Calvary Road Baptist Church
“CHRIST’S PROCLAMATION OF VICTORY”
John 16.33
My text is John 16.31. A few words by way of introduction before we read verses 31-33.
The three verses we are about to read bring to a close what are usually identified as two separate discourses. The first discourse is the Upper Room Discourse that at least began before the Lord Jesus Christ and His remaining eleven apostles departed the Upper Room, after the traitor Judas Iscariot had left. It is recorded in John chapter 14. This is the evening before Christ’s crucifixion.
Our Lord’s second discourse is found in John chapters 15 and 16. The entirety of those two chapters record what took place after He and His remaining eleven apostles left the Upper Room and before they arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane the same evening. As I have previously mentioned to you, these three chapters comprise the initial portion of the greatest conversation recorded in God’s Word.
The concluding portion of the greatest conversation recorded in God’s Word is found in John chapter 17, in what is accurately described as the Lord Jesus Christ’s high priestly intercessory prayer. Bible commentators agree that the entirety of what is recorded in John chapters 14-17 took place before the Lord and His remaining men arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane the evening before He was crucified.
I think you will agree with me, after we have read them, that these three verses are astonishingly relevant in light of our present distress and the success by the ruling classes of our country to control, by various types of oppression, the manipulation our population by fear tactics that most people are so eager to believe. Only those propagandized are unaware of the propaganda.
Take the various pandemic measures over the last thirteen months as examples of how a real health emergency was used to promote hysteria, with the quarantine for the first time in human history of an uninfected population, the almost complete shutdown of the economy, and an ever-changing set of mandated government guidelines that seemed to have no impact on the spread of the virus.
Witness Florida and California, with almost identical levels of Covid-19 cases, as our state was locked down and Florida was almost wide open.[1] Proving? Proving the lock down likely didn’t affect anything, while ruining small businesses everywhere in our state and driving up suicide rates[2] and instances of domestic violence against children and women.[3]
Remember when the goal of governors mandating measures not authorized by law was to isolate people or wear masks to flatten the curve? I will let you research the California governor’s personal income deal as a result of our state buying masks from China. Then there was the requirement to both isolate and wear masks until there was a vaccine, infamously ignored by our governor and the state’s top health experts.[4] Now there is an effort underway to require masks, to continue isolating, with a proposed continued lock down even after vaccines are administered ... until the governor faces a stiff recall challenge.
Remember when the lock down was for two weeks, and then two months, and now more than a year? I think we can all agree that many sectors of the California economy crashed, while big corporations allowed to remain open had their best years ever. Amazon hired 100,000 new workers just as the lock downs began.[5]
Can we all agree that the record shows that no computer models of the virus spreading have proven to be accurate? The world’s leading epidemiologist characterized the computer modelers as “astronomically wrong” with their predictions.[6] And who would deny that the World Health Organization has been a propaganda tool of the Chinese Communist Party?
Is there any dispute that big social media companies are currently restricting the ability of dissenting voices (some of whom are medical experts, I might add) who happen to disagree with the prevailing narrative? And there is no attorney in North America who denies that civil rights are being curtailed. You might profoundly disagree with my appraisal of the situation. It might agitate you that I even mention it. You are free to think for yourself. I hope that you insist on drawing your own conclusions. And I want you to initiate your own response to the challenges of life. That is how people who are free behave.
While you are at it, reflect on the matter for a few minutes and you might notice how little things have changed in 2,000 years. Consider that there were those in the entrenched bureaucracy in Jerusalem who sought to restrict the freedom of thought, in Christ’s day, to control the narrative. That would be the priesthood. Then there were the unofficial self-appointed guardians of speech and thought who sought to stifle freedom of expression and action. They, too, wanted to control the narrative. They would be those described as Pharisees.
So, you see, some things remain essentially the same down through history. This is because the nature of human beings remains the same as it has been since Adam and Eve. People are born. People live. People die. And people suffer the damnation of eternal Hellfire. The Bible has told us for 2,000 years that the Devil controls humanity, in ways they cannot begin to comprehend.[7]
As we approach God’s Word, we will consider comments made by the only person in history who did something to interrupt the otherwise hopeless cycle of birth, life, death, and the damnation of eternal Hellfire. We read John 16.31-33:
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 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.
Consider the irony in verse 31, and the hour in verse 32, before we focus on the Lord’s encouragement in verse 33. First, the irony:
“Jesus answered them [His disciples], Do ye now believe?”
What, precisely, is the Lord Jesus Christ said by the Apostle John to be answering? Our Lord is answering the astonishing confidence expressed by His men in verse 30, where they said to Him,
“Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.”
Really? “Now are we sure.” “Needest not that any man should ask thee.” “By this we believe.” Quite aside from the truthfulness of the realities those men said they were embracing, it is their unabashed confidence that is so staggering. And it is their expression of such confidence that produced the Savior’s statement that seems to drip with irony: “Do ye now believe?” said the Man they had spent three and one-half years seeing turn water into wine, walk on water, raise the dead, calm the storm, cast out demons, cleanse lepers, and give sight to the blind. But now they believe.
