Lesson 18: Overcoming The World

Opening questions:

1. How did Jesus prepare His disciples for the hatred of the world?
2. Why was the coming of the Helper so important?
3. What questions do you have from the text?

As Jesus continued His discourse with the apostles, the tone shifted slightly. Whereas the first part of the discourse focused on how the disciples would abide with both Jesus and the Father, the second part focused on how they would be received by the world. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15.18). However, Jesus was still seeking to comfort His disciples, because even though they would be hated by the world, they could also “take heart” because “I have overcome the world” (John 16.33).

The world’s hatred of Jesus & His people (15.18-16.4).

The opening of John’s gospel prepares us for the reality that Jesus would be rejected by the world (John 1.9-11), even though He came because of God’s love for the world (John 3.16). As we’ve seen, the world’s rejection was not passive, but resulted in Jesus’ own people seeking to kill Him (see John 10.31,39; 11.53). And if the world hated the very Son of God, it will certainly hate those who are His disciples.

Jesus goes on to show the real tragedy of the world rejecting Him: “Whoever hates me hates my Father also” (15.23). Jesus had manifested the Father to the world (see John 1.18) as was evident by His signs (15.24; see John 5.36). But because they refused to believe the Father’s testimony, they were guilty of sin (15.22,24). “Jesus was not saying that if he had not come and spoken to these people they would be sinless; rather he was saying that if he had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of the sin of rejecting him and the Father he came to reveal. Rejecting Jesus is the one ultimate sin for which there can be no forgiveness, because the one who has committed this sin has at the same time rejected the only cure that exists” (NET notes). And if the world doesn’t know the Father or His Son, there will certainly be repercussions for His people (16.2-3).

But Jesus offered two comforts to His disciples. First, He told them what to expect: “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away” (16.1). There is comfort in knowing that our Master knew we would suffer for Him; that knowledge means He is still in control. Second, Jesus reminded the disciples that the Helper would come, enabling them to bear witness for Him (15.26-27). The point: the world may be against the disciples of Jesus, but He is still with them!

The work of the Spirit (16.5-15).

The work of the Holy Spirit takes center stage in this section. Already Jesus had revealed that the Helper would dwell with them (14.16) and bring to their remembrance His words (14.26). Now, Jesus revealed several more truths about the promised Helper:

• Jesus going away was necessary for the Helper to come (16.7). “The thought is not that Jesus and the Holy Spirit cannot, for unarticulated metaphysical reasons, simultaneously minister to God’s people, or any other such strange notion. Rather, the thought is eschatological. The many biblical promises that the Spirit will characterize the age of the kingdom of God (e.g. Is. 11:1-10; Is 32:14–18; Is 42:1–4; Is 44:1–5; Ezk. 11:17-20; Eze 36:24–27; Eze 37:1–14; Joel 2:28-32; cf. notes on Jn. 3:5; 7:37–39) breed anticipation. But this saving reign of God cannot be fully inaugurated until Jesus has died, risen from the dead, and been exalted to this Father’s right hand, returned to the glory he enjoyed with the Father before the world began.”
• The Spirit would “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (16.8-11). Jesus is referencing how the Spirit would bear witness through the apostles (see 15.26-27). The Spirit’s words convicted the world of the sin of rejecting Jesus, the righteousness of God in keeping His promise and the judgment on “the ruler of this world” and by extension all of those in his sway.
• The Spirit would “guide you into all truth” (16.12-15). It is essential to remember that Jesus was speaking directly to His eleven remaining apostles. They received the mind of God through the promised Spirit (see 1Cor. 2.11-13), and while we benefit from “all truth” being revealed through the apostles, Jesus’ promise is NOT that the Spirit would continue revealing truth through all disciples through the ages.

Joy because Jesus has overcome the world (16.16-33).

The focus of this passage seems to be on the events that would transpire in the next few days. They were going to have sorrow because He was going away. At the same time the world would rejoice. But the sorrow of the disciples would turn to joy because “again a little while, and you will see me” (16.16). Furthermore, Jesus’ return to the Father would allow the disciples to make their petitions to the Father in Jesus’ name (16.23-28). A connection should be made back to Jesus’ words in John 14.20, “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” Jesus’ return to the Father means the Father dwells with the disciples, so petitions can be made directly to Him… but they must be in Jesus’ name. “This is the last of four places in the farewell discourses (14:13–14; 15:7, 16; 16:23–26) where Jesus makes promises to his disciples concerning prayer. In every case but one the answer to the prayer is conditional upon asking ‘in his name’. The exception is 15:7, where the condition is that the disciples ‘remain’ in him and his words ‘remain’ in them. Here in 16:23 it is again prayer in Jesus’ name that is guaranteed a positive answer. As suggested above, to pray in Jesus’ name means to pray for things ‘for his sake’, or in line with his purposes. So in this verse Jesus is saying that after his resurrection, the disciples will begin approaching the Father directly in their prayers, and whatever they ask the Father, which is in line with Jesus’ purposes for humankind and the glory of God, will be given to them” (Kruse, Colin G).

The disciples professed to understand Jesus’ words and to believe in Him (16.29-30), but Jesus knew that they had not fully comprehended or put their full trust in Him; they would be scattered (vs. 32). But the Lord left them with a final word of comfort: “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” (16.33).

Notes from the text:

• 15.18: recall that the world hated Jesus because He testified that its works are evil (John 7.7).
• 15.22: see John 9.41.
• 15.23: this is true because Jesus came to reveal the Father (John 1.18) and because His works were from the Father (John 14.10).
• 15.25: Psalm 69.4.
• 16.1: “The greatest danger the disciples will confront from the opposition of the world is not death but apostasy” (Carson).
• 16.2: see John 9.22.
• 16.3: see John 8.19,55.
• 16.4: “It is their hour because it will appear that the oppressors have the upper hand; from the perspective of faith, it is their hour only in the most ephemeral way, and ultimately the oppressors are working their own defeat. Indeed, because hour is so regularly tied up with Jesus’ appointment with his death/exaltation (cf. notes on 2:4), it is hard not to see that the Evangelist has introduced another irony: what appears to be their hour has been introduced by Jesus’ hour, but in his case, he seems to be suffering defeat in the very moment when he is winning the greatest of all victories, while at their hour they seem to be winning when they are suffering the greatest of all defeats” (Carson).
• 16.11: see John 12.31.
• 16.13: “This complete revelation leaves no place for claims of “latter day revelation” (cf. Jude 3; 1 Cor. 2:11-13; Gal. 1:6-8; 1 Pet. 1 :23-25)” (Harkrider).
• 16.21: “The combination of intense suffering and relieved joy at childbirth is in the Old Testament a common illustration of the travail God’s people must suffer before the immense relief and joy brought about by the advent of the promised messianic salvation (e.g. Is. 21:2-3; Is 26:16–21; Is 66:7–14; Je. 13:21; Mic 4:9-10)” (Carson).
• 16.32: see Zechariah 13.7.
• 16.33: note John 1.5. “Jesus’ point is that by his death he has made the world’s opposition pointless and beggarly. The decisive battle has been waged and won. The world continues its wretched attacks, but those who are in Christ share the victory he has won. They cannot be harmed by the world’s evil, and they know who triumphs in the end. From this they take heart, and begin to share his peace” (Carson).