"Jesus promised tribulations for you"

by Pastor Ben Dolby

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Easter Season is a beautiful one. The joyful return of “Alleluia” following our Lenten fast. Triumphant hymns of Jesus’s victory for us now and in its ultimate realization in the Resurrection.

The context of elation and unspeakable joys in these days after Easter provides our Messiah another way to surprise us: Jesus comforts us with the Father’s promises even as he causes us to be uncomfortable. What do I mean by this? Consider a portion of an upcoming Gospel Lesson later in the month.

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:31-33

Tribulation? What does Jesus mean by this? The basic definition is straightforward: A cause of great trouble and suffering.

We do not need to look too long to identify tribulation we or our neighbors face, likely every day. I encourage you to look earlier in John chapter 16, to verses 8-11, to grasp what Jesus specifically has in mind for his followers, including you and me. “And when he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” – John 16:8-11

What do we receive from Jesus, here in the middle of this beautiful Easter Season?! Jesus promises you tribulation. Why? What good can come from God telling the world that it is not righteous but trapped in the worst of sins, unbelief? The world must know that Christ alone is righteous and everything the world worships is doomed.

Jesus desires for us to be comforted by the Holy Spirit working relentlessly on the hearts of all, unbeliever and believer alike. God desires for all people to be convicted by the truth of so that they will no longer be a part of the world but become Christ’s disciples.

Therefore, the first answer to the question why: Jesus desires for us believers to be on the alert for our desperate need for him daily.

The second answer to the question why: We are to be comforted by God’s Word but not made comfortable. God draws us near to him and desires to send us out with the Truth to those not yet drawn near in the gift of faith.

As I prepared this monthly reflection on God’s Word, I was inspired by the connection Jesus makes between us and his first followers. Remember that this text in John’s Gospel takes place before all the apostles abandon Jesus. He is making them uncomfortable while offering them the only source of comfort that can be found, in the holy promises of his Father.

Jesus wants all his followers, including you and me, to grow up in the faith so that when the hurt of suffering and persecution that results from sharing Jesus, we respond with authentic sadness when rejected but also with a strengthened faith as we remember Jesus promises this will be our reality in this present age of living in the Post-Easter, Pre-Resurrection world. Hebrews 12:1-14 is an excellent reading on this same lesson from our Heavenly Father.

No one of desires tribulation and great suffering. When these things are a part of our present life experiences, may we rejoice that Jesus did not withhold the Truth, the whole counsel of God from us. He desires for us to be unsurprised, unphased, and fully equipped (by the Word and the Holy Spirit) to face the tribulations for the sake of showing the world the Truth of God’s grace, mercy, and peace to the unbelieving masses…and to ask him to give us strength to endure what we are unable to endure on our own. We desperately need God’s merciful provision too.

May God bless you as we apply our monthly memory work to our lifestyle of witness, unsurprised by the results we will often face.

Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:31-33. In Jesus’ Name. Alleluia and Amen!

In Christ,

Pastor Dolby