I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD

Moments before He was betrayed and imprisoned, Jesus, in conversation with his disciples, said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). It was a word of encouragement to his followers and a positive self-assessment of his performance. But in what sense did Jesus mean "I overcome the world", for soon after He would be tortured, night in, and the next day He would be crucified and killed? Does this end match someone who was a winner in the world? 

Jesus knew of the suffering that was approaching, but his confidence in the Father, who would resurrect him, led him to declare his victory over the world. This word "world" is an emphasis of the Apostle John. It appears more than a hundred times in its literature with different meanings. Here, in this passage, it means "the human system as opposed to divine purposes" [1]. This system is structured in sin, in the use and abuse of the other as a means of achieving a glory that despises God and others. Jesus renounced all this. 

Quite true is, however, that Jesus was like Adam before the Fall, that is, without sin. So much so that Paul called him "the second Adam" (1Corinthians 15.45). Although He was like all other men, that is, "flesh and blood" (Hebrews 2:14), He had a divine origin. There was no male participation in his birth. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin (Luke 1:26-36). He himself, in this last conversation with the disciples, said that he came from God (John 16:28) and the disciples believed in this divine origin of Jesus. They said, "We believe you came from God" (John 16:30). 

However, this special condition of Jesus was not somewhat unalterable, for He could come to sin, otherwise there would be no meaning in the Spirit of God to take him into the wilderness in order to be tempted by the Devil (Matthew 4:1). In the wilderness, He renounced the offerings of fame, power and riches. But temptations didn't boil down at that moment. Throughout his life He suffered other temptations. After the first multiplication of loaves, for example, the Jews sought to proclaim him king of Israel (John 6:15). On the cross they tried to do Jesus abandon his mission, challenging him to get rid of that suffering if He were, really, who he claimed to be. 

However, Jesus did not give in to temptations. His strength against sin was in his unwavering confidence of his divine origin (John 16:28) and in his life of deep prayer (Mark 1:35; Luke 6.12). He died without sin. The author of Hebrews wrote that He “has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin” (4:15). We, Christian, can also overcome the world by not surrendering to its model of success and depositing our faith in Christ. John wrote in his first letter: “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our Faith” (1John 5:4). May we have the same attitude as the first disciples and say, "We believe you came from God" (John 16:30).

[1] Bíblia Nova Versão Internacional comentada. Editora Vida, São Paulo, 2000, p. 1786.

Antônio Maia - M.Div.

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