The Motivating Joy of Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)

This sermon was preached on 15/4/2012

We all have motives for doing things. Sometimes we may have more than one motive for an action. The writer to the Hebrews here mentions one motive that enabled Jesus to persevere with his work of salvation on the cross. This motive is summarised in the clause, ‘for the joy that was set before him.’ Of course, Jesus had other motives for performing this work. For example, he says in John 14:31 that he went through with the onerous task because he wanted the world to know that he loved the Father.

1. Was Jesus joyful on earth?

Perhaps we wonder if it is appropriate to think of the joy of Jesus. After all, did Isaiah not prophesy about Jesus and say that he would be the man of sorrows who would be acquainted with grief? And there were many situations in this sin-affected world that caused sorrow in the heart of Jesus. He was saddened by sin, by death, and by the way many rejected him.

It is the case that many Christians are reluctant to think of the joy of Jesus. Some do so because they are sensitive to the fact that he was carrying a heavy burden, our sins. Yet there may other reasons for this focus. William Garden Blaikie, a Free Church of Scotland professor in the nineteenth century, suggested that ‘Probably our impression of his unchanging sadness is a legacy from the Church of Rome. The type of devotion which that Church labours most to foster is not radiant, but gloomy; not joyous, but grievous. The sight of Jesus with which it commonly fills the eye of its worshippers is that of Jesus in agony, Jesus on the cross, Jesus with all the marks of physical torture, sweating the bloody sweat, crowned with thorns, pierced by nails, swollen with blows, broken with manifold anguish.’

Blaikie continues: ‘But this is only one side of the truth. There must have been times when Jesus was radiant and happy, otherwise how should he have attracted little children as he did? How should he have been so social in his habits, so much in the society of his fellows, instead of courting seclusion, as grief ever does? How should he have been so habitually ready for his work, so quickly refreshed after labours, so full of activity and life? How should he have been such a contrast to John the Baptist, who came neither eating nor drinking, and who seems to have looked very much on the dark side of life? How should he have told his disciples that fasting was not appropriate for them while he was among them; that while the bridegroom was with them they had cause rather for festive feelings; and that it would be the time to mourn when the bridegroom should be taken away? All this points to a bright side of Christ’s earthly life.

‘It is not for us to settle the proportion between the dark and the bright in his experience. But we seem to be warranted in believing that while the ordinary level of his soul was that of peaceful composure, there were times at which it was especially depressed by grief, and times also at which it was elevated by joy. The one experience seems to have balanced the other. And Jesus seems to have verified the truth of Nehemiah’s maxim, that the joy of the Lord is the strength of his people.’

2. When was Jesus joyful on earth?

One occasion when he rejoiced is recorded in Luke 10:21-22 and the cause of his joy was the fact that his disciples understood who he was. Spurgeon comments on these verses: ‘The words here used are very emphatic. “He rejoiced.” The Greek word is much stronger than the English rendering; it signifies “to leap for joy.” It is the word of the blessed Virgin’s song, “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” Strong emotions of delight were visible upon our Lord’s face, and were expressed by the tones of his voice as well as by his words. It is clear that he was greatly glad. The text also says, he “rejoiced in spirit”: that is, deep down in the very centre of his nature, in that largest and most capacious part of his human being, the Redeemer rejoiced. Man is body, soul, and spirit; but the spirit is the nobler and most vital part, and it was with a spiritual, inward, and most living joy that the Lord Jesus Christ rejoiced. It was joy of the truest and fullest sort which made the Saviour’s heart to dance. Come we, then, near to this rejoicing Saviour, who wraps the garments of praise about him, perfumed with delight; and let us see if we cannot learn somewhat from his joys, since, I trust, we gathered something from his griefs.’

In the upper room, Jesus spoke about his own joy and informed his disciples that he was giving it to them (John 15:11). We can see from the context that his joy was connected to abiding in the Father’s love and obeying his will. It is also clear from his words that he wanted his disciples to know such joy themselves.

