Fourth Sunday of Easter (1882)

John 16:16-23a

The world seeks after a life full of pleasure and joy. But its joy is miserable,
unsatisfactory and often enough embittered and soured by plagues and judgments of
God. Yes, all worldly lust eventually turns into weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is the
opposite among Christians, the children of God: all their suffering is eventually turned
into joy.

The suffering of children of God in this time as

1. a certain one;
a. the Lord has foretold the suffering of His disciples and asserted His
advance notice through a "truly, truly!"
1
What the Lord has foretold is
certain;
b. sufferings are certain of all Christians.
2
No one should be a Christian for
the sake of bodily comforts and good days. For what purpose are we
consecrated in Baptism?

2. a difficult one;
a. the disciples met with sadness, weeping and crying, pain as a woman in
labor. "In a little while" their Lord was taken from them, captured,
crucified, killed, buried - they no longer see Him there. Who can
describe their misery and pain during the three days that they no
longer see their Lord!
b. there are still severe sufferings that often unexpectedly befall upon the
children of God. Tribulations in the flesh: poverty, disease, persecution
and hate of the world. Tribulations in the spiritual realm: anxiety of
conscience, temptation, despair. Oh, how rough is often the path on
which Christians are lead to perfection! One does not regard that they
are dear children of God and sit in God's bosom; they themselves
sometimes feel violated and abandoned by God, as if no Savior lived
and reigned for them;



1
John 16:20.
2
Luke 14:27; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; 2 Timothy 3:12.
3. a blessed one;
a. owing to its origin. Like the disciples, their sadness was imposed by the
Lord, so all tribulation of Christians always comes from God, their
heavenly Father
3
- a sweet consolation!
b. because of its short duration. "In a little while - see Me again"
4
- Our
tribulation is "momentary and (for that reason) transitory"
5
And
suffering lasted for years, even until death, and finally it stops. "Christ's
cross hath its time and measure, and at last will wholly cease."
6
When
one looks back, it has been a little while;
c. because of its outcome;
. even in this life. The disciples saw the Lord again on the third
day. All their sorrow was suddenly turned into joy. How often
the Lord visits His dear Christians with comfort, relief, help,
times of rest!
. their suffering has a complete ending when they are taken home
through a blessed little hour. There, all their suffering turns into
joy, into perfect, unadulterated, captive, eternal joy.
Georg Stckhardt

3
Matthew 10:30; Psalm 71:20; Revelation 3:19.
4
John 16:16, 22.
5
2 Corinthians 4:17-18.
6
ELHB 65:11.