I have conquered the world

‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.’ Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying to us, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”; and “Because I am going to the Father”?’ They said, ‘What does he mean by this “a little while”? We do not know what he is talking about.’ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

‘I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.’

His disciples said, ‘Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’

- John 16:16-33

I have conquered the world. Jesus leaves his disciples with these words as he prepares them for what is coming. He is forewarning them not only of Jesus' own death, but also of the persecution the disciples themselves will face after Jesus' return to the Father.

What does this mean, that Jesus has conquered the world? I think it means that Jesus' spiritual work, his battle with the evil of the world, or the "ruler of the world" has been won. Jesus has faced every test, and in that realm of the spirit where values are created that rust can't diminish and moths can't eat, he has conquered the world. He has met every test with victory. He has lived his life as the Father has asked him to, despite every human temptation to succumb to the message of that "ruler of the world." He has kept his faith and lived his life in order to conquer. By doing so, he has given us the joy of understanding that we too, can therefore follow. The "ruler of the world" does not have power over we human beings in the same way as before this time; Jesus' victory is also mankind's victory. We have his Spirit of truth with us to help us also to follow.

It's also important to note that Jesus tells his followers that the Father loves them. If they pray in Jesus' name, it does not mean that Jesus will ask the Father for them to grant their prayers, but rather the Father loves them directly because of their love for Jesus. Once again, and in completion of all of these teachings on the depth of relationship incurred in this faith, Jesus directly links mankind with God the Father, and this embrace or dance in which we are included comes full circle to its completion.

I am not alone because the Father is with me. I believe Jesus is also telling us that, as we love him, so is the Father also with us. In this Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit, we are not alone either. I read once in a book by Carl Jung an interpretation of the symbol of the cross. If I recall Jung's thoughts correctly, he stated that he saw the cross as a symbol of man's unity to God: the three points at the top half of the cross symbolizing Father, Son and Spirit, and the lower point of the cross mankind - God the Trinity reaching to us and we are joined thereby through the work of the Son. So the cross becomes a symbol for the new reality, the new time born into the world. I have conquered the world, and we are free to follow.