John 16:25-33: Jesus Wins

John 16:25-33: Jesus Wins

Please turn with me in your Bibles to John 16. If you’re using one of the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 748. We’ve been working our way through the Gospel of John passage by passage, and today the next passage we come to is John 16:25-33. John 16:25-33: 25 “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. 26 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; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 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.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 

I’m sure most of you are aware that in just a few hours the Steelers will take on the Jaguars with the hope of advancing to the next round of the NFL playoffs and ultimately going to the Superbowl. That’s how the playoffs work. The winners get to advance to the next round, and then to the next round, and then finally to the Superbowl. And I personally think it’s amazing how “into it” some people get. For some people, especially during playoff season, football just seems to be on their mind constantly. They get so into it that they’re talking about it almost wherever they go. And I think one of the reasons that the NFL playoffs and sports in general often draw people in like that is because there’s a sense of anticipation that develops when you want your team to win, but you’re not entirely sure if they’re going to win or not. Not knowing what’s going to happen or who’s going to win is part of what makes sporting events so entertaining. You really don’t know what’s going to happen.

And not only is not knowing a source of entertainment, it can also be a source of anxiety—maybe not for sporting events, but for other things in the world. We’re surrounded by all kinds of uncertainty. We have economic uncertainty since nobody really knows what’s going to happen with our economy. Another recession could hit us at any time. We also have political uncertainty where we don’t know what kind of politicians will be elected in the coming years or what kinds of policies those politicians will establish. And there’s also uncertainty internationally with countries like North Korea actually threatening the United States with nuclear weapons. There’s so much that’s uncertain in our world today that sometimes, I find myself getting a little anxious if I listen the news too much. Has anyone else experienced that? It’s almost to the point where I can only listen to the news in doses because there’s so much going on and so much instability and so much uncertainty that it just makes me anxious.

But that’s why I love our text this morning so much. We may not know how all of the current events we hear about on the news are going to play out, but from reading the Bible we do know exactly how things are going to play out ultimately. In the end, the Bible says, Jesus wins. And I believe that’s the most significant thing for us to take away from this text here in John 16. You can sum it up with those two words: Jesus wins. That’s the main idea. We get that from the very last words of our passage in verse 33: “I have overcome the world.” Jesus wins. And there are three things I’d like to encourage you to do as you think about Jesus winning: wait for Jesus to win, understand how Jesus wins, and respond to the fact that Jesus wins. 

Wait for Jesus to Win

So first, wait for Jesus to win. Right now, we’re in a period of time when the fullness of Jesus winning is still in the future. We’re living in a time when things are often difficult and it’s easy to become discouraged. In verse 32, Jesus says to his disciples, “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home.” So, “You will be scattered,” Jesus says. He’s talking about what would happen just a few hours after he uttered these words. Things are about to get really bad. Soldiers are about to come to arrest Jesus and carry him off to be crucified. And Jesus knows that when those soldiers come, his disciples are going to tuck their tales and run. Then in verse 33, Jesus tells his disciples that “in the world you will have tribulation.” In other words, he’s saying, “Your lives are about to get very difficult, and they’re going to stay difficult. For the rest of your lives, you can expect to face tribulation.” And that tribulation would come largely in the form of persecution. You may remember that earlier in chapter 16, in verses 2-3, Jesus gave his disciples a very clear warning: He told his disciples, “2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.” So Jesus predicts that his disciples will face some incredibly difficult times in their life. They’re going to be hated, they’re going to be persecuted, and they’re even going to be killed. That’s how much people will despise them. In 1 Corinthians 4:13, Paul says that he and his missionary companions have become “the scum of the earth and the refuse of the world.” That’s pretty low. But that’s what the early Christians faced. 

You know, a lot of Christians today look at our society here in America and at the way our society is becoming less and less friendly toward Christianity, and that alarms them. A lot of Christians are asking each other, “What are we going to do? More and more people in society don’t like us anymore—they don’t think very highly of us. What are we going to do?” And honestly, I can understand how a lot of Christians feel that way. We’ve had social respectability for so long. We’ve been at the top of the totem pole or at least toward the top of the totem pole for so long. And now…that’s not the case anymore. Things are changing in our country. Christians don’t enjoy the social prominence we once enjoyed. In fact, in some sectors of society, it’s getting to be quite the opposite. It’s getting to the point where identifying as a Christian can be a liability rather than an asset. However, let me tell you something: I actually don’t think we have to be alarmed by that. After all, it’s not like this is uncharted territory for us. Not only were the early Christians despised by many in their society, but countless Christians throughout church history have also been despised and found themselves on the fringes. So this really isn’t anything new. In fact, I would even say that it’s, in a sense, normal for us to be experiencing this kind of opposition. Jesus tells his disciples to expect it. 

