The World Hated Me First
John 15:18-25
This passage occurs in the middle of what is called Jesus’ farewell sermon to his disciples which begins proper after Judas goes off to betray Him. Jesus, even before the Last Supper worked to prepare them for what was about to happen. He told them that they would be shattered and scattered like lost sheep. Even the impetuous Peter was told three times that he would deny Jesus under pressure.
But in a sense, Jesus is preparing them for future persecution. He knows they will utterly fail Him in the upcoming trial. But this was not the last trial the disciples would face. Plenty of persecution would result from their proclaiming Jesus Christ in the world. A similar situation happens in Matthew 10 where Jesus is about to send them on their first preaching tour, which from all reports seems to have been a positive experience, even though the disciples seemed to have learned the wrong lesson from this. Jesus tells them there also of future rejection and persecution. Jesus took time to thoroughly prepare His disciples for the road ahead. He did not candy coat anything.
In John 3:16, we read of God’s love for the world. He loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to die on a cross so that all who believe on Him might be saved and not condemned. Jesus also so loved the world that He willingly laid down His life, not just only for His sheep, but for the sin of the world. And how does this world respond to the love of God? You would think they should respond with the utmost gratitude. But Jesus says otherwise, and the persecution that Christians have undergone as a result of preaching this gospel of love and reconciliation. Believers have been beaten, imprisoned, tortured, and executed for this gospel. This might cause us some perplexity. Why should this be/ Why should we who only wish the salvation of humankind have to suffer as evildoers and be reduced to the offscouring of the earth? Jesus in this passage tells us why, and that we should actually expect this evil response by many.
Jesus reminds them that the world will hate them because they hated Him first. This word for hate is in the Greek perfect tense. This indicates a continuous hatred. They came to hate Jesus and continue to hate Jesus. This was not just a single act of hatred such as their crucifying Jesus. The world still hates Jesus today. This is why the world hates the disciples of Jesus.
Jesus reminds the disciples of their call. He had called them out of the world and ordained them. They now belonged to Jesus rather than the world. Jesus was not going to rapture them out of the world though but ordained them to be witnesses to the gospel. They would be “in” the world, but not “of” the world. People tend to mistrust people who are not like them. The fancy word for this is “xenophobia.” This is why cultural groups set up boundaries. This is why we have nations. Jesus not reminds them of a boundary, not between one culture and another nor one nation and another but between them and the world. The world accepts people who are like them. Jesus says they abide in continuous friendship as the imperfect verb indicates. Even though the world is divided into groups that hate each other, their hatred for Jesus is even greater. The Pharisees and Sadducees hated each other. They Jews hated the Romans. Yet they would conspire together out of hatred of Jesus to arrest and crucify Him. The heathen and the Jews would rage together.
Jesus reminds His disciples of their servant status. Because they are His servants, what happened to Jesus would happen to them also. The servants are not privileged above that of the master but are subject to what happens to the master, whether evil or good. But it would not be just doom and gloom for the disciples. Jesus reminds them that not all will reject the message. There would be some who would accept Him though the gospel. The disciples are called to be faithful to what Jesus had told them and in their witness of Him. If Jesus did not candy coat things, neither should we. We need to be honest with the world about the ramifications of the gospel. Some will accept and be a cause of rejoicing. Others would reject and hate them along with Jesus with an abiding hatred. Without the full preaching of the gospel, no one would come to be saved. This means the rejection is the cost for conducting the Lord’s business faithfully. Jesus’ reminder of their being persecuted is particularly emphatic though as extra pronouns for :me” and “you all” are added. This persecution is guaranteed.
Verse 21 begins with the Greek “alla” which is usually translated “but” in English. This word is used as a sort of corrective or replacement of what has just been said. What Jesus says is that ultimately the source of this rejection goes beyond just the hatred the world has for Jesus. They who persecute the disciples of Jesus because the disciples hold fast to the LORD do so because they hate the one who sent Jesus also. They hate God the Father who sent the Son. Jesus says that those who persecute them do not know the Father. The word “know” isn’t just a factual knowledge but a relational one. They really do not know God at all. How could they when they respond in hate to the message of love?
In verse 22, Jesus says that those who reject Him and demonstrate this in their persecution of the believers are without excuse for their sin. The gospel truly cuts both ways. For those who believe the gospel, it is the best new that has ever been heard. Why would God reconcile and forgive a wretch like me? What could be better than this? But to reject the gospel is the worst news that the unrepentant will ever here. To them it is a “Badspel.” Not only does the unrepentant have no excuse for the common sins they have committed, but on top of these they have the most awful sin of rejecting Jesus and the Father as well. Because Jesus came and spoke the words on earth he did, all excuses pass away and only the fear of eternal condemnation remains.
In verse 23, Jesus makes explicit what He has just implied by saying they had shown their hate to the one who sent Jesus when they rejected Jesus. He says that the one who rejects Jesus hates not only Him but the Father. How could anyone who rejects the Father have any eternal hope at all. This is more than saying they reject God. Some claim to hold to serving the one God. They don’t hate their misconception of God. But now that God is revealed as Father because of the revelation of the Son, they are rejecting the One True God when they reject Jesus. No one who rejects Jesus is truly worshiping God at all. Christianity makes absolutely exclusive claims for which there can be no compromise. We must be honest enough to tell the world this, even if it means they reject us. The love of God constrains us to be brutally honest with the same love that God has for the world. To not be hones is not only to hate the world but also to despise the one who sent Jesus to save whosoever believes on Him.
In verse 24, Jesus adds additional information. Not only did they hear the words and reject. The had also seen Jesus do works that no one else had ever done before. These works show that everyone else is a sinner. Because they had seen these works and rejected them they show they hate both Jesus and the Father. Jesus had been accused of doing these works by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. In other words, they were saying that the devil cared more about the well-being of people than God. What blasphemy is that statement! Jesus cast out devils and performed signs and wonders by the will of the Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This passage ends with Jesus quoting from the Psalms a prophecy concerning Himself. They hated Jesus without a just cause. This Jesus who came unto his own world which He created and unto His own people was rejected by all who did not accept Him. Some did, to whom Jesus gave them authority to become the Children of God. What cause or accusation can be brought against God who sent His Son into the world out of the motivation of pure merciful love? What more could God do than this? If one rejects this pardon, what hope is there for him or her? None! In fact, God has every right to accuse the world of its sins and hold every person to strict account. What an offer of mercy has been proffered!
In dealing with this text, we must be reminded that initial rejection of the gospel, even violent reaction against it is necessarily the end of the story. Many who nailed Jesus to the tree later repented and came to believe on Jesus Christ, including many of the priests. We think of the violent reaction of Saul of Tarsus and what God did to him on the Damascus Road. Paul tells us in Romans that the hateful reaction and hardening of the Jews was not the end of the story. The provocation of Gentiles being admitted into the church would cause some if not many Jews to later repent and accept the gospel they once violently objected to.
We have to unserstand that provocation to anger may be the first step in conversion. It is hard to convert people who don’t care and shrug off the gospel without a thought. These usually do not react violently. But those who do react show thay are ar least listening to the claims of the gospel. There is actually some hope for them. Of course, the Spirit of God has to work with them. And we might suffer great indignity and loss for boldly, fully and lovingly sharing the gospel. But even if a few come to eternal life, will it not ultimately be worth it all? This is the reason we are still on this earth. Do we love the world the way the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do? Jesus laid down His life for the world. But He also took it up again. And if we die, we too shall be raised by Him to eternal life.