Could it be that these men’s display of over the top confidence was a bit too much like what we read back in John 2.23-25?
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
Next, the hour:
“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”
While the eleven may be filled with confidence, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who actually knows what is about to happen. He understands that even genuine faith can sometimes be weak faith, predictably buckling under an unexpected load.
It is the spiritually mature individual who recognizes something from his combination of experience and understanding. Not all faith is genuine. Such a type of fake faith is referred to in James 2.14-26, identifying faith that is without works as dead. Then there is a faith that is very real and alive. But it is faith that is weak and untempered by trials of affliction.
Nothing in God’s Word suggests that saving faith requires any strength at all. Real faith relies on the strength of the Object of our faith, who is Jesus Christ. But once someone is reconciled to God through faith in Christ, the need for that person’s faith to be strengthened over time, by repeated trials of faith and testing, is undeniable.
Thus, the Lord’s ironic response. The disciple’s confidence was all out of proportion to what the Lord knew was their faith’s strength, their faith’s experience, and their faith’s grasp of reality in uncertain circumstances. He knew full well that His men would very shortly abandon Him, every one of them fleeing for his own life without regard for the Savior they are here claiming to trust so. But that is the nature of untried, untested, inexperienced, and unbolstered faith.
What does such faith do in the face of an unexpected onslaught, in the face of unanticipated and therefore unprepared for threats? “Run for your life!” It behaves very much like no faith at all. It abandons the Savior, leaving Him alone. Yet He will not really be alone, will He? He cannot be alone, because the Father is with Him.
We now come to the Lord Jesus Christ’s encouragement of the men He knew would fail Him, recorded in verse 33:
“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.”
Let us take this encouraging statement, made to those the Lord knew would betray Him, a phrase at a time:
First, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.”
It should be pointed out that there are three kinds of peace in the spiritual realm. There is an individual’s peace with God, that the Savior does not mention in our text. There is the individual’s peace of God, that He speaks of in this first sentence. And there are the individual’s peaceful circumstances, mentioned at the beginning of the second sentence in our text.
Those men had peace with God, through their faith in Christ, weak as that faith would be soon shown to be. Some thirty years after the events of this night the Apostle Paul would write about peace with God in his letter to the Romans. In Romans 5.1, he declares,
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Though most people are unaware of the fact, a state of spiritual warfare exists between every non-Christian and Almighty God. Paul spoke of this former reality in his life in Romans 5.10, writing,
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
When the sinner turns to Christ in faith believing, the state of war that formerly existed exists no more, peace with God breaks out where before there was only conflict. From that moment forward, God is reconciled to the sinner, forgives all that person’s sins, adopts that individual into His family, and becomes his heavenly Father in a way He was not before. That new believer’s eternal destiny is forever changed.
As for the peace of God, this is the peace the Lord Jesus Christ initially spoke to in our text. Those men had already come to know Christ as their Savior. In their relationship with Christ that was established by faith, they already had peace with God. The issue that would present itself that very night when Christ was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane was a matter of their peace of God. That is to say, their peace of mind and heart in Him. A believer can benefit from the status of peace and the complete absence of hostilities that exists, and yet still be troubled in your mind and heart. That is not an uncommon problem for Christians to address. It is possible that God has no issue with you, yet you have an issue with God, with another person, or with circumstances you face that disturb you. Take note that when the Savior said, “that in me ye might have peace,” He was reminding them of something He had said only a short time before, in John 14.27:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
No one can touch the believer’s relationship with God, meaning no one can affect any Christian’s peace with God. Again, Paul spoke to this aspect of peace in the last ten verses of Romans chapter eight, including this comment:
“If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Your peace of God, peace of mind and heart, however, is another matter, because that is dependent upon your thought life, how you think. The solution? By God’s grace, control your thought life. I read Philippians 4.6-9, where Paul advises,
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
The unsaved of this world use counterfeit means to achieve some semblance of peace of mind and heart. Eastern religions advocate the demonic and dangerous emptying of the mind by various means. Many in our culture seek peace of mind and heart to offset their raging tempers with alcohol, marijuana, other kinds of drugs and prescription medications, illicit sex, and mind-numbing music. Each, however, is a poor substitute for Christ’s gift to His followers of the indwelling Spirit of God who works peace in the personality of the believer.[8]
Peace with God comes to those who know Christ. The peace of God is within the reach of obedience to every believer in Christ. But those eleven men would never again in their lifetimes know peaceful circumstances, with only the Apostle John not dying a martyr’s death. Their lives were filled with adversities and persecutions. Thus, the Lord, here in our text, refers to the second and third aspects of peace, their peace of God (their peace of mind and heart) and their peaceful (actually, not so peaceful) circumstances. They would be terribly troubled by circumstances for the next three days. The Lord’s crucifixion would tear at their souls. But following Christ’s resurrection, they would live out their lives with the peace that passeth understanding through the most traumatic circumstances. If you have peace with God, you should so live your life that peaceful circumstances becomes a secondary priority to the peace of God that is granted to those who live for Him, love Him, and serve Him without compromise. Paul and Silas demonstrated this peace of God when they sang in the dungeon in Philippi, Acts 16.25.
