What does Jesus say about joy?

John 15:11. In the 11th verse, He tells us, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." "These things;" what things were the source of Jesus' joy? First to be the true Vine that never failed to bring forth fruit to the Father. Secondly, to walk in perfect obedience to His will and thus to have a perfect plea for intercession for His people. Thirdly, to abide in His Father's love by keeping His commandments. "These things" Jesus reveals as the source of His joy — a joy He would share with us; He would have us as full of joy as He was Himself. He says, emphatically, "That My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." Truly to abide in Jesus' love is fulness of joy.

The third great mark of the Christian company is "joy", as the Lord can say: "These things have I spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (v.11). The Lord speaks of this joy as "My joy," and further that it may be "in you." As regards outward circumstances, He was the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, but He ever walked in the inward joy of the Father's love, and the glorious prospect before Him. He could rejoice in spirit in carrying out the Father's will, and for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross and despised the shame, and the contradiction of sinners, that He had to meet (Luke 10:21; Heb. 12:2-3). The Psalmist could say, "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and wine increased" (Ps. 4:7). The world's joy depends upon prosperous circumstances — the increase of the corn and wine. The believer's joy is that inward gladness of heart that finds its springs in the unchanging love of the Lord, and the glorious prospect that only faith can enter into. In these verses the Lord speaks of, "My love," "My commandments," and "My joy," and these marks follow in beautiful order. The Lord's unchanging love is over all; walking in obedience to His commands we shall abide in His love, and abiding in His love we shall taste of His joy.

Now the disciples had sorrow, for the cross seemed to them to rob them of all that their faith had looked for; but He would see them again, and their hearts should rejoice; and this joy no one would be able to rob them of. On that joy the shadow of death could never fall. In resurrection they would have the Lord in a way they never before had looked for Him, or thought of Him.

It is a wonderful thing that sinners should be so precious to God, that He should set such a value on them as to give His Son for their salvation; and that His Son should have come from heaven and gone down into the depths of judgment and death that they might be saved, and that the Holy Spirit of God should have come from heaven to labour with them to bring them to repentance. It is wonderful, but it is true, for nothing less than this is the teaching of this parable. And twice the Lord tells us that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. Empires may rise and fail, kings abdicate or be crowned, these are things that shake the world and fill the chief pages of our newspapers, but they do not move heaven; but if one sinner repents and turns to God, if the Shepherd finds one sheep, there is joy in heaven. Incredible! Yes, we would have said that if Jesus had not told us, but He knows surely what heaven values and He said, "Likewise I say to you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents."

Joys. — Without purse, wallet, or shoes the seventy went forth; and they returned to the Lord with joy, for even the demons, they found, were subject to them in Christ's name. There was power to deal with those spirits which tyrannised over men. The name of the Lord Jesus was omnipotent in that warfare, and His messengers could use it effectively. Joy filled their hearts, and they told it out to the Lord. "Subject to us," they said; not going in thought beyond themselves. But the Lord took at once a comprehensive view of it all. He knew what that presaged — the downfall of the enemy. They spoke of the demons. He spoke of Satan. "I beheld," He said, "Satan as lightning fall from heaven." The subjection of the demons to His name was the earnest of complete victory over all the power of the enemy. As yet men might not, did not see that. It was as the cloud like a man's hand, which Elijah's servant saw. But, as that cloud increased till it overspread the whole heavens, so the power of the enemy, which had begun to give way, would be completely annulled, and his final overthrow was certain. In the meantime the Lord would give His servants power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: "and nothing," He added, "shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice, because your names are written in the heavens" (10:20). The grace they shared in, of which that power was a proof, and not the exercise of that power, should be their cause of rejoicing. Man naturally values power; and covets to wield it. The greater thing, the more blessed thing, is to be a partaker of divine grace, and to belong to heaven, from which Satan will be expelled (Rev. 12:7-8).

