"I Have Overcome the World"

These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

What did Jesus mean when He said "I have overcome the world"? What is the world? What is there to overcome?

Jesus had been telling the disciples how He would soon leave them and go to the Father. Jesus knew this would be a very hard time for them but He also knew it was best for them. He was seeking to comfort His disciples and prepare them for what lay ahead. He promised to send the Holy Spirit as a comforter and guide. He promised that the Father would hear them and give them their requests when they prayed. And He promised He would return someday. Now in verse 33 He tells them why He had spoken these things to them: So they could have peace.

"In the world he shall have tribulation." Let us remember that the Devil is in the world and he is the ruler of the world. The entire agenda of the kingdom of the world is perpendicular to the Kingdom of God. T

he world has many threats and weapons. There are shame, pain, temptation, loss, rejection and more. But the greatest threat of the world is physical and spiritual death. Before Jesus came, death was to be feared. There was no way to measure up to God's standard. Man could not be good enough for a holy righteous God.

Enter Jesus.

Jesus came to the world as a baby and lived a sinless, holy, righteous life. He went about preaching, teaching, healing, and comforting people which was totally against the ways of the kingdom of the world. The world could not withstand his wisdom, kindness and compassion. The kingdom of this world was losing citizens. There was only one way to put a stop to this. So the world pulled out it's greatest weapon: death. They hung Jesus on a cross until he was dead. The greatest weapon of the world had once again put to silence a threat to it's existence. But...

Three days later on a Sunday morning the ground began to shake. Two angels came down to earth from heaven and rolled away the stone from the tomb where Jesus was buried. When the women came to the tomb a little later there was no body in it. Jesus was God and by the power of God, His own power, He broke the chains of death, returned to His body and again walked on earth. In doing so He broke the greatest weapon of the Kingdom of the world and rendered it useless in the face of the power of God. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [56] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Cor. 15:55-57. "The sting of death is sin." The wage of sin is death, that is, the ultimate death of eternal damnation in Hell. The second death is the only reason the first death is to be feared. If we accept Jesus' atonement for our sin and follow Him our sins are washed away and we are no longer in danger of the second death; therefore, death has nothing to use against us. But Jesus did not simply take away the sting, He replaced the wages of sin, the second death in Hell, with something good. Heaven.

Let us think of an example. We fear the sting of a wasp. It is instant pain that last, sometimes for hours. The affected body part swells and movement is impeded. As it begins to heal it becomes itchy. Let's suppose that there is a pill we could take that would take away the sting of a wasp. But not only take it away but the sting would be replaced by a wonderful feeling of ecstasy, well being, and perfection. That is really what Jesus did. There is no fear in physical death because it is but a doorway opening up to eternal ecstasy.

"In the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world." - Jesus