If They Hate Me, They Will Hate You
by Fred Neal
John 15:18-16:15
"If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you."
I think that most of us desire to live peaceful lives with few or no enemies. We are not walking around looking to start fights or to rub people the wrong way. Of course, there are exceptions, but I think that, in general, people (and especially Christians) want to get along.
That's what makes these words from Jesus difficult to hear. People are going to hate us??? Even if we do good and show them love? Yes. The answer is yes, they will hate us.
That's a hard pill to swallow but Jesus has much more to say that we should pay attention to in this passage... and some of it may just make the hard pill go down a little easier. But let's start at the beginning.
Following Jesus puts us at odds with the world that is in rebellion against Him.
18 "If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don't know the one who sent me."
We are, first and foremost, called to be followers of Jesus. This is an incredible privilege and whatever the cost may be, we must remember the enormous good that we gain as a result. Followers of Jesus have their sins forgiven; gain eternal life; find ultimate purpose in life; and get to be a part of the most important group of people in the whole world, the Church!
But on the other side of things, following Jesus does ultimately place us at odds with the world that we live in. This world does not follow Him and does not want to follow Him. And that is their greatest sin...
Hating Jesus is the ultimate sin against God.
22 If I had not come and spoke to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that the statement written their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.
These words, spoken mainly of the Jews but equally applicable to other non-believers, reveal that the world has rejected both our Lord's words (v.22) and his works (v.24). The magnitude of this rejection cannot be overstated. God has sent His Son into the world to save them, and they have rejected Him.
If I was in prison on death row to pay for crimes I had willingly committed, and the President of the United States of America had his or her son (who just happened to be the most upstanding and admirable person alive) executed on my behalf as an act of love and mercy and I refused the offer of pardon based on the substitutionary death of someone else on my behalf. How great is my sin against that person? How wretched is my heart to reject such an offer? And how much more offensive is the human rejection of the divine Son before a holy God?
May this reality nurture within us a compassion for lost souls that helps us get over their hatred of us and make us concerned with joining Christ in seeking to bring salvation to them! To help us with this...
Jesus' response is to send the Spirit to be in us.
26 "When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father - the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father - he will testify about me. 27 You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
Jesus promises the Spirit will help us! He (the Spirit) is sent to dwell in us to assist us in testifying to the truth even in the face of opposition. This is great news! We are not asked to do this alone or in our own strength, but with the help of the Spirit of God Himself. Therefore...
Followers of Jesus should not be surprised and must not stumble on account of the world's hatred.
16 1 "I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 They will do these things because they haven't known the Father or me. 4 But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you will remember I told them to you. I didn't tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
We live in a world where wrong is declared as right and evil is celebrated while righteousness is condemned. In this culture, anyone who opposes followers of Jesus may be celebrated. This shouldn't surprise us because this is exactly what happened to Jesus Himself and furthermore, He told us to expect the same. We cannot let this type of upside-down morality catch us off guard and we must not back down because of pressure. We are followers of Jesus and sometimes that will mean following him into opposition and persecution. Even then, take heart because...
The Spirit's work will not be stopped:
He will bring conviction and He will glorify Jesus by speaking the truth.
8 When he [The Spirit] comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgement: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 and about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.
In spite of the opposition we face (and oftentimes because of the opposition we face), The Spirit's work will not be stopped! He will bring conviction and He will glorify the risen savior! This is our confidence.
So, brothers and sisters in Christ:
Expect opposition. Count on the Holy Spirit. And keep on loving the world that hates you. This is exactly the reason we remain here on the earth... to join Jesus in His work to see and to save the lost!