ENTER THOU INTO THE JOY OF THE LORD
By John C. Carpenter
The scriptures teach us that as Jesus sat upon the mount of Olives,
His disciples came to Him privately, saying, tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and the
end of the world? Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. Later in His discourse, Jesus told the disciples
a parable, the parable of the talents: For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants,
and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to
his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and
made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and
digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so
he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold,
I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents
came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto
him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter
thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man,
reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the
earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that
I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and
then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath
ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away
even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew
25:14-30).
WHAT IS JOY?
The phrase the joy of the Lord can seem confusing, and we may become unsure of what this phrase
is really referring to. Does the joy spoken of here refer to the joy of God the Father, the joy of Jesus Christ, or a joy experienced
by the believer in Christ? In our context, the joy seems to be the joy given by God the Father to the believer in Christ who has been
obedient to the will of the Father in heaven.Probably one of the more famous references to the joy of the Lord was referred to by
the prophet Nehemiah. The scriptures tell us, Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that
taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept,
when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto
them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy [Hebrew, chedvah, rejoicing,
gladness, or make glad] of the LORD is your strength [Hebrew, mauz, a fortified place, figuratively a defence, force, fortress, rock,
or strength] (Nehemiah 8:9-10). In verse 10, joy is translated from the Hebrew word chedvah which means rejoicing, gladness, or to
be made glad, while in verse 21 of our subject verses, the word joy is translated from the Greek word chara, which means to be well,
glad, cheerfulness, delight, exceeding joy, or be highly joyful. In both the old and new testaments, joy is best defined and thought
of as rejoicing, being exceedingly glad, and to experience cheerfulness or utter delight. The Websters New Collegiate Dictionary definesjoy as the emotion evoked by well being, success, or good fortune, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.
REASONS
FOR BIBLICAL JOY
As the scriptures teach, there are numerous types of joy experienced by different individuals for various reasons,
but we will mention just a few. For example, in his letters to the churches, the apostle Paul often referred to the deep joy that
he had in his service as a minister of God, including the tremendous suffering he experienced: we glory [and are joyful] in tribulations
also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:3-5).
The believer in Christ
can also experience great joy when God gives us spiritual power, as well as joy that is the result of our salvation. Jesus taught
the seventy disciples, the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And
he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits
are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:17-20). Israel expressed great joy during
their worship of God (1 Chronicles 15:16), while the apostle James instructed the twelve scattered tribes, My brethren, count it all
joy when ye fall into divers temptations (James 1:2).
Jesus instructs us to be joyful even when we are hated, reproached, slandered,
and rejected, because our reward shall be great: Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their
company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice [be happy, or well], ye in that
day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward [pay] is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets(Luke 6:22-23).
The believer cannot only experience joy from the presence and working of the Holy Spirit in his or her life (1
Thess 1:6, Gal 5:22), but also experience joy as the result of being in the Kingdom of God (Romans 14:17). In believing, God can and
will fill us with all joy and peace (Rom 15:13, Phil 1:25).
Last of all, the believer in Christ also has joy as the result of
knowing and having a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus told Judas, If ye [will humbly and obediently] keep
my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have
I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full (John 15:10-11). The apostle Paul wrote the believers
in Rome, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy
Ghost (Romans 15:13), and the Philippian believers Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice (Philippians 4:4). The psalmist,
David, exhorts us, I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the
LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my
flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalms
16:7-11). Experiencing the joy of the Lord is possible only when we are in a relationship with the Lord.
OBEDIENCE AND THE JOY
OF THE LORD
In the context of our subject verses, what does Jesus identify as the key quality associated with receiving and experiencing
the joy of the Lord? He tells us with these words: Well done, thou good [Greek, agathos, good in any sense, benefit, or well] and
faithful [Greek, pistos, trustworthy, believable, sure, or true] servant [Greek, doulos, a slave literally or figuratively, involuntarily
or voluntarily, subserviency, or to be a bondman]: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy lord (Matthew 25:21). Christ uses the words good and faithful servant. Being a good and faithful servant,
even in the small things, is the key to receiving the joy of the Lord. Being a good and faithful servant can also be described as
obedience.
David reminds us of the relationship of obedience and joy when he wrote, I delight [Hebrew, chaphets, to be pleased,
to desire, to take delight in, be well pleased, or have pleasure in] to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. I
have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest (Psalms 40:8-9).
Jesus
also clearly teaches us, If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and
abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full (John 15:10-11).
The psalmist adds, Blessed [Hebrew, esher, happiness, level, right, happy, or blessed] are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the
law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they
walk in his ways (Psalms 119:1-3).
As we mentioned earlier, Jesus said to Judas, If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in
my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might
remain in you, and that your joy might be full (John 15:10-11). Again, obedience and the fulness of joy are closely related.
John
the apostle also teaches us, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat
loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous [Greek, barus, weighty, figuratively
burdensone, grave, make unhappy, or grievous] (1 John 5:1-3).
In the old testament, knowledge of and bedience to the law was
certainly connected with the joy of the Lord. In Nehemiah we read, And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe,
and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For
all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet,
and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry [Hebrew, atsab,
to carve, fabricate or fashion, in a bad sense to worry, have pain or anger, displease, be unhappy, or feel hurt]; for the joy of
the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:9-10).
Finally, the believer in Christ is to experience a joy so magnificent and full of
honor that it cannot be described with human words. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, teaches us, Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though
now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found [true, faithful and obedient] unto praise and honour and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice [Greek,agalliao, much, to jump for joy, to gush with joy, to exult, be exceedingly glad, or have great joy] with joy unspeakable [Greek,aneklaletos, not spoken out, cannot be divulged, indescribable, or unutterable] and full of glory [Greek, doxazo, to render or esteem
glorious, to glorify, to honour, or to magnify]: Receiving the end of your faith, even [specifically] the salvation of your souls (1
Peter 1:6-9). Do you want to experience the joy of the lord? The answer is simple - Become a good and faithful servant of God. AMEN.
THE CHRISTIAN HERALD
A
Judeo-Christian Bible Study
"Draw nigh to God,
and he will draw
nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye
sinners; and purify
your hearts, ye
double minded. Be afflicted,
and
mourn, and weep:
let your laughter be turned to mourning,
and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord,
and
he shall
lift you up”
(James 4:8-10).
“I looked on MY right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou ART my refuge AND my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought
very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the
righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully
with me”
(Psalms 142:4-7).
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I
will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded:
they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that
contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy
right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee”
(Isaiah 41:10-13).
“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be
afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that
doth go with thee; he will not
fail thee, nor forsake thee”
(Deuteronomy 31:6).
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will
uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded:
they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that
contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy
right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee”
(Isaiah 41:10-13).