For the Joy

Hebrews 11:32-12:3
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.


39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect

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Hebrews 12:1-3
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.


There are many times in life when we face situations that seem very troublesome. At all times, but particularly in times of trial, we should focus on the good, the noble, the pure, the lovely and the right (Philippians 4:8). So, maybe it’s just about time to focus on joy. Particularly in light of James 1:2 which reads, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers [and sisters], whenever you face trials of many kinds”. Joy and associated words such as rejoice and overjoyed occur some 431 times in the NIV translation. So, I think God just might have something he wants us to hear about joy.


Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition defines joy as: “The emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires; delight, the expression or exhibition of such emotion; a state of happiness or felicity; bliss, a source or cause of delight.” That’s good stuff.


The biblical words for joy imply an outward expression of intense joy. The New Bible Dictionary (Eerdmans1962) describes joy in this way. Both in the Old and New Testaments joy is consistently the mark both individually of the believer and corporately of the church. Is it a quality, and not simply an emotion, grounded upon God himself and indeed derived from him, which characterizes the Christian’s life on earth, and also anticipates eschatologically the joy of being with Christ forever in the kingdom of heaven…Christian joy may paradoxically be the outcome of suffering and even sorrow for Christ’s sake since it is produced by the Lord and not by ourselves. Joy is in fact, finally, a gift of the Holy Spirit, and is therefore something dynamic and not static… but since it is a gift which may be interrupted by sin, every believer is called upon to share in the joy of Christ by a daily walk with him and a daily practice of rejoicing in the knowledge of him and his salvation.”


So, let’s practice some rejoicing by looking into the Scriptures. Among the many passages on joy in the Bible, here are just a few to explore. Listen with your hearts to these:


Psalm 94:19
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.


Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.


One of the most profound passages on joy in the Old Testament comes from Isaiah 35:1-10. The great prophet had been forecasting trouble for his nation and many other nations for quite some time. Not only had his own nation been disobedient to God’s good commands, but the surrounding nations were ignoring him and remained closed to the goodness that they could experience through covenant relationship with God as well. God had been forecasting some harsh judgment against these people through Isaiah. But then he broke in and offered a vision for how things could be.


Isaiah 35:1-10
1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it. [a]
9 No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.


I can barely imagine receiving a vision of such joy in the midst of trouble. Isn’t that true for many of us? When the troubles are daunting our vision narrows, we become so focused on the very next problem that we cannot see much further than our own noses. I suppose that is why God sends prophets and prophetic words into our midst. These words are meant to shake us out of despair, snap fingers in front of our faces, send lightning bolts of truth across our darkened skies, lift us up from the ground and make us see what is possible and probable.


So in the case of the Ancient Israelites it was possible and probable—if they re-learned to love, trust and obey God—that all of nature could be seen rejoicing, that strength could surge again through their limbs, that fear did not have to be their driving force, that water would run clear and pure around them and that joy could be everlasting. All they had to do was follow God and anticipate, look for and live for that joy.


Centuries later that same joy was still being foretold. And for the centuries between Isaiah and the birth of Jesus Christ people had lived for the joy.


Mary and Elizabeth rejoiced with each other over the conception of not only the prophet of the Messiah, but also the Messiah himself who had been conceived. They were truly, presently joyful mothers because their sons would usher in a future and lasting joy.


Luke 1:39-48
“39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"


46And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.”


Talk about an experience of joy and a song of joy! Not only were these two women filled with joy, but Elizabeth’s baby, soon to be born and who would become known as John the Baptist, leapt for joy even in his mother’s womb. Wow! Talk about looking for, waiting for, and anticipating joy!


There was something special going on. That baby that Mary was carrying was coming into this world for a powerful reason. He was coming so that every person could know joy—real, continual joy.


In fact, over thirty years after the joyful celebration of Mary and Elizabeth, that baby had grown up and had been working as a carpenter. Everyone in his home town of Nazareth had known Jesus as a carpenter. Then one day he decided to change vocations and moved into full-time ministry.


Luke 4:16-21
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:


18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”




20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."


