Easter 6 Rogate – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. John 16:23-30 “Ask, and You Will Receive, that Your Joy May be Full”
May 25, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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Lord God, heavenly Father, through Your Son You have promised us that whatever we ask in His name You will give us: We beseech You, keep us in Your Word, and grant us Your Holy Spirit, that He may govern us according to Your will; protect us from the power of the devil, from false doctrine and worship; and also defend our lives against all danger. Grant us Your blessing and peace, that we may in all things perceive Your merciful help, and both now and forever praise and glorify You as our gracious Father; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 156)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 16th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
[Jesus said:] “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who calls on you to ask for help from your dear heavenly Father, because He hears you and cares for you in Jesus’ holy name, dear fellow redeemed:
Have you ever been asked the question, “How is your relationship with God?” This is a question that is asked with good intentions, but it can catch Christians off guard. The answer to this question depends on a few things. Is it about God in general? That answer is different compared to our relationship with God the Father through the Son. We also must watch out for when the world uses this question. They will use it to try to poke holes in our Lord’s very existence. Sitting here today, you know you have a relationship with Him, as you confess in Matins and Vespers, “We have come into the presence of God our heavenly Father.” You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t believe that the God of heaven isn’t coming down to you right now. For you to answer this question, you see your relationship is one where you can ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
For many, this is not a good answer. It was a good answer that Jesus gave to His disciples, but they didn’t quite understand it. In our text for today, Jesus is pointing out a change is taking place with the relationship they have with Him and with His heavenly Father. Before Jesus was telling them, “whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). With the Son of God among His people, we see His people believing in Him and He is answering their prayers with His miracles. So, is Jesus contradicting Himself when He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” The asking Jesus is now talking about, is the asking of the Father in His name. They haven’t had to do this because He is right there with them in the flesh, but this wasn’t going to last forever.
No matter how Jesus broke this news to His disciples, they had a hard time with it. He told them point blank and they argued that this would never happen. He then tells them, “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.” Now the figures of speech or His parables were not only for the disciples, but also for those who would not believe in Him. For some, Jesus would explain them to His disciples, but in the end, their faith would bounce from little faith to none. They thought they had it when in the end they say, “Ah, now You are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that You know all things and do not need anyone to question You; this is why we believe that You came from God.” This night was full of questions. They would continue to ask them, and they would continue to not understand.
While the disciples would struggle with understanding Jesus, we know that the time we will soon celebrate would come and then they would understand what Jesus said to them. They would understand why He was here, why He would have to die, why He would rise, and why He would return to the Father. It was an understanding that was not their own. They could now go directly to the Father, and they would witness how He would take care of them as they shared the Gospel and He would bring them into His kingdom. Now as the disciples are our witnesses, there are times we can end up like them with their lack of understanding. This is brought on by the same problems of our sin, the devil, and the world. We can think they shouldn’t be able to get a hold on us because of our knowledge, but the moment we forget or doubt the truth, we find ourselves jumping into a sea of no understanding.
When we get into the truth of God’s Word, we hear Jesus say to us how we find understanding. Not only do we listen to His Word, but He tells us that we can go to the Father in prayer. With our direct line to the Father, we should be able to say, we have a great relationship with God because of all He has done for us. The reason we don’t is because we tend to use it at the last minute. Then we can get confrontational with God because our sin, the devil, and the world will tell us to be confrontational. When we are confrontational, this is how God explains our relationship with Him. Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:1-4). In the presence of God without representation, the knowledge and relationship we have with God is one where we shrink away before His judgement.
The world asks you, “How do you go before God’s judgement?” You go before Him knowing that standing in front of you and before Him is the Mediator. This Mediator is none other than the Savior. Jesus teaches His disciples that He will hear all their prayers. He will answer them even when it looks according to world standards, only something bad will happen. Bad in the eyes of the world can be a blessing in the eyes of Christians. This doesn’t mean that the Christian can’t struggle with God in fact, He invites it. The disciples know this from their history as their ancestor Jacob struggled with the pre-incarnate Christ. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26). Of course, anything we face, our Savior has also faced. Later, this very night, Jesus would wrestle in prayer with His Father on His own. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:44). The Father answered His prayer. He didn’t take His cup away but instead strengthened Him so He would bring His people joy.
And He certainly does bring His people joy. He is the answer to their prayers. Jesus had a full understanding of what the Father wanted. Jesus is given strength to carry out the plan of salvation, saving the world from sin, the devil, and the world. After His death, resurrection, and ascension that will soon come, John writes, “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge” (1 John 2:20). The Holy One, their teacher and Savior, gives them this knowledge through the sending of the Spirit. He strengthens them to carry out the sharing of the Gospel. With confidence, they believe what Jesus told them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” They can ask in His name because He is before the Father on their behalf.
And Jesus is before the Father on your behalf. Through His glorious work you can call Him you dear Father. Jesus points you to the joy you have because, “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” He loves and has mercy on you. He points you to the work of His Son and through His work, He regards you as His also. And with His merciful love, the Son is before Him on your behalf as St. Paul writes, “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34). Jesus is your judge, seated at the right hand of the Father and because of His death on the cross to take away your sins and His Easter resurrection, He declares you innocent. He declares that He hears your prayers, and He brings them before the Father.
Jesus preached many times about how you are to go to your heavenly Father in prayer. When you pray, which He says to do often, you reveal how you can communicate with the divine. Communication you only have because His Son prayed to Him with complete trust. Complete trust given to you when you go before Him. It is through prayer that you are able to arm yourselves against your spiritual foes when Paul writes, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10) And when your trust has faded, and your enemies get you to doubt your strength, like the disciples, “now we know that You know all things and do not need anyone to question You; this is why we believe that You came from God.” Your reliance and the hearing and answering of your prayers, is through the joy you have in Christ’s death and resurrection.
The world would have you believe the cross and resurrection were long ago, and there is no confidence in them when the world is falling apart. You know how God’s will works in the world. God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will, and He strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith until our end (The third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer). Like the apostles before you, the full answer to your prayers is that He will take you from this world of sorrow to Himself in heaven. While you wait for the answer to that prayer, you are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). You have the confidence to trust in God. With your prayers, you reveal your relationship. It is a relationship where you can go before your Father as His dear child because of the death and resurrection of His Son. With joy, you ask, and receive, praying for your Lord’s guidance with this prayer. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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