When does Victory happen?

John 16:33 and John 19:30

Last few weeks I have had several passages I wanted to write on, but haven’t managed to get a space in which to write. In the meantime I have been reading on and have nearly reached the end of John 19. But here is an interesting question which ties some threads from John 16-19 together: at what point did Jesus have victory over the world and its ruler?

I suspect most of us would say (and I would have said), “on the Cross”; or possibly “when He rose again.” But that doesn’t seem to be His own view. Look at John 16:33 first:

ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν ἵνα ἐν ἐμοὶ εἰρήνην ἔχητε· ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ θλῖψιν ἔχετε, ἀλλὰ θαρσεῖτε, ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον.

These things I have spoken to you in order that in me you may have peace; in this world you have pressure, but take heart: I have conquered (or vanquished, or routed) the world. (John 19:33, my rendering)

A couple of notes: θλῖψιν is a specific word meaning pressure, not trouble. Pressure only becomes trouble when you don’t know how to handle it; and I do mean that in all seriousness (that is why we don’t just need to know stuff, but rather how to walk it out). And νενίκηκα is the perfect of the verb meaning I conquer/ vanquish / prevail / win, so it really does mean I have already conquered. And the point is, this is before Jesus is arrested, tried and crucified.

Of course, if you don’t believe Jesus means what He says, that is a different problem; but as far as I can see, Jesus was saying He had already won and had already conquered the world and, therefore, its ruler. I see no way you can turn this into a future projection, ie “take heart because after I have died on the cross, I will have conquered the world.”

So Jesus went to the cross, knowing He had already won. And as it happens, that is how we are meant to face challenges and pressure: knowing that we too have already won.

But what is the cross for, then?

Well the answer is exactly what He tells us. The last word Jesus spoke before He died, according to John 19:30, is Τετέλεσται. And with apologies to the NIV, about the one thing it doesn’t mean is “it is finished”. Likewise τέλος is not “the end” in the sense that we mean a movie or a play is finished; but rather that an intended goal is consummated or accomplished. Hence teleological, which references the belief that events are guided towards an intended end.

So for Τετέλεσται “It is accomplished” is possible, and some other translations favour this; but I think it is even more specific than that. Τετέλεσται means “It is legally executed“; or if you prefer, “it is done”, in the sense that the legal agreement, or piece of legislation, or will or covenant or whatever, is fully enacted and is now and henceforth the legal basis upon which those within its scope are to operate.

So, based on His own testimony, Jesus faced the cross knowing He had already won; but His death was necessary in order to give legality on earth to His Father’s plan and intention. And if we have paid attention to anything we read in the Gospels, we should know what that is: “it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom“.

And that is why Paul is able to say that “if the rulers of this age had understand the plan of God, they never would have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8). They were already beaten, but now they allowed – insisted upon – an action which meant God’s plan for men and women to inherit, enter into, and enjoy the Kingdom, would be given full legal effect in the earth realm.

Whoops.