The Joy of Jesus
These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11)
There was a time when people were much more concerned with knowing they were right with God or being confident they were going to heaven. In our present age, people seem less concerned with those things and more concerned with just being happy.
It’s true that what we normally think of as “happiness” isn’t the same as the joy Jesus spoke of here, but they are related. Someone can be superficially “happy” but not have the joy of Jesus. But if you do have His joy, you will be generally happy.
Jesus connected this joy with what He had recently said (these things I have spoken to you). Jesus spoke of abiding in His love and in keeping His commandments. When the disciple fails to abide in the love of Jesus and thereby fails to keep His commandments, that disciple will not experience the fullness of joy Jesus promised to those who do abide in His love and obedience.
So, the believer who does not live in the love of Jesus and does not walk in general obedience to Jesus will not know the joy of Jesus in any real, abiding way. Sometimes the most miserable people you will ever meet are disobedient Christians, those who distance themselves from the experience of His love.
But when disciples live consistent with the things Jesus spoke of, they will receive His joy (that My joy may remain in you). The joy of Jesus isn’t the same as what is commonly understood as happiness or excitement. The joy of Jesus is not the pleasure of a life of ease; it is the exhilaration of being right with God and consciously walking in His love and care. We can have that joy – we can have His joy – and have it as an abiding presence.
When Jesus spoke of His joy, the disciples understood Him. They didn’t say, “Jesus, You don’t seem like a very happy or joyful man. I don’t think we would want Your joy.” They knew Jesus was a man full of joy, and they saw it constantly in His life. Jesus could not promise us fullness of joy unless it was already real in His life.
Jesus made a tremendous promise to everyone who is His disciple. If we live the way He spoke of in this great passage (John 14-16), and live in His love, we will have more than joy. We will have fullness of joy. This does not mean that every moment of every day is filled with carefree laughter. It does not mean that the love-abiding disciple of Jesus is promised a life with no sorrow or tribulation.
This means that in Jesus Christ, we have an abiding peace, contentment, optimism, and gladness that the world doesn’t give to us, and the world can’t take away. Today, you can receive the joy of Jesus.
Click here for David’s commentary on John 15