HIS GOSPEL IS PEACE DAY 15

 

December 15, 2024

John 16:33

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.




One of things you notice in John's gospel is the dramatic contrasts: Light versus darkness, flesh versus spirit, the world below versus the world above, conqueror versus the conquered. The language throughout his Gospel is profound, and in the case of  Gospel of John, it's evident that much is at stake.

John's Christmas story sets the tone. There is no baby meek and mild or nor even genealogies. Instead, he begins by making the claim that Jesus is the "logos" (Creative Word). Simply put, Jesus is the divine answer to everything.

Jesus is the ordering principle of the universe. Jesus breaks into our world shattering our ideas about who we are and who God is. Jesus is the light that frees us from the darkness that has held us captive by overcoming it. “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” (John 16:33). Jesus has overcome. As New Testament scholar R. C. H. Lenski comments, “How foolish to be afraid of a crushed and conquered foe.”

It is interesting to take notice that Jesus speaks these encouraging words to his disciples immediately after his prediction that each would abandon him. He was right. As his crucifixion approached, they were overcome with fear and they scattered. They gave in to their deepest anxieties and abandoned their Lord. Something I am convinced of is that our deepest fears reveal our lack of trust in God. They reveal that our fear of the Lord, that holy WOW and WONDER, has been eclipsed by some other, lesser fear. I do not like to admit it, but I abandon Jesus at times by not trusting in him above all things. You Too?

Yet the good news is that God’s love is greater than our fear. He came to bring peace through the shed blood of his son, who forgives us and graces us with faith. The dramatic tension we feel within our own hearts, can only be stilled by Jesus "sure and steady nail-scarred hands." Thanks be to God!!

Heavenly Father, forgive my attempts to overcome
the world on my own.
Help me rest in the all-sufficiency of your gifts.

Amen.