Context Matters: An Invitation To Joy

John 15:11, “

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (New International Version).”

Context matters. I live in the United States, and recently viewed an internet video edited to make it seem as if the announcer made a political statement by refusing to play the American National Anthem before a softball game. In the abbreviated clip, the announcer says, “We will not be playing the national anthem. Let’s play ball.” Outrage filled the comments following the video over the announcer’s seeming disrespect for this American tradition. Upon further investigation, I found the original video, and the announcer actually said, “Due to technical difficulties, we will not be playing the national anthem. Let’s play ball.” Hearing the words out of context, people misinterpreted the announcer’s intentions.

There have been times when I’ve heard sermons, studied devotional materials, and read books on the Bible in which the scriptures were taken out of context, distorting the heart of Jesus’ message. I have also been guilty of taking scripture out of context and completely missing the love, compassion, and joy of the Good News. With this in mind, let’s listen to the scripture again. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” Teaching His people how to live a joy-filled existence in God was one of the primary motivations of the message Jesus gave the last night before He went to the cross.

Chapters 13-17 of John appear to begin when Judas leaves the scene of the Last Supper to betray Jesus, and they end just before Jesus leaves the room with his disciples to cross the Kidron Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. In these pages, John records a much more detailed theological discourse than the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These chapters contain some of my favorite words of the Lord. This dense section of Jesus’s teachings covers multiple promises, some encouraging and others perhaps hard to understand, accept, or believe. Jesus tells them that He is the only way to the Father, that those who have seen him have seen the Father, and that He, and not Israel, is the true vine in which they must abide to bear fruit. He promises that He will prepare a place for them, send an advocate, the Holy Spirit, to live with them, and He prays for His apostles and those who will come to believe because of their faithful perseverance. That includes us. … Jesus says that those who believe will do even greater things than Jesus Himself. How unbelievable this incredible promise must have sounded to the men in that room! On the harder side. Jesus admonishes them that unless they abide in Him, they will be cut off like branches separated from the vine. Jesus again tells them that He is leaving them; he warns them that they will be hated, put out of the synagogue, and even killed because of Him.

I would propose that the final thoughts of Jesus on His last extended discourse were like exclamation points at the end of a sentence. The intentions he wanted highlighted. Intimate glimpses into the heart of our Lord.

What a heavy scene we witness here, pregnant with difficult teachings that we need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to digest. There is much to unpack in these chapters that we don’t have time for. However, I want to focus on the reality that Jesus never shared difficult truths to burden us but rather to invite us into further intimacy with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We must receive and share the scriptures we read, especially the harder ones, in the context of the spirit in which God meant them to be received. If any well-meaning follower of Jesus attempts to sway you to understand the teachings of Jesus other than for the purposes set forth by Jesus, then they are misguided. Context matters.

Jesus gave at least three reasons for the message He shared with His disciples as they reclined in that room. And in them, you clearly see the love of God for His people.

John 15:11, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (NIV).”

John 16:1, “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away (NIV).

John 16:33, “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 (NIV).”

Joy. Encouragement. Victory!

Yes, context matters. When we read the scriptures through the lens of God’s lavish love, we begin to understand that even the hard teachings are an invitation to make more space within ourselves for the Lord’s joy.

Let’s pray.

Father, your Word is a light that leads us ever closer to you. Your love for us defies explanation. You are love, and the Bible is the greatest love story ever written of One who willingly sacrificed His everything so His beloved would have a chance to draw near to Him and reign in Joy. Would you grant us wisdom always to share and receive your truths through the lens of your unfathomable love? When we doubt, help us to look to the cross and be reminded of your great love. Thank You for who You are and for delighting to draw us into deeper intimacy with You every day. We need and desire more of you, Lord. We love you and pray these things in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen