Take Heart

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

            John was written by John, the son of Zebedee, one of Jesus’s 12 disciples. John’s purpose is so that all “may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life” (John 20:31). A distinctive feature of John is that he claims that Jesus is from heaven. In the first chapter, John poetically describes how Jesus was with God and He is God. That He was the Word of God that through Him everything was created and He “became flesh and lived here among us” (John 1:14). The book of John tends to give a different perspective from the other three gospels. He tells of events that were not recorded in the other gospels. He also speaks of himself, whereas the other gospel authors do not mention themselves within the events (1).

            Chapter 16 begins with Jesus talking with His disciples about how He will soon be leaving them. He describes the “Advocate” that will come to them if He leaves (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit will come from Jesus after He is gone to communicate to the disciples and to continue teaching them, just as Jesus had taught them. They will be able to directly communicate with the Father through the Holy Spirit by praying in Jesus’s name.

Read John 16:25-33

            After Jesus had talked with His disciples, they admitted that they finally understood that Jesus came from God. Jesus again tells them that they will be overwhelmed with fear that they will scatter to their own homes and leave Jesus alone (John 16:32). This is in reference to Jesus’s trial and death. They became so afraid of the Roman soldiers and the crowds that they hid in fear that they too might be tried and killed for being associated with Jesus. But Jesus gave them this warning as an encouragement, He says in verse 33. Jesus says He has overcome the world, in Greek that is “nikaō” (nik-ah’-o), meaning to conquer, prevail, get the victory. Jesus has conquered the world and has victory over sin and death (2). He could say that in confidence before He went to the cross because that was His sole mission while He lived on earth. He said this in reference to the troubles He knew the disciples would soon be facing. He was watching out for them and helping them along.

            Jesus warned His disciples of the trouble soon coming. That they would leave Jesus and Jesus would leave them and another being referred to as the Advocate was coming to them. This was very confusing and frightening to the disciples. There are things that we all face today that are very confusing and cause fear and anxiety to rise. But Jesus knew that we would all face difficult times. We can take His words in verse 33 as a truth still for us today. Jesus still has victory over the world; He conquered sin and death and the cross and He resurrected from the grave and is still alive today. We still have the Holy Spirit dwelling with us, communicating with us just as Jesus had promised. These are all important to remember, especially when you are walking through a situation full of unknowns and what ifs.

           

            When you fear what the future may hold, what are three truths from scripture that you can recall to remind you to place your trust and reliance on God?

1. Schenck, Kenneth. Jesus Is Lord!: an Introduction to the New Testament. Triangle Publishing, 2009.

2.Strong, James (2001). The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible: Red-letter Edition. Thomas Nelson.