And if there’s one thing we learn from what happened with the church in the first century, it’s this: no amount of opposition can ever hinder the gospel from moving forward. God has a way of building his church even in the face of tremendous persecution and opposition. You see, I believe God’s designed the church to be kind of like a polar bear. This past year, I took my two boys to the Pittsburgh zoo, and we saw a polar bear swimming in the water. And I just thought to myself, “How amazing is it that polar bears can live in the environment they often live in—not the zoo but the frozen tundra of their natural habitat?” It’s insane when you think about it. They live in freezing cold conditions. And not only do they live in those conditions, but they even go swimming in those conditions. I mean, how is that even possible? If you or I went swimming in the kind of water polar bears go swimming in, I’m pretty sure we would die within a matter of minutes. How is it possible for a polar bear to survive and even thrive in those conditions? Well, of course, they’re able to do that because God created them that way. He gave them the fur and the things they would need to keep warm. And in a similar way, Jesus designed the church to be able to withstand persecution and opposition. 1 John 4:4 states, speaking to Christians, “4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” How is it that the church can continue to grow and multiply even in the face of such opposition? “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” You see, the church has a secret weapon, if you will—a secret source of power and energy and strength. We have the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit empowers us and uses us to continue moving the gospel forward. So we don’t have to be alarmed when we see signs of opposition developing in our society, because he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Nothing can stop the gospel from moving forward. 

However, the fact remains that life isn’t necessarily going to be easy for people who follow Jesus. The gospel may move forward, but that doesn’t mean things will be easy for us. And Jesus prepares his disciples for that in John 16. He prepares them to be frequently misunderstood, misrepresented, scorned, mocked, ridiculed, and even openly persecuted. And likewise with us today: we can expect to face opposition that’s often very real and very difficult. So we find ourselves in a period of time in which we’re waiting for Jesus to win. We’re waiting for the fullness of his victory.

Understand How Jesus Wins

But one day, we know, that victory will come. Jesus wins. So not only should we wait for Jesus to win, it’s also helpful for us to understand how Jesus wins. Look again at verse 33: “33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Did you hear that? “I have overcome the world,” Jesus says. In other words, his victory is so certain to come in the future, Jesus speaks of it as if it’s already happened. He speaks of it not as a wish or a hope but as an established fact. Jesus wins, and nobody can keep his victory from happening.

And that victory would happen just a few hours after Jesus said those words. And it would happen in a very unexpected way. As we’ve mentioned, Jesus was about to be arrested and unjustly put to death. He was innocent, but he was about to be killed. And yet, all of that was actually according to God’s plan. In fact, it’s the whole reason why Jesus came to this earth. Jesus knew that we were in a miserable condition. The Bible teaches that all of humanity is in a state of sinful rebellion against God. We desire to be our own god, and so we set ourselves up against the One True God of the universe. And we live out that rebellion in countless different ways—disobeying God’s instructions, perverting God’s ways, and misusing God’s gifts. We’re sinful. And our sins deserve God’s judgment. But Jesus came to our rescue by dying on the cross. He took our sins on himself and suffered for them in our place. God’s judgment came down on him so it wouldn’t have to come down on us. Then after Jesus died, he rose again from the dead. And that’s how he won ultimate victory. Through his resurrection, Jesus did what he says he’s going to do in verse 33: “I have overcome the world.” He does that through his resurrection. That’s where the decisive victory took place. Jesus rescues his people from “the world,” which I believe is shorthand for everything that’s set in opposition to God, including Satan, sin, and the consequences of sin. Jesus overcomes it all and rescues us from it all through his resurrection. Many in the world will continue opposing God and by extension the people of God, but praise be to Jesus that the victory has been won.

And yet, I think we all sense that there’s still something incomplete about the victory. After all, we still face opposition. We still suffer trials of various kinds. So Jesus won the victory, but we haven’t yet experienced the fullness of that victory. We haven’t yet seen that victory become real and manifest in every aspect of life. You might compare it to the end of World War II, when the Japanese officially surrendered to the Allied forces. As soon as those surrender documents were signed, victory had officially been won. The Allies had defeated Japan and had officially won the war. However, the fullness of the victory hadn’t yet come to all of the islands in the Pacific. Some of the islands were so remote and communication with some of the Japanese soldiers was so difficult that there were numerous Japanese soldiers who mistakenly kept on fighting even though the war was officially over. In fact, I even read about this one Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda who didn’t really believe the war was over and kept on fighting until 1974—29 years after the war officially ended. He received some leaflets dropped from airplanes that the war had ended, but he thought the Allies were trying to trick him. So he just kept on fighting. Finally, the Japanese government managed to track down his commanding officer, who by that time had taken up civilian life as a bookseller, and the commanding officer traveled to the island where Mr. Onoda had stationed himself and the officer formally relieved him of duty. Now of course, Mr. Onoda was a bit unique for the amount of time he continued fighting after the war was officially over. But there were Japanese soldiers throughout the Pacific, especially in the first few weeks after Japan’s official surrender, who were still fighting the war. So you might say that the Allies officially won their victory over Japan when Japan signed the documents of surrender, but that victory took a while to become universally real and manifest. 