I recall reading what Brian Borgman in his book Feelings and Faith wrote about the joy of Jesus: ‘The Lord Jesus Christ is the pattern for true, wholehearted devotion and the highest and deepest delights. He was not only the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, but he was also the man of joy, acquainted with delight. Jesus took pleasure in the things that mattered most. His great delight was in communing with God. He rejoiced in doing the work of God. He was glad in the company of his brothers. His happiness came in the fulfilments of God’s purpose for his life.’

Returning to Hebrews 12:2, the joy that was set before Jesus is connected to what he anticipated would be his after his shameful sufferings on the cross. Where did he obtain the knowledge of what would happen after the cross? The answer to the question can be answered in two ways. First, the joy was set before him as God before he became a man in the eternal counsels. Second, the joy was conveyed to him as the God-man through the work of the Spirit enabling him to understand the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament. As Spurgeon said, the joy of Jesus ‘was a light from the lamps of the future, which were to be kindled by his death and victory.’ So we can focus on some details and see how they would bring joy to the Saviour.

3. What gave him joy after his death?

The first event that would have brought him joy after his time on the cross was when he would experience what he had promised to the penitent criminal. Jesus had said to him after his request for deliverance, ‘Today, you will be with me in Paradise.’ Often we focus on what that event would have meant for the converted criminal. Yet there must be a sense in which it is appropriate to think about what it would have meant for Jesus. Of course, there are great mysteries connected to the intermediate state and what is the experience of disembodied spirits in heaven. The Saviour dismissed his spirit before the criminal drew his final breath and was waiting for him when he crossed into Paradise. Chronologically the converted criminal was the first of his converts to reach the heavenly shore and how great must have been the joy of the Saviour when that redeemed soul entered paradise. Jesus certainly endured the cross in order to have the joy connected to the salvation of the dying thief.

Secondly, we can consider the joy that the Saviour experienced at his resurrection. Peter in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost quotes from Psalm 16, and he cites verses that indicate the joy felt by the Saviour in prospect of his resurrection. As he contemplated the time of death he sang that his heart rejoiced and his heart was glad. If that was the case before he experienced the resurrection itself, what must his joy have been when he rose in triumph out of the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

The joy on that resurrection day would include the delight that comes from knowing that he had defeated the power of death. Death is an awful power which has laid hold on billions of victims. Yet it discovered that it could not retain its hold on Jesus. He went into the grave to conquer it, and when he came out of it he came out with the song of triumph. On that great day Jesus had the song of achievement in his heart and what a mighty achievement it was! It is good for our souls to contemplate the majesty of the moment when the Lord Jesus came out in resurrection power from the realm of death. The prospect of defeating death had certainly encouraged the Saviour as he struggled through his hours on the cross.

Yet he also had other reasons for joy on that resurrection day and among them was the delight connected to reuniting with his disciples. I don’t know what impression the various incidents on that first resurrection day have on you but sometimes I think they describe a Saviour who is in a hurry to get around as many of his people as possible. So he meets with Mary Magdalene, then with the other women, then with Simon Peter, then with the two on the way to Emmaus and finally with those gathered in the upper room behind closed doors. His great heart of love wanted to meet with them all. 

On that first resurrection day, it is obvious that he wanted his baffled and distraught disciples to understand that all was well. We can even see his desire in the words that he used to greet the women: ‘All hail’ (Matt. 28:9). Hail is not a term that we use today but it is rooted in the word that means healthy. So when the triumphant joyful Saviour greets his friends who had done so much for him, he tells them from the gladness of his heart, ‘All is well.’

We can move on to a third joyful event that enabled him to endure the cross, and that is his ascension. Luke tells us that when the disciples returned to Jerusalem after witnessing the ascension they were filled with great joy. They had seen him go into heaven, and what they had observed had so filled them with joy that they don’t seem to have the sadness associated with parting. Their joy was on this side of the great divide as Jesus ascended. There was also joy on the other side as Jesus arrived.

His ascension can be described from many perspectives. In a sense, Jesus was going home. It was the place that he linked with joy. Had he not told his disciples that heaven was filled with joy when sinners repented? But surely the joy of heaven on the ascension day was connected to the triumph of Jesus, the sinbearer and defeater of death. Jesus ascended to heaven full of the Holy Spirit, and one aspect of the fruit is joy. As he says in Psalm 16, the Father has made him full of joy with the light of his countenance.

