September 30, 2023
Watching And Waiting
“A little while and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me. Some of His disciples then said to one another, ‘What is this thing He is telling us, A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’? So they were saying, ‘What is this that He says, A little while? We do not know what He is talking about.’ Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, ‘Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’”? John 16:16-19 (NASB)
Have you ever heard the Biblical verse from 2 Peter 3:8? “That one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day?” When you miss a loved one and wonder how long it will be to see them again. Doesn’t it seem to be forever? I know it is for me. We all know the Lord keeps His promises (because He can’t lie), but it seems so far away. We long to see our loved ones again. This is how the days ahead for the disciples would feel as Jesus spoke these words to them. The time with Jesus was something they cherished, but when He went away would seem like an eternity, waiting for Him to come back. In their defense, they had grown dependent on Jesus for almost everything. When He left them, they would be all alone without a leader. All they had was each other, and Jesus knew the reason He selected each to be His disciples. They would supplement the other’s weakness. Someone would be coming who would fill all the gaps they lacked, and He would have the strength, power, and equipment they would need in the following days.
“A little while and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” MacArthur believes,“Jesus was referring to His ascension (‘you will no longer see Me’) and the coming of the Holy Spirit (‘you will see Me’), emphatically claiming that the Spirit and He are one (Romans 8:9; Philippians 1:19; 1 Peter 1:11; Revelation 19:10). Christ dwells in believers through the Holy Spirit- in that sense they see Him.”[1] Although Christ would leave the disciples for a short time, He would keep His promise of His faithfulness (an attribute of God) to His disciples. This would involve a “little while’s” time. The term “little” is the Greek word mikron, meaning the shortest amount of time to be measured. It is synonymous with the word “soon.” We derive our English word micron from this ancient word. The period Jesus was away probably didn’t feel like a short amount of time when He left. It probably felt like an eternity. Other commentators believe the period He was left, could be the time between Jesus’s death and resurrection. In whatever case, the disciples would be alone during these periods and left alone to deal with what was ahead. Jesus told his disciples this would happen earlier in John 14:1-3.
I think many times about how long it has been since my father passed away. 1989 seems like an eternity since he passed from this earth. He was a great father who wasn’t perfect but instilled some very good things into each of us. One day, I hope to see him again. I don’t know if he was a Christian. My mom tells me yes, but I don’t know. My dad was a pretty private person when it came to talking. It was that era of parenthood. I can only hope he will be there to greet me one day as I enter the Lord’s heaven. I know I look forward every day to seeing my little Guppy (Sara) each day. What a blessed day it will be after all the waiting!
[1] (MacArthur, John, 1997), 1583.