Matins Devotion: June 17, 2024

John 16:17-33

“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” What does this mean? Well, when Jesus speaks these words, He’s speaks them to His disciples just moments before His betrayal, so it’s quite obvious what tribulation He’s talking about, at least in an initial sense. They’re all about to watch their Lord betrayed, arrested, crucified, killed, then tossed in a grave. They’re about to be devoured by sorrow, violently ripped to shreds by the wickedness of this world. And yet, through that sorrow, through that violence, Jesus will die for their sins, crush the head of the serpent, and win the victory over the grave. 

So when Jesus tells His disciples, “take heart, I have overcome the world,” He’s not saying “yes, you’ll have tribulation in this world, but you’ll also have joy.” He’s not saying that for every moment of suffering, you’ll have a moment of peace. He’s saying that His victory over the world is so complete and profound that even the tribulation of this world teems with the signs of His victory. The cross will teem with the promise that this wretched, bloody image is the moment Jesus won salvation for the world. The tomb filled with the corpse of Christ is the tomb filled with the promise that it will soon be empty. The persecution the disciples will face in the world is the thrashing about of a world that has already been conquered. So there is no sorrow these men can gaze upon that isn’t filled with the promise of Christ’s victory over this world.

And so it is for you. When your loved ones die, they are not merely going to the grave. They’re going to the graves that belong to Jesus, the graves that have already been claimed by the one who conquered death and who has sworn to give eternal life to all who believe in Him. When persecution surrounds you, you are surrounded by the angry thrashing of the serpent that wants to devour you because you belong to the One who shattered his skull, the One that Satan can never stop from loving you and welcoming you into His kingdom. Whenever the world rips tears from your eyes, within that sorrow is a promise. Jesus Christ remembers every one of those tears. And He will dry them all on the great and glorious day when He lifts you from the grave and reveals His staggering, irreversible victory over the world of sin.