The ascension was followed immediately by his exaltation. Psalm 21 describes this event beautifully. Jesus is welcomed into the divine presence and invited to sit at God’s right hand. How did he feel? I think it is appropriate to see his joy described in the first few verses of Psalm 21.He was told to ask the Lord for his inheritance, and he was given his heart’s desire. He is now the King exalted and very high, but he is the king who is marked by joy. He has been given all power to bless the nations.

Fourthly, since then, Jesus has been joyfully supervising the spread of the gospel throughout the world. The Book of Acts, as we know, is misnamed. It is only superficially the Acts of the Apostles. Luke himself tells us that his first volume (the Gospel of Luke) was about what Jesus began to do and teach, indicating that his second volume is about what Jesus continues to do and teach. And one of the striking features of the Acts of the Apostles is the number of times Luke refers to joy.

Think of the joy of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost. Those in Jerusalem were there to keep the feasts and had probably been there since the previous feast of Passover, the time when Jesus was crucified. The people in the crowd, as Peter makes clear, had consented to the death of Jesus. Imagine coming and reading the Book of Acts for the first time. You have read Acts 1 about his ascension, of his enthronement. You know that rulers usually take revenge on their enemies. What is King Jesus going to do with his fierce opponents? Instead of punishing them for their sins, he gladly sends to them the offer of mercy. And what joy they would have had in heaven, around the heavenly throne, as one by one the news of the 3000 plus converts is relayed around the heavenly courts. Heaven had never seen a day like it as sinners streamed into the kingdom.

And the joy of Jesus in heaven has not ceased. Since the Day of Pentecost he has been joyfully rescuing sinners from their sad plight. Recall the story he told twice about the lost sheep. The lost sheep depicts us as sinners. Jesus the Saviour makes the arduous journey to rescue the sheep (a very vivid picture of the cross). Eventually he finds the sheep that has caused him so much trouble. What does he do with the sheep? He does not hit it with a stick. Instead he joyfully lifts it on to his shoulders. Jesus is delighted at the moment of rescuing lost sinners. If we could take hold of how happily he embraces returning prodigals, there would be a queue at the door of heaven. Of course, there is no need for a queue because he can deal with all of us simultaneously. We often think of the joy of the convert, but it is nothing to the joy of the Rescuer. That scenario has been repeated millions of time.

Fifthly, Jesus will have joy at the end of history. Think of the Day of Judgement. In Matthew 25 Jesus uses the parable of the talents to describe what will take place then. He refers to two men who have used their talents to make a profit for their master. They are given a great reward and part of that reward is to enter into the joy of their lord. Heaven is about entering into the joy of Jesus.

After that there will be the joy of the Bridegroom at the marriage supper of the Lamb. The announcement that it is about to take place is accompanied by the call to be joyful. It is completely inappropriate for there to be any who are not marked by joy on that climactic occasion when we will see the Son of God on our resurrection day. The glory of a joyful Saviour will fill our wondering eyes as we recall who we were – sinners that he came to rescue, and to realise that we are contributing to his happiness. And after that, there is an eternity of sharing the Saviour’s joy.

4. Can we be joyful?

Briefly let us focus on some details of our own search for joy. Firstly, we cannot know this joy until we embrace him by faith as we turn from our sins in repentance. Often the first effect of doing so is great joy.

Secondly, we have to follow his example if we are to maintain this joy and keep our spiritual gaze fixed on what he looked at. Knowing this joy should be a priority for us. Said Spurgeon, ‘A Christian has never fully realized what Christ came to make him until he has grasped the joy of the Lord.’ If we have lost this sense of joy, we should examine ourselves.

Thirdly, we should look to Jesus as the energy of our joy – Jesus can set us on fire as we consider him. This is the difference between considering the heroes of the faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 and Jesus. Their lifestyle can challenge us, but they cannot change us. In contrast, Jesus can. So we should keep looking at him as we face life’s daily circumstances.

Fourthly, joy is part of evangelism. The gospel is the message of joy. Recall how Paul describes it - it is the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. The word ‘blessed’ means happy or joyful. The message that we have to declare comes from a God who is full of joy, and his joy is connected to what his Son has done, is doing and will yet do.