Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. (John 16:20-21)
Why would a woman endure discomfort for nine months of pregnancy and suffer painful labor? Because of the joy set before her. She understands that the sorrow and travail of childbirth are only temporary and that the very source of her pain will be the contributor to her future joy. Hours of labor bring forth “a bundle of joy” that melts mom’s pain into the joys of motherhood.
Jesus used the labor of childbirth as an illustration to his disciples of what following Him would be like. Sixteen times in the upper room, Jesus used the phrase, “a little while.” Temporary struggles of the believer will be followed by everlasting joy. Childbirth illustrating the believer’s experience is echoed throughout Scripture: Micah 4:10; Rom. 8:22; II Cor. 5:2; Gal. 4:19; I Thess. 2:9; Rev. 12:2.
In the upper room, Jesus told His disciples they could expect labor pains in three areas:
Labor Pains of Persecution (John 16:20)
“…the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful” (John 16:20). “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Disciples do not have home turf advantage in this present evil world. They are citizens and ambassadors of another country, a heavenly country. As salt and light in the world, Christians are strangers and pilgrims. Followers of Christ do not fit or conform to the world system. Culture is a constant wind of adversity blowing in the faces of all believers. “In the world, ye shall have tribulation.” The disciples whom Jesus addressed here would all suffer martyrdom save the Apostle John. He would later be boiled in oil and exiled. “The world shall rejoice, and ye shall be sorrowful.”
Christians do not enjoy a home-field advantage. They can expect boos and jeers from the crowd while the home team is loved and admired. However, Jesus said, “but, Be of good cheer! I have overcome the world!”
We are the away team. However, we are on the winning side!
A man passed by a little-league baseball game. He hollered out to the first baseman, “Hey kid, what’s the score?” The boy responded, “Forty-two to nothing; we are losing.” “Wow, That’s pretty bad!” The man said. “Nah,” the little boy responded, “we haven’t been up to bat yet!”
It often feels like we are down 42-0, but we can ultimately bear the birth pains of persecution because they will bring forth victory. “I have overcome the world!” We are on the winning side!
Labor Pains of Prayer (John 16:23-28)
And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:22-24)
Since the fall of mankind in Genesis 3, man has labored “by the sweat of his brow.” Saints struggling with “ancient intensity” in prayer have birthed forth answers and fullness of joy. “That your joy may be full.”
Here are only a few of the many examples of believers laboring in prayer:
The labor of Jacob in prayer: “Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;” (Hosea 12:4)
The labor of Hannah in prayer: “And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.” (I Samuel 1:15)
The labor of Elijah in prayer: “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.” (James 5:17)
The labor of Jesus in prayer: “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;” (Hebrews 5:7)
Labor Pains of Personal Failure (John 16:29-33)
“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32-33)
Peter betrayed Christ, Thomas doubted, and all the disciples scattered in fear leaving Jesus all alone. The disciples failed miserably! All disciples know the labor of personal failure.
“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief ” (Prov. 24:16)
The Apostle Paul cried out, “…oh wretched man that I am!” (Rom. 7:24). The Christian life is a constant battle, the spirit against the flesh. Since Christ has overcome the world, we win the victory over the flesh. Waiting for us is a heavenly body; perfect, sinless, and robed in white. We have the labor pains of personal failure now, but when we awake, “we shall be like Him!”
“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” (Proverbs 17:15)
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (I John 3:2)