Hated by the world

John 15:18-16:4 ESV

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said 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.  But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  Whoever hates me hates my Father also.  If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.  But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’    “But   when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father,   he will bear witness about me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.  But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.  “I did not say these things to you from the beginning,   because I was with you.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Because of our union with Jesus we can change eternity. We have life and a great inheritance. But this passage is not about that... This is about the flip side of the coin. Following him is difficult. Jesus is forthright in showing both the good and bad.

The reality of the world's hatred

Those that persecuted Jesus will also persecute you as a Christian. In our union with Christ, what is true for him is also true for us. Both blessings and suffering. Much like marriage in sharing everything. A world in unbelief hates Jesus. We will be rejected in subtle ways as well as outright killed for their faith. Many people will believe that they are doing a service to the world by killing Christians. In the us, Christians are seen as ignorant simpletons. We will be mocked for trying to live a life dedicated to Christ. This is reality. We need to recognize this in order to live a faithful life without falling. The world is against you. Knowing this sets expectations... It helps us to persevere.

The reason for the world's hatred

We are not of the world. We feel out of place because we are. We are resident aliens in this world. This city is not our true home. We live not by the values of this place but by the values of our heavenly home.

The message of the gospel offends those of the world. Both the religious and the irreligious hate him. Why? Because the gospel says that your religious works cannot save. You cannot earn your salvation. Salvation by grace through Jesus is the only way.

For the others, it says that there is a god and there is a right way to live. There is an absolute right and wrong. It is not just true for you and what you think. There is objective right and wrong.

But this is what we are called to. By his humiliation, we were lifted up. So he also calls us to be humiliated so that others may be lifted up.

The help from God

We are given the Holy Spirit. He enables us to witness with boldness. To not fear for our lives. He often applies the word of God to our hearts. That is how we find boldness. We may live on tents in this life, but God has prepared a place in heaven for us. We have an eternal and unshakable home with God.

Hebrews 11:9 ESV

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

The hardest of hearts can be changed by the spirit. Saul was killing Christians. By the work of the spirit, hearts can be changed. Even the hardest of hearts...