The world hated Jesus; it will hate His friends.
The Gospel of John: John 15.18-27
Read and meditate on John 15.18, 19.
The world hated Jesus, that much is clear. But that means they will hate us, too. Friendship with Jesus, it seems, comes at a price. We must be willing and ready to pay it, since we are His friends.
18“You must understand,
that if the world hates you, it hated Me
before it hated you. 19Because, you see,
if you were of the world, the world would love
its own. And yet because you are not of
the world, since I have chosen you, therefore
the world hates you.”
– John 15.18, 19
Reflect
1. Let’s consider this important idea back to front. First, Jesus says that His friends are “not of the world.” What did He mean by that? In what sense are believers of the world? In what sense are we not of this world? Complete this prayer: Lord Jesus, You have called me outof the world to send me intoit. Help me understand…
2. Jesus also said that His Kingdom is “not of this world” (Jn. 18.36). Yet He taught us to pray that His Kingdom would come in this world as it is in heaven (Matt. 6.10). How does the Kingdom not of this world come in this world? What is our role in this? How can we tell when we are fulfilling this calling (1 Thess. 2.12)? I am Your child, Father, and a citizen and ambassador of Your Kingdom, Lord Jesus. My greatest challenge in this is…
3. Paul summarized the meaning of this “not of the world” calling in Romans 14.17, 18. Here he defined the character of the Kingdom, the condition which that character brings into being, and the consequences for all who participate in that character and condition. How would you use the three terms Paul used here to explain to a new believer what it means to be not of this world, but in the world for the sake of the Kingdom? Lord, You have called me to Your Kingdom and glory. Help me to know more of…
4. As we seek the Kingdom of God unto righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, what will be the effects of this on us? Should we expect these effects to be visible to others? In what ways? How will some who see these effects respond (1 Pet. 3.15)? But according to Jesus in verse 18, how will others respond? Why? Lord, I hear You saying I should expect to be hated. Help me not to…
5. If you are a friend of Jesus, then you will be hated by those who are friends of this world. What forms should you expect that hate to take? How can you prepare each day to deal with that hatred like Jesus did? Bring together into one the prayers you composed for questions 1-4.
Summary
“As if Christ’s suffering were not consolation enough, he consoles them still further by telling them that the hatred of the world would be an evidence of their goodness. They ought rather to grieve … if they were loved by the world, as that would be evidence of their wickedness.” John Chrysostom (344-407 AD)
We do not provoke the world to hate us, but we do not shy away from them doing so because we live in and bear witness to the truth that is in Jesus. If we are living our Kingdom-and-glory calling as Christ intends (1 Thess. 2.12; Matt. 6.33), the world will hate us, so we’d better get used to it. How can fearing the hatred of the world keep us from living as friends of Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 1
Psalm 1 (St. Thomas: I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord)
How blessed are they that shun sin’s vain and wicked ways.
For them has Christ salvation won; He loves them all their days.
God’s Word is their delight; they prosper in its truth.
In it they dwell both day and night to flourish and bear fruit.
Firm planted on the banks of God’s great stream of grace,
They raise unending praise and thanks to His great glorious face.
The wicked are not so, but, driven by the winds,
They fall and perish, weighed with woe, when once God’s wrath begins.
In Jesus’ righteousness, though sinners fail and fall,
His flock He will preserve and bless, who on His favor call.
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.
