“If the world hates you, you know that it hated
Me before it hated you”
John 15:18-25

The passage before us from John’s Gospel sets forth the struggle that Jesus encountered as He lived and walked amongst us, and the struggle that we will have to embrace if we dare to follow Him. His light and revelation was too much for this dark and sinful world and the unseen powers of wickedness. As time went on His ministry aroused these powers to a point of crisis; which indeed was the cross. Those who hated Him, both seen and unseen, thought that they had prevailed over Him by driving Him to the awful place of execution but indeed they only ignited an avalanche of love and light that will in the end overwhelm them and even judge them. However, until that day arrives, the Jesus follower will have to embrace the same struggle that Jesus had when on earth. We cannot escape this as we carry the same light in us that aroused and induced hatred against Him or, as He put it, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”

The root of hatred  (15:19)
The world, meaning the systems and communities of humankind, are far from God and embroiled in everything that contradicts His character. God is altogether good and righteous in a way that He never changes and thus can be called perfect. Jesus once said, “Therefore be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) This perfection is His unchanging righteousness. By contrast; the world is perfect in unrighteousness in that it changes not in this regard and is thus deemed wicked. The Christian, like Jesus, is filled then with light but the person of this world is filled with darkness and the two cannot live side by side in harmony. This is why Jesus says in this verse, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own…..” But we are not of this world and therefore we are hated! As a Christian you cannot and will not please the world and if you do you have compromised your faith and are an apostate! It’s as simple as that and yet millions of Christians have done and are doing just that. Scripture in fact warns that just before Jesus comes again there will be a great apostasy. (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

The call to stand  (15:20)
What the world needs is uncompromising Christians who build their lives on scripture and allow it to dictate their behavior and world view. (James 1:21) When Christians stand firm God works with them and they become salt and light in the community and nation in which they live. That is, they become salt to purify and preserve and light to show God’s way of living. (Matthew 5:13-16) It is the word of God that must be embraced as true and inerrant. (2 Timothy 3:16) It is not surprising then that the powers of wickedness, seen and unseen, have done everything possible over the centuries to discredit God’s word. When this foundation is removed we are left with nothing but sinking sand. The Bible is God’s absolute truth and Jesus Himself recognized this when he declared, “Thy word is truth…” (John 17:17) We must therefore have it built into our lives and at the same time recognize that this, when demonstrated, will attract persecution. Paul knew this because he wrote, “All that would live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2Timothy 3:12)

The need for fellowship  (15:21-24)
Christianity is forging a real relationship and friendship with God by Jesus Christ. (1John 1:3) This relationship with God we call fellowship which means companionship. What a privilege that we should be called God’s companions and friends. The world reacts against Christ and His people precisely because it does not know God. This indeed is our calling in that we are seeking, by our witness and way of living, to draw people out of their darkness into a real and meaningful relationship with Jesus. The world can “know” God and thus their hatred of Him can be turned around. It is interesting to note that since Jesus came they have no excuse and so their sin is compounded and so will be their ultimate judgment if they do not repent. Jesus puts it this way, “They have no excuse…” God has seen to it that the things concerning His Son have not remained in a corner but have gone out into all the world. (Acts 26:26) John in his first chapter of his Gospel writes that Jesus is the light coming into the world that “enlightens every man.”  (John 1:9) This is not to say that all men are saved but rather that all men have received the witness of Christ; to reject this witness is sin and indeed folly!

Sadly the testimony of scripture, and of the world ,is that they will hate God and His Christ for no good reason. (V25) Jesus only healed the sick, encouraged the broken-hearted, preached words of hope and joy, fed multitudes and died unjustly, but redemptively, and yet it is His name that is constantly used in blasphemy and besmirched with hatred. This should wake us all up, make us love Him the more and it should increase our determination to make Him known to a dark, sinful and evil world. That they hate Him without a cause should be repented of before it is too late.

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries