Labor Pains (John 16:16-33)
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[00:00:00] Welcome to another episode of Rebuilding Faith.
These are 10-minute Bible messages for people with questions and doubts. I want you to think about, have you ever read the Bible and you were totally confused by what you read, and you didn't know whether you should take it literally or not, or this was some figurative type language?
Well, if you've ever felt that, you're in great company because the disciples often felt that, and we often feel that collectively when we read the words of Jesus. And we're gonna see that in today's passage.
Even Jesus is gonna acknowledge that he's been using some language that is maybe a little trickier for us to figure out. In John chapter 16, we're gonna begin reading in verse 16. Jesus says this: " In a little while, you won't see me anymore, but a little while after that, you will see me again."[00:01:00]
You're like, "What? What are, what are we talking about here?" Some of the disciples asked each other, "What does he mean when he says, 'In a little while, you won't see me, but then you will see me, and I am going to the Father'? And what does he mean by a little while? Like, we don't understand." Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, "Are you asking yourselves what I meant?
I said, 'In a little while, you won't see me, but a little while after that, you will see me again.'" I love this. You read this and you're like, "Huh?" I mean, this is one of those passages you have to read out loud because when you read it out loud, some of the absurdities in this exchange are more noticeable, right?
Now, this [00:02:00] confusing sentence that we have here is repeated three different times. Jesus says it, the disciples repeat it as they ask it in the form of a question, and then Jesus asks the disciples if they're asking about it and says it again. Now, we might think, "Which is it, Jesus?
Are we going to see you, or are we not going to see you?" I want you to think about how would you react if, I don't know, a friend of yours started talking like this be like, "What are you talking about?
Why are you, why are you talking like that? Like, why are you using this cryptic language? What on earth are you trying to communicate to me? What's the point here?" Right? This is very strange. Yet, this is how Jesus is setting up some of his last moments with his disciples before he's going to be killed.
And then verse 20, " I tell you the truth. You will weep and mourn over what [00:03:00] is going to happen to me. But the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.
So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, then you will rejoice and no one can rob you of that joy." So Jesus is gonna get super bold with his analogy here. He's using analogy I wouldn't pick for fun, but he decides to compare what's about to happen to a woman in labor. Now, I want you to imagine a woman suffering the pains of labor.
Some of you, you have been that woman, so this is very easy for you to imagine. Some of you were in the room with that woman, right? Who was suffering the pains [00:04:00] of labor. I have been in the room numerous different times to witness what this looks like,
now, here's what I want you to do. I want you to imagine you're in the room. Imagine a woman is right in the middle of labor pains, of suffering this pain, and you decide to encourage her. And here's what you say to encourage her. You say this, "You know, if you didn't want this pain, you shouldn't have gotten pregnant."
Yeah, I don't recommend this, right? Uh, that would not go well, and you're like, oh gosh, why would you ever say that to someone? Now, you can imagine someone maybe a little dense might think, "Hey, this led to this," right? Like, "Don't you know?" Like, "You could have avoided this whole thing." But that would miss the moment because the suffering is temporary because there's a bigger joy coming.
The whole reason why you have kids is for a bigger joy. You know there's gonna be discomfort. You know [00:05:00] there's gonna be pain. You know there's gonna be hardship. But ultimately, you believe that the joy that can be will win out, will be greater than the suffering. And then Jesus uses this to explain what they're about to experience as he is taken away.
You're gonna have this suffering, but this suffering is like a woman in labor. It's going to lead to a greater joy. And when you experience that greater joy, you will look back differently on the suffering. Verse twenty-three. " At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth. You will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.
You haven't done this before. Ask using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. I've spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. [00:06:00] Then you will ask in my name. I'm not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.
Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I leave the world and return to the Father." So Jesus acknowledges, he's aware he's been speaking figuratively. He's aware. Like, "Look, some of you, you're not getting it, you're not tracking with me. Soon I'm gonna speak plainly,
and then he continues to focus on the role of the Father. He's done this all throughout the Gospel of John. If you've been with us in this series, we've seen this time and time again. But notice the shift now that as he leaves, we're gonna have direct access to God the Father, as Jesus is presenting it here.
And he even says, " It's not that you're praying to me and then I'm gonna go relay this, you're now gonna have access to God, that you can pray it in my name directly to the Father." And so even the [00:07:00] nature of prayer is now changing. Their access to God is changing because of Jesus and what Jesus is about to do.
And then we get to verse twenty-nine. Then his disciples said, " At last, you're speaking plainly and not figuratively." Oh, you just gotta imagine like, "Thank you. We actually understood that last part." "Now we understand that you know everything and there's no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God."
Jesus asked, "Do you finally believe? But the time is coming; indeed, it's here now, when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.
But take heart, because I have overcome the world." And again, all of this with the [00:08:00] analogy of a woman suffering temporary labor pains for the eventual joy of a new life. Now, this almost ends in an optimistic note as the disciples believe, but then Jesus says, "The time of suffering is at hand." Now, in my life, I would say that much of the suffering that I have gone through has led me to a greater joy. I wish I could get to the joy without the suffering, right? I wish I could bypass suffering, get to what it ultimately produces, but I'm not sure you can do that.
In fact, I write about this in my book. One of the things I say is this, " Comfort dulls compassion. Privilege numbs perception. When we benefit from the way things are, it's harder to realize something is broken." when things are comfortable, when everything's going your way, it's hard to be in tune with the way things really are.
But suffering tunes us in. [00:09:00] Suffering wakes us up. Suffering shows us things that we can't see otherwise. Now, this does not mean that God causes our suffering, but I think God meets us there in profound ways. In fact, I would say God causes the joy that emerges from the suffering. That's the role that God plays.
And so I wanna ask you today, what suffering are you enduring right now? What labor pains are you going through right now? And you may be pleading with God for them to end. But I want you to consider what joy might emerge in the midst of this. What might God bring out of this situation? Not because God caused it, because God is meeting you here in this moment, and how would you endure this moment differently if you knew that joy was coming?
I'll see you next week on Rebuilding Faith