What could be more joyful than to hear good news, or to be set free or to get your sight back, or to no longer be hounded by that which oppressed you, or to know that God is delighted with you? I don’t know about you, but that is cause for joy—great joy!


One of the greatest gifts ever given to us was the gift of joy borne on the coming, living, dying and resurrecting of Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all the prophecies that came before him. That day in his home town Jesus confirmed the great and joyful news that the angels had proclaimed the night of his birth. He came to bring them joy—present joy—and to give them even the prospect of more joy.


Not long before Jesus was going to be crucified for our sins and resurrected for our eternal joy, he gathered his disciples around him. He wanted them to know something very profound. And even if they did not understand in that moment, he wanted these words seared into their memories so that when things were tough and when they were easy they could recall them to mind.


John 15:9-11
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.


Did you know that if we have believed in Jesus Christ, asked him to forgive us our sins and do our best to live like him that we already have joy? That joy comes from the faithful belief that the Spirit of Jesus Christ and his joy now take up residence in our hearts. But there is more. Can you stand more joy?


Our final, full and complete joy abides in the remaining fact that the present joy that we experience will be exponentially and completely fulfilled when we see Jesus. Not only did some of the Israelites get to see joy fulfilled in their day, but they—and we as grafted in Gentiles—get to see future joy. This is joy that is set before us—anticipatory joy, inexpressible, future and glorious joy.


The great Apostle Peter wrote about this powerfully in 1 Peter 1:3-9.


3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.


So, what does it mean if Christians suffer right now? Not much, really. What does it mean when we are persecuted? A little trouble. What does it mean when things do not go just the way we had dreamed and envisioned? We are confronted with the joyous prospect of real lasting joy. That’s what gets us through. That’s what got Jesus through.


We began our time together today by reading from the Hebrews. Let’s look at that again. In particular let’s look at Hebrew 12:2.


2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.


As I have been meditating on this verse I have been riveted to seven particular words—“but for the joy set before him”. I think that sometimes I get so focused on me, me, me that I forget about the joy of Jesus. What about his joy? What did he have to look forward to? There in the night on his knees in Gethsemane as he prayed for this suffering to pass he was staring down the dark throat of evil. There the cross, with its splinters and nails, was looming before him. This was no small suffering like ours. This was suffering we can never know. This was suffering beyond petty persecution, beatings, lies, and martyrdom. Do we have the guts to really comprehend what Jesus did for us? Do we really know the depth of sorrow to which he has gone for us? Do we have any idea how heavy the burden of the entire fallen human race might be? Sorrow upon sorrow upon sorrow. Pain and suffering unimaginable. The feelings of separation from God the Father . . . but for the joy!


What joy?! Before Jesus’ eyes lay the joy of forgiving the sins of humanity, releasing us from the bondage of guilt, seeing us dance before him without broken, missing or crippled limbs, watching us sing with all our hearts for him, throwing our hands into the brilliant blue sky in adoration of him, bowing before him in humility and gratefulness, taking us into his arms and carrying us home. Now that’s got to be real joy, inexpressible joy, abundant, overwhelming, boundless joy! That’s why Jesus went to that cross. That’s why he endured the shame.


And better than that, he scorned that shame. Scorn is contempt or disdain felt toward a person or object considered despicable or unworthy. Jesus finally looked upon that cross, that shame, that sinful humanity-sized burden and put it beneath his heal, scoffing at its attempt to destroy the joy he knew was waiting before him—ridiculing the lie that sins could not be forgiven, rejoicing in the fact that he is now sitting at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us! The joy of Jesus Christ, my friend, is your salvation!


No matter what is happening in this life right now, we can discover and rediscover the joyful presence of the One who came for us-- Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel. These light and momentary troubles (2 Corinthians 4:17) pale in comparison not only to the suffering of Jesus Christ, but more so to the joy of Jesus Christ—being clasped in his arms when his and our joy will be absolutely complete.


And then we shall sing with the angels and all those believers who have gone before us. We shall sing with hearts full of joy, throughout all our days ahead for the joy set before us!


Amen


Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.