“Redefining Losing”
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, New Living Translation)
These words, according to the Gospel of John, were spoken by Jesus’ disciples a few hours before the arrest, “trial” (if you can call it that), torture, and crucifixion of Jesus. In fact, the “all this” that Jesus had told his disciples included these horrible things. So, how on earth can Jesus speak of overcoming the world. It sounds more like Jesus is a loser to me.
Perhaps we need to redefine what it means to lose in the light of Jesus’ life, teachings, and death. Years ago, when everybody was talking about “yuppies” (young urban professionals), I saw one of them wearing a t-shirt that read: “The Winner is the one who dies with the most toys.” This struck me at the time as being inadequate to the point of laughter or tears or both. It still strikes me that way.
In the shadow of the cross, Jesus claimed to be able to give peace to his disciples. Jesus claimed that he had achieved a decisive victory—not over the Romans or the Jews, but over the whole world. In fact, the Greek word that is translated “I have overcome the world” is in the perfect tense. This conveys decisive action completed in the past, with ongoing results.
I freely admit that the world doesn’t look very conquered by Jesus, but appearances can be deceiving. Perhaps appearances are always deceiving. According to the earliest followers of Jesus, he was raised from the dead. That, among other things, should give us pause for thought about how to define losing.
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