Peace in a Troubled World

Sermon preached by Pastor C. John Steer

Autumn Ridge Church, Rochester, MN

August 9 and 10, 2008

 

 

Scripture:       John 16:16-33

No. 19:         John’s gospel

 

The scene is the Upper Room in Jerusalem.

Jesus is present with 11 of his disciples, for Judas has already departed into the night. Jesus has just told the apostles, “Come now, let us leave.” They will soon cross the Kidron Valley into Gethsemane where Jesus will be arrested.

 

Jesus knows the next 24 hours will be the worst day of his friends’ life as they watch his trial and execution.

So in this Upper Room discourse he does his best to prepare them.

 

Every great leader warns his followers of the pain and struggle of coming battle, but gives them hope that the outcome will be victorious. Abraham Lincoln did this with the Union forces at the start of the Civil War.

Winston Churchill was realistically honest with the British people about the blood, toil, tears and sweat in store for them in the Second World War before victory could be achieved.

 

Here Jesus prepares his troops for battle. He has already told them that the world will hate them because it hates him.

He has warned them they will be persecuted and pursued.

Now he needs to give them hope.

He needs to give them a reason to keep going.

That is the thrust of this passage.

 

So please turn to John chapter 16 in your Bible and the message outline as we discover how we can have Peace in a Troubled World.

 

Jesus leaves us in no doubt about his purpose in giving this call to arms.  He explains: “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.” (vs 33)

 

Now peace is something we all want.

We long for it because it is in short supply.

I love Matthew Henry’s comment that, “Peace is such a precious jewel that I would give anything for it but truth.”

 

We want peace.  We need peace, but peace eludes us.

We can identify with the disciples in their time of trial.

We too are facing stresses that are almost too much to bear.

Our hearts are full of worry.

For some of us the bottom has fallen out of our world and we wonder where we will find the strength to keep going.

 

So Jesus’ words have enormous, practical application for us.

They will sustain us in times of grief, disappointment, loneliness and bad news.

But can we trust them? Or is this just another politicians’ stump speech, long on dreams but short on detail?

The good news is that Jesus’ promise of peace in a troubled world is genuine because it is based on three colossal truths that we can live by.

 

Truth number one is that JESUS IS WITH US.

He explains to his fearful followers, “In a little while you will see me no more and then after a little while you will see me.” (vs 16)

 

That was absolutely true. The very next day he would be killed and buried and they would see him no more.

They would huddle in a locked room, terrified that the authorities would come for them.

 

It had been so much easier when Jesus was with them, but now he is gone.

How could they manage on their own?

Soon they would saying, “This is no good.   Let’s go back to Galilee and resume our lives as fishermen.”

Despondence and despair would set in.

 

But Jesus promises his departure is not permanent, for “After a little while you will see me.”

But what does a “little while” mean?

 

The old commentators like Augustine and Calvin said this “little while” referred to the present church age when Jesus has gone back to heaven so we can’t see him.

But one day he will return in glory and every eye will see him.

 

Modern commentators believe that when Jesus speaks about “a little while” he is referring to his resurrection.

For a little while the disciples would not see him.

That was true. There were three days when Jesus was in the grave. But then they would see him again when he rose on Easter morning and triumphantly appeared among them, even though the doors were still locked.

If theologians are uncertain what Jesus means by “a little while”, they are not alone. The apostles were also confused.

 

John tells us, 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?’” … They kept asking, “What does he mean by a little while? We don’t understand what he is saying.” (v 17-18)

 

Jesus is aware of their confusion, so by way of explanation he gives them an illustration that they understand perfectly.

“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.” (v 21-22)

 

That cleared their thinking.

 

Jews believe that time is divided into two ages.

The Present Age and the Age to Come.

The Present Age is sometimes grim but the Age to Come will be glorious.

In between these two ages is the Day of the Lord.

This was a terrible time of pain and suffering.

 

The Jews called that terrible between time “the Birth Pangs of the Messiah.”

They likened it to the pain of childbearing which precedes the entry of a new life into the world.

 

The Old Testament prophets described these birth pangs.

Isaiah writes, “As a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, O Lord … but your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy.” (Isaiah 26:17,19)

After the birth pangs of the Messiah comes the golden age.

 

The disciples had grown up with these scriptures, and so Jesus is speaking to their situation. He is telling them, “I am leaving you now but I will come back. The day will come when my reign will begin and my kingdom will come. But before that you will have to go through dreadful suffering. It will be like the pain of childbirth. But if you endure faithfully, the blessing of my reign will be yours.”

With Jesus’ death and resurrection, a new world is being born.

 

As a mother forgets the pain of childbirth once she holds her baby in her arms, so we will forget the pain of battle once the victory has been achieved.

This is what Paul meant when he said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)

 

 

And so Jesus speaks to our situation and applies the promise of his presence to us.

Because Jesus’ presence is rooted in the historical fact of his resurrection, it can never be undone.

That is why it is a joy that no one can take away from us.

No power in heaven or earth can separate us from the love of the Risen One.