Next, “In the world ye shall have tribulation.”
We know the Lord’s words were true of those apostle’s lives, and the lives of most other Christians throughout the world for the last 2,000 years. Most believers in Christ have not had it so good as have believers in this country for more than 200 years. But what about you?
Do you recognize that this principle applies to the lives of American Christians, as well? This is because, though we live here for now, we are not citizens of this world, and more and more we do not fit in well.[9] We are a spiritual irritant to this wicked, Satan-dominated, world system.
Why else do you think liquor stores and abortion clinics have been open for business throughout the pandemic lock down, and Costco and Sam’s Club and Home Depot, but it is so very wrong for Christians to come together for worship? It is no accident the police were called by one of our Church’s neighbors to report a mom hugging her son.
Third, “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
The Savior was as much as saying, “Cheer up, guys. I’ve got this.” The phrase “be of good cheer,” translates tharsá½³w, an imperative verb meaning, “have courage.”[10]
“I have overcome the world” means the Lord Jesus Christ has beaten this evil world system. He has overcome. He is victorious! And He says this before He rose from the dead because He is God! Nothing beats Him! Those who are opposed to the cause of Christ seem not to notice the significance of opposing the eternal Son of the living God. How insane is that?
Shortly before the greatest crisis those eleven men would ever face, the Lord Jesus Christ took note of their bluster and overconfidence to tell them that they would stumble and demonstrate how weak they actually were. That kind of stuff happens to Christians, and it is no reflection on the Savior. It demonstrates how desperately we need the Savior.
They would forsake Him, abandon Him, and show themselves to be ‘fraidy cats.” But it was okay. The Father was with Him. And He said things to provide peace of mind for His men in the midst of the difficult circumstances they will live out their lives dealing with for being Christians.
It was the last statement He made to them that most blesses me. Preparing for His passion, He said,
“be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
If you are one of His, that is great news, encouraging news, rejoicing news, shout for joy news. But if you are not one of His, that is terrible news. Why so? Because it means you are on the wrong side. Not just the losing side, but the side that has already lost. You are already condemned, and just awaiting the execution of sentence.[11]
Our text has a wonderful application to what we are facing in the 21st century. Some believers are genuinely scared. But in the midst of challenging circumstances, our Lord speaks to us in His Word, saying, “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Over time, those eleven men’s faith would strengthen, just as over time your faith will strengthen. So, be of good cheer.
That said, if you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, you are in serious trouble. And the trouble you are in is all the more serious by virtue of the fact that you are so accustomed to estrangement from God, you are so used to a life lived completely without regard for God, you are so unalterably opposed to any serious consideration of the claims of Christ, that this runaway train wreck of a world seems normal to you. But it is not normal, even if it seems normal and comfortable to you. God does not like what is happening. The entire human race openly rebels against God and God’s Word, and He stands still for it only so long as the process of reaching the lost with the Gospel message proceeds.
However, as soon as the window of opportunity passes, it will be over. God told Noah to build the Ark and to populate it with pairs of animals and four pairs of human beings. Once they were safely in the Ark built to save them from God’s judgment, God shut the door. Genesis 7.16 reads,
“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.”
That was a picture of what will happen in our day. There will come a time when God will say, “That’s it.” Christ’s enemies will have been made His footstool. All mankind’s fates will be sealed. Those that will be saved will have been saved. Those who are doomed will find no recourse. The door of opportunity will be shut.
Understand that many things are yet to play out. But the war has been decided. The victory has been won. Will you celebrate? Or will you howl your fate? It depends on what you do with Jesus Christ, with how you respond to the Gospel. The Savior said,
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”[12]
__________
[1] https://www.foxnews.com/politics/closed-california-versus-open-florida
[2] https://www.psycom.net/covid-19-suicide-rates
[3] https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-08-18/intimate-partner-violence-spiked-80-after-pandemic-lockdown-began
[4] https://nypost.com/2020/11/18/gov-newsom-joined-by-ca-health-execs-at-french-laundry-dinner-report/
[5] https://www.foxnews.com/us/amazon-hire-workers-coronavirus
[6] https://fee.org/articles/modelers-were-astronomically-wrong-in-covid-19-predictions-says-leading-epidemiologist-and-the-world-is-paying-the-price/
[7] 1 John 5.19
[8] Galatians 5.22-23
[9] 1 Peter 2.11
[10] Rienecker, page 255.
[11] John 3.18
[12] Matthew 11.28
Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.
Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church