“In a little while you will not see me.”

Article for May 18, 2025

John 16:12–13 12[Jesus said:] “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

I wish I had more time on this earth to learn more and do more.  Not that I want to live here forever, but that I want to experience more knowledge and learn better time management.  I like to accomplish things and see them come to life in what they were designed to do.  On earth life is short, things to know are in an abundance, time is precious but limited.  And we live with the unknown confronting us every day.

I wish that I could be reborn as a baby with all the knowledge and experience that I have now.  Yes, including the bad experiences so that I don’t repeat them.  Just think of how much more I could learn and experience or how much more trouble I could get myself into.  Maybe I could get better educated, especially in knowing our Lord.  Just a dream, but who knows what will happen in the new world to come. 

Sometimes I look at Jesus and wish I was already with Him in the new world.  Going to classes with the professor called the Holy Spirit and learning untold wisdoms and marvels.  For there is much more to know in heaven than what this earth could possibly offer.  The new world will be far greater, yet it is still to us an

unknown, a mystery of those things yet to be known.

What Jesus has to offer His disciples is much more than they or we could understand.  It seems like a cruel path to have to go through as we live a short life and die a long death.  Yet it will be like waking up on a fresh spring day with the fragrance of lilacs, roses, and Easter lilies filling the air.  The birds will chirp, the breeze will be the Holy Spirit, and the feeling inside of us will be one of content that has never been felt before.

John 16:14–15 14He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

What a thought, Jesus is telling His disciples of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of truth.  This is the Spirit of God, and it is bound to Jesus who has declared Himself to be the “Truth, Way, and Life.”  So, the Holy Spirit is bound to the truth.  And the Holy Spirit is bound to telling the truth.  Listen, the breeze whispers the love of God to each of us.

Jesus says that whatever is His, will be declared to us by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus, you might say owns all that the Father owns, and it will be declared to all Jesus’ disciples.  But what is it that belongs to Jesus that will be declared to us who are disciples?

We learn many things through Scripture.  We learn of our God who is the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.  God is the creator of all things and God creates to achieve His will.  We cannot comprehend all that God has made nor for what purpose He made them for.  But I think I can be sure that God created us to be someone to love and to have someone that freely loves Him. 

As a good Father our God gives us greater gifts than the world could ever give us.  One of those gifts is the knowledge of our God through Jesus Christ our Lord and His Holy Spirit.  We have the gift of God’s word and the word tells us of the gift of life.

John 16:19 19Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’?

The unknown even plagued those who follow Jesus closely.  Jesus lets His disciples know He will be leaving soon and that He will return.  “In a little while you will not see me.”  Jesus is preparing for His departure, and His departure is going to be gloomier than just saying goodbye.

The good news is Jesus is also telling His disciples that He will return “and in a little while you will see me.”  In the third day He will raise His temple.  Of course, we know that the disciples are at this time before the crucifixion of their Lord and our Lord, has not entered their minds.  Jesus has been telling the disciples of His crucifixion for about three years.  Being so enamored by the thought that they were with God and the Savior, thinking of the whole picture escapes all the disciples.  They probably thought, in their subconscious, life here with Jesus would go on forever.

John 16:20–21 20Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

It was for the disciples of Jesus then and it would be for us disciples of Jesus today, a time of unbearable sadness.  The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ seems to carry on today.  Some surely are pleased to get rid of Jesus and the thought of eternal life and forgiveness.  And to some like us we feel joy that our Lord died for our sins and even more that He was resurrected for our knowledge of our own resurrection yet to be experienced. 

Knowledge is a joy especially when that knowledge leads us to giving our God the glory.  Jesus is the glory of God, yes, not that we gave Jesus to God, but that Jesus gives us eternal life.  We have been given our faith by God and our faith is in God and for this all glory to God. 

Not that we earn our way or have faith in ourselves that carries us to heaven.  For we know through the knowledge of God’s word with the help of the Holy Spirit we are saved by God’s grace and mercy.  This mercy is given to us by the works of our Lord Jesus Christ who did die for our sins and because of our sins.  We will live forever because Jesus was resurrected by the grace of the Father and as Jesus was resurrected through the grace of the Father we too will be resurrected into new life.

John 16:22 22So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

Our sorrow is when we die because of the unknown, but we will at least know that where God is taking us, we will be filled with Joy.  Take heart Jesus has prepared a place for you, and you will love it!  Amen.

Written by Pastor Curtis A. May