 

A Korean martyr said to the Communist before his execution, “You may take my life from me, but you can never take Christ from my heart.”

 

When we know that Jesus is with us we can face almost any situation.

In the early morning of January 3, 1956 in Shell Mera, southeast of Quito, Ecuador, five men sat around a kitchen table praying together. Their names were Jim Elliott, Pete Fleming, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, and Roger Youderian.

 

They were preparing for face-to-face contact with the unreached, unpredictable Auca Indians, deep in the interior of Ecuador.

When the moment of departure arrived, the men began to sing a hymn that they had grown to love.

Loudly the words rang out,

 

“We rest on thee, our shield and our defender

Thine is the battle, thine shall be the praise.

When passing through the gates of pearly splendor

Victors we rest with thee through endless days.”

 

Minutes later their plane was airborne.

Days later all five men were dead. Their lifeless bodies found floating in the Curaray River in Auca territory.

They experienced the pain of spiritual battle, but then the joy of victory as they walked through those gates of pearly splendor.

 

Thankfully, most of us will not be asked to give our lives for Christ. But we are asked to live for him in the midst of pain and suffering. The assurance of his presence brings a peace that passes understanding.

 

The second colossal truth that explains why we can have peace in a troubled world is that JESUS PROVIDES FOR US.

 

Notice how often this provision is guaranteed.

“I tell you the truth (there is that expression “Amen, Amen” again. It means something very important is about to follow), my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (v23)

“Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (v 24)

Because Jesus answers our prayers, we can be peaceful and joyful for we have all the divine resources of heaven available to us.

 

Those who belong to Jesus have instant, immediate, direct access into the very presence of the living God.

The throne room door in heaven is open.

We do not need to ask for permission.

We do not need to go through any human mediator.

We can come directly to our Father.

 

This promise of provision is tremendously encouraging because it tells us something about God.

Jesus explains, “The Father himself loves you because you love me and have believed that I came from God.”

(v 26-27)

Here we have the assurance of God’s love for us.

 John Calvin writes, “We have the heart of God as soon as we place before him the name of his son.”

 

Maybe we say, “Well, that promise of provision was made to the disciples. They were special people.”

But that’s not really true.

These were ordinary men, who within a few hours would run away when Jesus is arrested in Gethsemane.

 

This promise for provision is for everybody.

However despondent we are.

However overwhelmed with the problems of life.

However lacking peace in our soul.

We can come to our Heavenly Father, knowing that he will give us whatever we ask in the name of Jesus.

“In the name of Jesus” is another way of saying we pray according to the will of Jesus and for the glory of Jesus.

 

The third great truth that guarantees our peace in a troubled world, is that JESUS SHARES HIS VICTORY WITH US.

Jesus tells his disciples, “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” (v 28)

 

This is a delightful summary of Christ’s life on earth.

And suddenly the disciples get it. The penny drops and they say, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things … This makes us believe that you came from God.” (v 29-30)

 

We can almost hear the relief in Jesus’ voice when he says, “You believe at last!” (v 31)

He might have added “And not a moment too soon.”

But here’s his honesty coming through once again.

 

Jesus never said that following him would be easy, and he warns them, “The time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”

(v 32)

 

Their desertion in Gethsemane would not surprise Jesus.

But he wouldn’t be alone. His Father is with him.

Sometimes our friends desert us, but we are never alone either. The Father is with us.

 

Then Jesus concludes with this hope imparting statement.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (v 33)

The whole world may be against us but Jesus has overcome that world. The devil does not get the last word.

 

That belongs to Jesus, the Father’s Everlasting Son.

By his resurrection he defeated death and all the powers of darkness. The victory is his. Christ has conquered.

And because we belong to him we share in his triumph.

 

Oh yes, the disciples would desert and deny and doubt.

But that is not the end of them, for Jesus has overcome.

He will restore them and renew them.

That is why we do not need to be discouraged.

The risen Christ is with us.

He provides for us, and shares his victory with us.

 

Last month our family visited the Czech Republic.

At the entrance of the palace in Prague there are two magnificent statues.

They represent two guardians. Each is slaying a devil.

The intended message is that nothing evil or malicious can enter this center of power.

 

It is a nice idea but it is not true.

Plenty of evil entered that Palace in the days of Communism and before and since.

No political system can banish pain and suffering.

No theological system can do it either and those who promise a pain free life are not being faithful to scripture.

Suffering is part of our lot in a fallen world.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank you that we can experience real peace and lasting joy even in the midst of our troubles. All this is possible because Jesus is with us.

 

We pray for those suffering today. We think of brothers and sisters persecuted for their faith. We remember those in prison because of their love for Jesus.

 

We bring before you those who are starving, those dying of Aids, those enduring the injustice of modern-day slavery and we ask that you would sustain them and encourage them.

 

We pray for your Church in those countries where Christians are reviled and their jobs and homes and sometimes children taken from them.

 

We lift before you those in our own congregation going through difficult times, facing unemployment, divorce, illness, or confronting their own death. Send your Spirit to surround them with your love. Build them up in their faith. Assure them that nothing can separate them from you.