Grief becomes Joy!

May 8, 2023 Monday Message:

John 16:20 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.”

There are only two groups; those who are with Jesus and those who are with the world (the sheep and the goats.) Omniscient Jesus knows what is coming: the betrayal, the torture and ultimately crucifixion. As Jesus dies on the cross, the world – including Pharisees, religious leaders and a lot of the general public – think they have done a good thing. At first glance, it appears they are wrong!

On the other hand, grieving believers will be sad. They had made a commitment to the “Jesus” version of religion, and now their leader, their mentor would be absent.

I think it’s fair to say that at that time, no one other than Jesus really understood God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. A curious juxtaposition of joy and sadness was on the way. Surprisingly, the execution of our Savior did nothing to slow his followers. When Jesus rose from the dead, Christianity grew by leaps and bounds. In fact on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 were added to their number! Knowing that Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, the believer’s sadness had turned to joy! Believers were redeemed!

But now those who opposed Jesus were beginning to second-guess their decisions and beliefs. Those who thought they were doing the right thing became sad when they examined the facts. And those who mourned Jesus were overjoyed that he rose from the dead! God is good!

Grief turned to joy, just like Jesus said!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship