Be careful placing your bet on evil prevailing

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

John 14:27-31

Introduction

This passage, which concludes with, “Get up, let us go from here,” sounds like it would be followed by the next scene in the Passion narrative as Jesus arises and goes to the garden of Gethsemane. Instead, we are treated by several chapters of additional teaching. Whether that teaching was given as Jesus and the disciples were on their way to Gethsemane or simply an interlude between teachings, we cannot know for certain. What we do know, though, is that this marks the end of this very important moment.

It is a moment where Jesus tells the disciples in no uncertain terms that He is on His way to “do exactly as the Father commanded.” That is: He is about to get up and go die for the sins of His people. I cannot imagine the horror of facing that moment. Even simple moments where my choice is small and the consequence is minimal, I fail and falter. Here, however, where the Lord is given the moment where He will choose to bear the sins of the world, He proceeds freely under the will of the Father.

So that you may believe

In this brief moment, Jesus also presses once again the purpose of His miracles, signs, wonders, and prophecies: “so that when it happens, you may believe.” None of these things were ever done for their own sake. They were all accomplished for the sole and express purpose of fortifying your faith.

Even charlatans who falsify their miracles do so for the same reason: they desire admiration and praise. But the obvious difference is that what they do in deceit, Jesus did in earnest. When He told His disciples that He was going to go away into death and then return to them in life, it was meant to instill faith in their hearts when they witnessed Him risen from the dead.

That is why the resurrection is often propped up as the “make or break” element of the Christian faith. If the resurrection is true, then to deny the faith is utter and complete foolishness. But if the resurrection is false, then to affirm the faith is that same foolishness, even according to scripture (1 Corinthians 15:14). Jesus foretold His resurrection with the express purpose that when He did rise, people would believe.

The ruler of this world

In the Messianic Psalm 22, the writer claims to be surrounded by the “Bulls of Bashan,” a reference to the demonic powers that rule the earth. Here, Jesus points to a singular ruler of this world in verse 30 who is coming to ensure His crucifixion. This, of course, is referenced then in Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians when he says, “we speak of God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom which has been hidden, which God predestined before the ages to our glory, which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:7-8)

Something particularly beautiful and clever about the crucifixion is that Jesus, the Messiah and God enfleshed, came to deliver His people. In his attempt to thwart this glorious plan, Satan orchestrated an incredible plan of attack: he influenced the leaders of the Jews to turn against Jesus. He pushed for the people to submit to those leaders. And he entered into Judas Iscariot to carry out the pinnacle act of betrayal.

And all of this fulfilled Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive.” On that day that Satan completed his wicked plan to stamp out the seed of the woman who was to crush his head (Genesis 3:15), he sealed his own doom. Entering into death, the Lord of glory put sin to death and rose victorious over the grave.

May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.