Matthew 13:1-30, 36-43

Easter Sunday. John 20:1-31

In the final hours before his betrayal and arrest, which would set in motion all the events of the fateful last week of his life, Jesus gathered privately with his disciples to celebrate the Passover meal.  John tells us that “Having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them to the end” (Jn. 13:1). Alone in that small intimate setting, Jesus lovingly, caringly sought to prepare them for the earth-shattering, heart-breaking events that were about to take place, comfort them in advance, and prepare them for the journey to follow.  His precious words spoken that night have been a source of personal comfort and assurance to untold numbers of believers ever since.  This morning we’ll zero in on one portion of that evening’s conversation in which Jesus underscores the certainty and inevitability of two requisite and contrasting experiences, grief and joy. The importance of both, the relationship of both, and the relationship of the cross to both, are not always fully understood and adequately appreciated.  This morning we’ll take a close look together at Jesus’s honest and encouraging words in John 16:16-33, in a message entitled, “Grief For Now…Joy Forever”.