The world which last saw Jesus on the cross still rejoices in His absence: it no more desires Him today than when He was on earth; but after the "little while" is over the joy of His own will be complete, a joy that none will be able to take from us. In the time of His absence we have indeed His joy, even as said to His own, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11).

Again He recurs to the subject (John 15:20-24), and dates forward their joy to the day of His resurrection. Then they should ask in His name, knowing the Father in this intimacy and relationship. Tbus asking and receiving in His own interests, and as occupying His place here below, our "joy is full." Remark here there is no mention of His joy - this was rather in surrender for His Father's glory - but it is our joy that is thus full. Once more He speaks - in the world indeed - but to the Father, in the intimacy of love, as one no longer in it. The joy of obedience in which they could share has no place here; still less that joy that answers to the unmeasured grace that gives as to the beloved Son. Here Jesus speaks of the relationship of love, the Father's name which He had given Him. Never had man known or been given that name till the Son was Man, and now, leaving the world, He passes it over to His own, praying the Holy Father to keep them in its power, and speaks it in the world that that joy which was specially, peculiarly His, impossible to any being but Himself, might be fulfilled in us. (John 17:11-13.) That discipline is needed in our case is true - dependence, faith, and exercise of heart and conscience; but the "Name" is guaranteed, and all that it imports as given to the beloved Son Himself. It is now on earth the holy Father keeps us - now that we have communion with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ; and, marvellous grace! not only have we the words spoken by His precious lips in His Father's ears that His joy may be fulfilled in us, but the Holy Ghost come down has revealed this fellowship to us that this joy, which is now our own, "may be full." (1 John 1:1-4.) It is no longer called His joy simply, but ours - "That your joy may be full." (v. 4.) For the "thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is passing, and the true light now shineth." (1 John 2:8.)

We must remember that joy is the second of the fruit of the Spirit: "Love, Joy, Peace". Also, Joy is a legacy, like Peace, that our Saviour left us before He returned to Glory: "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full". (John 15:11). He was leaving them: but His joy would remain in them. And again, ponder our Lord's most wondrous prayer: "And now come I to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves". (John 17:13).

"These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." (John 15:11.) Now see the beauty of the Lord Jesus in speaking thus so that His joy, the joy of the eternal Son, who became flesh and dwelt among us, that His joy might abide in us and that our joy might be full. Now this is a joy much deeper and greater than that of John the Baptist. What is this joy? It is the joy that came to the Son from the knowledge of the intense love that the Father had for Him, and His desire in these chapters is to put His own into His place, that there might be the same sense of the Father's love that He had, and that thus their joy might be full. Now I want to say a warning word. I think some of us are over-zealous in some matters. For instance, some Christians, if they see a person saying the Lord's prayer, at once tell him he is all wrong and not spiritual. They take him beyond his depth, and make him legal, and in result he often breaks down altogether. If you take a Christian beyond where he is in his own soul, the result will be disaster. A snake for instance does not cast one skin till there is another ready to take its place. If a person gets a sense of the blessing spoken of in these chapters he will not be able to help seeing that dispensationally this prayer is in some measure out of place for him. If, however, he has not reached this in his soul, you will take him beyond his measure and damage him.

Thus the Lord Jesus adds to His beatitude: "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven." What a privilege to possess and confess Christ as Saviour and Lord! He is worthy that we should openly confess Him. For a fearful soul and for the flesh the supposedly disadvantageous consequences of a faithful confession of our Saviour carry a lot of weight. Here the Lord says something else. The disciples of the Lord should rejoice not in spite of, but because of the sufferings connected with their confession (see Romans 5: 3; James 1: 2). Even if the confession of the Name of the Lord does result in disadvantages here on earth-which is not always the case-the reward in the heavens which He has promised is incomparably greater! To know that we walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus already gives us joy, and this joy is increased by the promised reward which is not connected with earth but with heaven (Compare Matthew 6: 19).