And it’s the same way with the victory Jesus won through his death and resurrection. He won the victory, but the fullness of that victory has yet to be seen. However, we’re told that one day it will be seen. And it’ll be seen in a very visible and powerful way. I’d like to read an extended passage to you that describes that victory. Revelation 19:11-21: 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. 

Now I realize there are a lot of strange things described in that passage. If you’ve never read that before, you may not know exactly what to make of it. And even for those who have spent a lot of time studying Revelation, it can be difficult to know exactly what’s meant to be taken literally and what’s meant to be taken figuratively or symbolically. But here’s what we definitely see in that passage: Jesus destroys his enemies totally and completely. The victory he won through his death and resurrection is now totally visible and totally manifest. In the end, Jesus wins. 

Respond to the Fact that Jesus Wins

And that demands a response. Knowing what’s coming in the future compels us to do something in the present. So that’s our third point this morning: respond the fact that Jesus wins. So we had: wait for Jesus to win, understand how Jesus wins, and now we have respond to the fact that Jesus wins. If we really believe that Jesus wins in the decisive way the Bible says he’s going to win, that changes everything about how we approach the present.

For example, there’s a lot of talk these days about being on the so-called “right side of history.” We hear that language from politicians, we hear that language from journalists; a lot of people are talking about being on the “right side of history,” usually with regard to various social issues. But here’s the thing: I agree that we should be on the right side of history. But you have to understand that the real right side of history is joining up with Jesus. If you want to be on the real right side of history, you need to make sure you’re aligned with Jesus in every way. And that begins with renouncing everything in your life that’s not the way God wants it to be and then putting your trust in Jesus to rescue you from your sin and make you into a totally new person. And if you do that, you’ll discover a kind of joy and fullness in Jesus that’s utterly beyond anything else in this world. You can have that even this morning. 

And if you’ve already turned to Jesus, just be reminded that his victory is your victory. Think again about football. When the Pittsburgh Steelers win a football game, it’s not just their victory, is it? No, the whole city of Pittsburgh celebrates victory along with them. Of course, the vast majority of Pittsburghers have no formal connection the Steelers. They don’t play for the Steelers, they don’t coach for the Steelers—they’re not employed by the Steelers in any way. So in one sense, it’s not really their victory. But in another sense, it is. We recognize that a victory for the Steelers is a victory of all of Pittsburgh. And likewise with Jesus: his victory is our victory. 

And one day, we’ll see his victory in a very visible way. Of course, as we saw in Revelation 19, we’ll see that as Jesus defeats his enemies. But we’ll also see victory in what Jesus does after that—the kind of kingdom he sets up after dealing with his enemies. Revelation 21:1-5 describes it: 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

So that’s the kind of kingdom Jesus is going to establish. It’s going to be a kingdom of indescribable joy, unassailable peace, and unprecedented closeness to God. Doesn’t your heart yearn for that? Isn’t there something within you that yearns to be there, with God, in that kind of place? One of the things that makes us yearn for that is the fact that this world is so opposite from everything that passage describes. Suffering and sorrow are all too real in this world. Many times, this world can seem like pure chaos. And I’m not just talking about the stories you hear on the news, although those are a big part of it; I’m also talking about life in general. The fact is, we just don’t know what’s going to happen to us on any given day. Last Sunday, I shared the story of my fellow t-ball coach, Jeff, and I told you how Jeff unexpectedly died halfway through the t-ball season. He was in his mid-forties, seemed to be doing fine, but he died suddenly and without warning. And even within our church, I think of Brian. This past week marked the one year anniversary of Brian being in a car accident that left him in a semi-coma state for over a month. Even now, he’s still working to get back physically to where he was before. And thankfully, by God’s grace, he has made a lot of progress. But his accident is yet another reminder that we just don’t know what’s going to happen to us today or tomorrow or the next day. Life is a very uncertain thing. 

And yet, there’s something we can hold onto that is certain: Jesus wins. Jesus wins over sin, Satan, brokenness, suffering, North Korean tyranny, car accidents, heart attacks, and even death. He wins. And one day, as we read, he’s going to re-create this world in the form of a new heavens and a new earth. And you can rejoice in the fact that one day, if you’re a Christian, you will be there, and you will see God face-to-face, and you will experience the fullness of Jesus’ victory. If you’re a Christian, the best is yet to come.