Jesus speaks of His own tribulation in John 13:21 (all quotations are from John unless otherwise noted) when He becomes troubled in His spirit, specifically concerning the idea that one of His disciples would betray Him. Jesus experienced the same type of trouble and distress at the death of Lazarus in John 11 and He will do so again in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus experienced many of the same emotions you and I experience.
We have tribulation in the world because sometimes we put our confidence in the flesh and we, like Peter say, “I’ll never deny you” (13:37). And then we do. And our heart aches because we know we have sinned against our Redeemer and our Creator.
The apostles were beginning to feel like orphans (14:18). But Jesus wasn’t going to leave them alone. Because we are in the flesh, we sometimes feel alone. It is amazing that a human being can be in a large crowd and still feel alone. But Jesus does not leave us alone. In Hebrews 13:5-8, the Hebrew writer reminds us that we are never alone and the same Jesus who spoke to the apostles in the upper room is the same Jesus who walks with us today.
As Jesus’ discussion with the apostles progressed, sorrow was filling their hearts (16:6). Jesus told them that if He did not go away, the “Helper,” the Holy Spirit would not come. They needed the Holy Spirit to fully understand the will of the Father and the message of the Gospel; they needed to rely on the Holy Spirit.
So the apostle Paul, as he speaks of his thorn in the flesh, in 2 Corinthians 12 helps us understand that with the tribulations we experience, it helps us to rely on God more (12:9-10).
We have tribulation in the world because the world hates Christians. Jesus predicted that: 15:18-20.
We will have persecution in the world. Jesus promises that: “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also” (John 15:20). We can expect persecution. We should expect persecution. And in verse 25, quoting either Psalm 35:19 or 69:4, states that His enemies hated Him “without cause.”
Jesus told His apostles that they would be “outcasts from the synagogue” (16:2). He told them that the people who will kill the apostles will actually think they are doing service to God! People who persecute Christians think they are doing what is right and appropriate. Atheists criticize us because they think they understand science better than Christians. Other people in other religions criticize Christians because they think they understand Christianity better than Christians do. So we are persecuted if only through verbal abuse and ostracization.
Jesus tells His apostles in 16:16: “A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
Paul Holland
