That Your Joy May Be Full

Jesus finished His teaching about the vine with these words: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

Jesus’ own joy. Jesus did not only want His friends to be happy for a while. He wanted them to have His joy, the joy He Himself had.

Where His joy came from. Jesus had just said that He kept His Father’s commandments and stayed in His Father’s love (John 15:10). His joy came from being loved by the Father and doing what the Father wanted.

Joy on a hard night. Jesus spoke about joy on the night before the cross. Hebrews says that “for the joy that was set before Him” He “endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). He looked ahead to the joy that would come after it.

He prayed for it. Later that same night Jesus prayed to His Father for His disciples. He prayed “that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13).

Joy and His words. Jesus said He had spoken these things so that our joy would be full. His words bring joy. The prophet Jeremiah said, “Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).

Joy and trust. A psalm says, “But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation” (Psalm 13:5). Trusting God and rejoicing in Him go together.

Better than a big harvest. David prayed, “You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased” (Psalm 4:7). The joy God gives is better than having plenty of everything.

Full joy. Full means filled all the way up, with no empty space. Jesus does not give a little bit of joy. He wants your joy to be full.

What steals our joy. Sin pulls us away from God, and it never gives the joy it promises. All of us have sinned.

Jesus brings us back. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again. When we trust Him, we are forgiven and brought close to God, and His joy begins to fill us.

What this means for you. Real joy is not found in getting everything you want. It is found in staying close to Jesus, listening to His words and trusting His love.

That same night Jesus told His disciples that they would soon be very sad. Then He promised, “I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you” (John 16:22).

Sorrow first. Jesus knew He would be arrested and crucified, and His friends would be very sad. He told them, “you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy” (John 16:20).

A picture Jesus gave. Jesus said, “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21). The sorrow was real, but the joy would be greater.

He rose. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead, and His friends saw Him again. Their sorrow really did turn into joy, just as He said.

Why no one can take it. Jesus Himself said, “your joy no one will take from you.” Their joy rested on Jesus, and Jesus is alive. The Bible says that Christ, “having been raised from the dead, dies no more” (Romans 6:9).

Joy without seeing Him. We have not seen Jesus with our eyes. Peter wrote to believers like us: “Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). Inexpressible means too great for words.

Singing at midnight. Once, Paul and Silas were beaten and locked in prison. “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25). Their joy came from Jesus, not from what was happening to them.

Even with no grapes. Habakkuk wrote, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food,” and still he said, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

Joy and sadness. Christians still feel sad sometimes. Jesus' friends were very sad that night, just as He said they would be. But under the sadness, the joy of knowing the risen Jesus stays.

Bring Him your sorrow. Jesus did not tell His friends to pretend they were not sad. Instead, He told them the truth and gave them a promise. You can bring Him your sadness too.

The reason for our joy. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. Because He lives, everyone who trusts Him is forgiven and will live with Him forever.

What this means for you. When you are sad, you can still trust Jesus. Your joy rests on Him, and no one can take Him away from you.