples not merely that they will see him once again soon in a very short time, but that their hearts then with great, great joy, which shall not be taken away from them, should be filled.11 How quite soon is this so comforting "a little while" fulfilled to those disciples of Christ! The Lord arose from the grave on the third day, magnificent and glorified, appeared to them and soon after His ascension sent them the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. He led them into all truth12, gave them courage and boldness, a world-conquering faith, which could not rob them even of all suffering of this time.13 All true Christians and the Church in common come to similar experiences. After a short time of affliction and sadness, "in a little while" the Lord will again appear with His grace and help and change mourning and crying into joy.14 And eventually "in a little while", after a trial of a few days, the Lord leads His people, whether by a blessed death, whether by the brightness of his coming, into eternal glory, where they see the Lord for all eternity face to face, and shall be wonderfully comforted.15 c. Had the disciples of the Lord in that hour let go of their false and foolish notions of Christ's kingdom and rightly learned to understand the word of comfort: "in a little while", then they would have probably lamented the torture and death of their Lord, but they would have been preserved from utter despondency, despair, and unbelief. In the midst of grief they would have rejoiced over Christ's going away to the Father. Would that but we understand this word right now and take it to heart, then we would rejoice in the midst of tribulation.16 We would also not come in danger of suffering shipwreck of our faith and to dishonor the Lord.17 Likewise, we would be offended in the happiness and joy in the world18, for the same word: "in a little while" is also 2. A warning for the secure, to their service to sin rejoicing world. a. V. 16a. The mourning of the disciples of Christ will be joy to the world.19 Great was the rejoicing and joy of the Jews and particularly their uppermost, as the Lord Christ died on the cross and they gave themselves hope that the voice of truth
Isaiah 54:11. John 16:16b. 11 John 16:20b, 21b, 22b. 12 John 16:23. 13 Acts 4:13, 29; 28:31; 2 Corinthians 7:4; 1 John 5:4. 14 Psalm 12:6; 97:1; Isaiah 61:3. 15 Psalm 126:2; Isaiah 35:10; 1 Peter 1:8; Romans 8;18; Luke 16:25 (KELG 370:10-11). 16 2 Corinthians 7:14; 1 Peter 4:13. 17 KELG 370:1. 18 Psalm 73. 19 John 16:20a.
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would be silenced forevermore20 and they now could boldly serve sin. So even today the world rejoices in its service to sin21, and in particular also to know when it sees that individual Christians or the Church in general go amiss.22 It still perceives it as a sign that they can sin with impunity. But their joy is not true joy in the heart23 and it is of short duration. Because b. "in a little while", says the Lord to His disciples, "you will see Me." 24 And even this, what comforts and warmly pleases the disciples, will fill enemy with fear and terror. Their joy is only of a short duration and will turn into sorrow and lament. The resurrection of Christ and the joyful witness of the disciples threw the highest among the Jews into fear and dismay.25 And "in a little while" the Lord came with terrible judgment over the people of the Jews and showed them that His threats and warnings were meant seriously.26 Thus even now the laughter of the godless is turned into sorrow and lament "in a little while." They must forevermore see that the Lord helps His own, they cannot eradicate the Church; the Lord lets befall temporal judgments upon individuals and entire nations.27 And finally, "in a little while" comes death and judgment, and there finally all jubilation and joy of the world will be turned into the unspeakable and endless woe of eternity.28 c. Yet the Lord does not want the ruin and the destruction of the godless.29 And so this word, "in a little while" is above all also a warning and request for them to repent in due time.30 But where the world does not take to heart this warning that lies in this word, "in a little while", is still necessary for the sake of the flesh and must constantly be on guard that the devil, the world, and our flesh do not delude us.31 So let us then surely take to heart this word of Christ "in a little while" and rather, as Moses, suffer hardship with God's people, than to have the temporal pleasures of sin.32 There is already no shortage of consolation here, and the end is the joy and glory of eternal life.33 J.H.

Luke 23:34 e.g. Matthew 24:38; 1 Corinthians 15:38; 1 John 2:16. 22 Psalm 35;15; Lamentations 2:15-16. 23 Isaiah 48:22; Matthew 27:63. 24 John 16:16. 25 Matthew 28:12-13; Acts 4:16-17. 26 Matthew 26:64; Deuteronomy 28:45ff.; Isaiah 8:20-22 (Destruction of Jerusalem, etc.). 27 Psalm 7:12ff.; 2:9, etc. 28 Luke 6:26; Matthew 8:12; 13:40; Revelation 1:7; Isaiah 66:24. 29 Ezekiel 33:11; 1 Timothy 2:4. 30 Psalm 2:10-11; 2 Peter 3:9. 31 1 Peter 5:8; James 1:13-14, etc. 32 Hebrews 11:25. 33 Revelation 2:10, 7:14-17 (KELG 437:6-7).
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