Pastor Sullivan's Blog

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! When the Lord tells His disciples, “ A little while, and you will not see me; and again a little while and you will see me, because I go to the Father ,” He means to comfort them ahead of His suffering and death. He speaks these words to them on Maundy Thursday, the night in which He was betrayed. He gives them this word as consolation though they don’t understand it as that at the time. “ A little while and you will not see me. ” Christ will be removed from them by death. He’ll be arrested in Gethsemane. Tried in the house of Caiaphas. Taken to Pilate’s Praetorium for questioning, beating, scourging, and the finally crucifixion. Jesus had told them this before on multiple occasions. But on the night in which His suffering would begin, He speaks to them as a father speaks to his children. This is how we talk to children when we know they won’t understand something. “How much longer do we have to drive?” “How much longer until you get ...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.  Jesus tells the disciples that they will have sorrow because He goes away for what He calls “a little while.” By “a little while” Jesus means His suffering, death, and time in the tomb. His disciples will weep and lament at this. Their Lord is taken away from them. The One of whom they confessed, “ You have the words of eternal life ” (John 6:68), will be separated from them in death. Of course they would sorrow, weep, and lament. The world, on the other hand, will rejoice at this “little while” that Christ is gone. By “the world” we mean everything in this life that is set against Christ and the righteousness that comes by faith in Him. When Christ is crucified, all His enemies make a joyful shout and rejoice in their victory over God’s Son in human flesh. The world’s rejoicing will make the disciples’ sorrow that much worse. It’s terrible to lose your teacher and Lord. That loss stings worse when ever...