They know Him, but they don't know Him. So they persecute Him.
The Gospel of John: John 15.8-27
Read and meditate on John 15.20, 21.
Why should we expect to be hated and persecuted in this world? Because people do not know God. Not, at least, as they should.
20“Remember then the word
I spoke: ‘A servant will not greater be
than is his lord.’ They persecuted Me,
and they will persecute you also. And
if they obey My Word, then understand,
they will obey yours, too. 21But they will do
these things for My Name’s sake to all of you,
because they do not know the One Who sent
Me.”
– John 15.20, 21
Reflect
1. Meditate on Romans 1.18-21. Paul seems to be using the word know here in a different way than Jesus used it in our text. What’s the difference? Do people know God or not? Complete this prayer: Lord, help me always to remember that even the most devoted unbeliever knows You, but…
2. We might envision a spectrum of the knowledge of God that begins with Romans 1.18-21 and includes such passages as John 15.21, Philippians 3.7-11, 2 Peter 3.18, John 17.3, Galatians 4.9, and 2 Timothy 1.12. Using all these passages, explain what it means to know the Lord. Should we ever be content with the state of our knowledge of the Lord? Explain. I know You, Lord, and I love You; but there is so much more of You to know! Help me every day to…
3. Unbelievers know God, but they suppress or deny knowing Him. Thus, Jesus says they don’t know Him in the way His disciples do. Why should this make them prone to persecute those who do know Him? What should our attitude be toward those who, because they do not know the Lord, may persecute us? Help me to look at others the way You do, Lord, so that I…
4. Persecution can take various forms: snickering, making fun, scorning or getting angry, gossiping, threatening, and worse. When unbelievers respond like this to us, or to the Gospel as we share it with them, what do we need to keep in mind? Is it your name they’re persecuting? Explain. Let me not take it personally, Lord, when people mock me for my faith, because…
5. We should not fear the persecution that may come to us from those who do not know the Lord. Persecution isn’t pleasant, to be sure; but that’s no reason to avoid it. We are, after all, followers of Jesus, and we must be willing to follow Him into the ongoing persecution the world dishes at His Name. Meditate on Acts 5.40-42. Why were the apostles rejoicing at having been beaten? What did their being persecuted say to them? What should it say to us? Bring together into one prayer the prayers you wrote from questions 1-4.
Summary
“‘All these things’ that ‘they will do to you’ refers to what he had just said, namely, that the world would hate and persecute you and despise your word.… ‘for my name’s sake.’ In other words, in you they will hate me, in you they will persecute me. They will not keep your word because it is my word.” Augustine 354-430 AD)
We must expect to know persecution in some form. We should not let the fear of persecution keep us from proclaiming the Good News, for if we are persecuted when we witness, it only proves that we are followers of Jesus. But we must not give back as we are given unto by those who persecute us. Remember Jesus. How can you prepare each day to deal with the persecution you may experience for Jesus’ Name’s sake?
Closing Prayer
The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the LORD upholds the righteous.
The LORD knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
Psalm 35.12-18
Psalm 35.10-16 (Neumark: If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee)
The wicked man shall shortly perish, his place no longer shall be found.
The humble will God’s grace inherit, and in His blessings much abound.
The wicked plot the righteous’ fall: God laughs; He will destroy them all!
The wicked wield their sword and arrow to cast the righteous to the ground.
Them they would slay and fright and harrow, but God shall turn their schemes around.
The little of the just is more than all the wicked lay in store.T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.
