Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (John 16:16-24), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [Notice: “a little while” x7… the birth pangs metaphor… “in that day,” etc.] By using language frequently seen in the Scriptures to refer to the end of the world, Jesus is connecting his own death and resurrection with “end times.” In other words, when Jesus is teaching his disciples about himself, he’s teaching eschatology, and he means it to bring them joy. How is Jesus’ death and resurrection eschatological? Why would this bring us joy?

• Do you ever talk about the end of the world with others? Are you grounding your conversations in Jesus? Do these conversations lead to joy?

• [20-22] Jesus tells his disciples that, upon seeing him risen from the dead, “your sorrow will turn into joy… your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” Is he talking about our present or our future? Is it possible to have this joy in this life, and not to be robbed of it? What about people who struggle with depression, anxiety, or anger—can anyone have this unassailable joy in Christ? What might threaten your joy in Christ? How is your joy in Christ secure, even in the face of what might threaten it?

• Jesus likens the transformation brought about by his resurrection to the sorrow-turning-into-joy experience of giving birth. Can you believe that resurrection-joy is all the greater for having come through death? Does this ultimately “comic” view of the world take seriously the apparently “tragic” evils and sufferings in the world? Is resurrection-joy to be understood as “the ends justifying the means,” or is there some other way to understand this?