John 15:1-17
Completing One's Joy
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
John 16:19-33
Complete Joy
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my
name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from
the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone
ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for
my Father is with me.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Matthew 13:44-46
The Merchant Sells All He Has for the Joy of the Kingdom of Heaven
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Man seeks happiness, and yet happiness seems elusive and transient to me...Man tries to find happiness in material things and in different transient things...Jesus really did not specifically address the subject of happiness...But He did say, something quite different than happiness...Jesus said that in this world we will have troubles...Suffering and evil and troubles are throughout the entire world...We cannot avoid these things, because they are just a part of life in this world, and Jesus reminds of that...Trying to avoid suffering most of the time only creates more suffering...
C. S. Lewis said this about the subject of religion, “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy...I always knew a bottle of Port would do that...If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”...
William James Craig wrote this about religion and happiness, "The chief purpose of life is not happiness, but knowledge of God...People tend naturally to assume that if God exists, then His purpose for human life is happiness in this life...God’s role is to provide a comfortable environment for His human pets...But on the Christian view, this is false...We are not God’s pets, and the goal of human life is not happiness per se, but the knowledge of God—which in the end will bring true and everlasting human fulfilment...Many evils occur in life which may be utterly pointless with respect to the goal of producing human happiness; but they may not be pointless with respect to producing a deeper knowledge of God.”...
We are created in God's Image, so finding happiness in transient things and material things is only temporary...Jesus whole ministry was teaching about God...Jesus had the Greatest Knowledge of God...And with this Great Knowledge, He had Great Joy with His Father...Jesus used the word joy and said we could find a complete joy if we remained in Him...As the Father has LOVED Jesus, so He has LOVED us...If we can remain in His LOVE and keep His commands, then we will remain in His LOVE...He told us these things so that His Joy may be in us and that our joy could become complete...He give us this teaching as one of His last commands: Love each other as I have LOVED you...
Jesus teaches us the eternities and they are Permanent...Love and Joy and God and Jesus are part of the Great Eternities...Jesus teaches us that learning more about God is both good and joyful...His Parable of the Hidden Treasure teaches us that there is One Thing that Lasts, and that is the Kingdom of Heaven...The Kingdom of Heaven is Permanent and is like a treasure hidden in a field...When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field...Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls...When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it...