October 23, 2025 - John 16:33 - "Peace and Good Courage"

John 16:33

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Christ speaks these words as He stands upon the threshold of His suffering. He is on His way to the cross, where He will meet the full weight of divine justice and the darkness of the sin of those sinners that the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world, to come in the fullness of the time to pay their horrible sin debt (John 17:24). Yet His heart is steadfast. There is no wavering in His purpose, no shrinking back from the work the Father has given Him to do. He speaks peace to His disciples even while the prospect of His death on the cross looms. Here is the greatness of His love — that He, Who must soon be smitten, comforts those who would soon be scattered. The LORD Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stands as the surety for His people, and before He suffers, He declares His victory: “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

The message is entirely about Him — not about what we must do, but what He has done. Every word of comfort, every note of cheer, flows from His finished work. Peace is not found in circumstance or religion or human strength, but only in Him. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.” The world cannot give this peace, for it knows nothing of Him. True Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ in the soul — that quiet assurance that all has been accomplished at Calvary for the salvation of His people.

Christ says plainly, “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” He does not hide the truth. The path of faith is not free of sorrow but filled with trials, opposition, and persecution. “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13). The disciples were to be “put out of the synagogues,” hated and hunted by those who thought they served God. And so it remains. The believer is not promised ease, but union with the One Who has already overcome. Tribulation is certain, but so is victory — for Christ’s triumph is the believer’s triumph.

The word “cheer” carries the meaning of comfort, courage, and confidence. It is not a shallow optimism stirred by emotion, but the settled confidence of the heart resting in Christ’s accomplished redemption. The believer’s cheer is born at the cross, where sin was put away and righteousness established forever. On that hill, He Who knew no sin was made sin for us, “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). There He faced the full storm of judgment, and when the work was finished, He cried with authority, “It is finished.” The world’s power was broken. The serpent’s head was crushed. Death itself was conquered. That is why He says, even before He suffers, “I have overcome the world.”

What comfort flows from those words! “Be of good cheer.” Christ has done what no man could do. He has overcome every enemy that stood between His people and eternal life. He has overcome the world’s hatred, the law’s curse, sin’s dominion, and death’s terror. The believer’s assurance is not found in self or circumstance but in the risen, reigning Savior Who never loses one of His own. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life” (John 10:27–28). The weakest and the strongest alike are safe in His hand, for their standing rests not on their hold of Him, but His hold of them.

The world offers a false peace — a peace of emotion, ritual, and outward religion. But the Peace of Christ is inward and eternal. It is the peace of a conscience cleansed by blood, the Peace of knowing that justice has been satisfied, and that nothing can separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our LORD. When tribulation comes — and it will — His word steadies the heart: “Be not afraid.” He calls His people to look beyond their affliction to His victory. The waves still rise, but He is at the helm, the Captain of salvation Who guides His ship safely home.

Thus, the believer can say even in sorrow, “Though the fig tree shall not blossom… yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17–18). Our cheer does not come from what we see, but from Whom we know. Christ has overcome the world. His cross is our victory, His resurrection our assurance, His Word our Peace.

Let every trembling heart take courage. The battle is over. The victory is won.“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”