Shortly before his arrest and trial, Christ Jesus told his disciples, "Ye shall weep and lament, . . . and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." John 16:20. Jesus must have recognized that joy is solely a spiritual quality, that it unfolds from God and is never dependent on, or derived from, human circumstances. His disciples were to partake of this joy, spiritual peace, and assurance that never left Jesus. These emanated from his unfailing understanding of his inseparable oneness with his Father, divine Love.
That a man pursued by every form of human hatred could promise unshakable joy can only be understood by those who in some measure have come to appreciate reality as spiritual; who have perceived the truth that the material world can neither take from nor add to the eternal birthright of spiritual sonship that God has bestowed on man.
Nothing could separate Jesus from his joy. It characterized his entire mission. It heralded his human appearing in Bethlehem. He felt its perfect stillness in the wilderness, and later it abode with him as he healed the sick, regenerated the sinning, and raised the dead. Even the threat of crucifixion could not shake his understanding of immortal Life. Here is the true basis of spiritual joy, for it surpasses the whim of human happiness as thoroughly as it transcended the threat of impending wrath. This joy enveloped him in his three days in the sepulcher and showed forth on the resurrection morn as he arose from the tomb in the understanding of eternal Life. His joy was fundamental to the nature of being, a divine quality forever unfolding. It was a blessing bestowed on him by his Father, Love, before the world was.
