Abiding In Christ in a Hostile World
John 15:18-25
Jesus and His disciples have just observed the Passover. Judas has already gone out, setting in motion his final acts of the betrayal of Jesus. Jesus has shocked His disciples by telling them that He is leaving them behind, and that they will not be able to follow Him immediately. The disciples have been shaken by our Lord’s words that one of them is about to betray Him, and that Peter is going to deny Him, repeatedly. Jesus spoke to them words of comfort to encourage them.
In John 15, Jesus has instructed His disciples with the analogy of the vine and the branches to “abide in Me and I in you” (John 15:4). In our text today, Jesus does not turn to a different subject, but rather to a different aspect of abiding. In John 15:1-11 we learned that abiding in Christ is the source of our life, of our fruit-bearing. Then last time in John 15:12-17 we saw that abiding in Christ is the source of our love, of our fellowship, both with God and with our fellow Christians. Now in John 15:18-27 we will see that abiding in Christ is also the source of our opposition, the reason the world will hate us.
John 15:18-27,
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 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 keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ 26 But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
Notice the contrast between John 15:17 and John 15:18. Christians are to be known for their love, but the world is known for its hatred. Abiding in Christ has many benefits as we have seen. We will bear the fruit of Christ-likeness (John 15:5). Our prayers will be answered (John 15:7). We will live a life of love (John 15:9) obedience (John 15:10), peace (John 14:27) and joy (John 15:11). But one of the painful effects of the Christ-abiding life is that because the world hates our Lord, it will likewise hate us. The abiding in Christ which produces a love for the brethren also incites the hatred of the world.
Jesus emphasizes “the world,” using this term six times in John 15:18-19. We should begin by clarifying what Jesus means by “the world,” because this word is used in the Gospel of John in at least three ways. 1) It can refer to the created world (John 1:10), “… the world was made through Him…” 2) It can world of humanity (John 3:16), “For God so loved the world…” 3) It can refer to the organized system under Satan’s domain that is opposed to God and His rightful King, Jesus Christ (John 12:31), “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” It is in this third sense that Jesus speaks of “the world” here. In 1 John 5:19, the apostle draws the contrast: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
This text falls into two sections: The world’s hatred of Christians (John 15:18-25); and our responsibility to the hostile world, to bear witness of Christ (John 15:26-27).
I. The world hates Christians (John 15:18-25)
Jesus makes this very clear (John 15:18), “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” The “if” in that verse does not imply uncertainty, like they might hate you or they might not. It’s a Greek construction that means, “If the world hates you, and it will”. He repeats it in John 15:19, “… therefore the world hates you.”
In the very near future, “the world” will manifest its hatred toward our Lord’s disciples. As the Jewish religious leaders rejected Jesus, they will likewise reject and oppose His followers. In John 16:2, Jesus tells His disciples that they will be put out of the synagogue and even killed by those who think they are serving God. Jesus tells His disciples that this hatred of them will result in persecution (John 15:20). Considerable Jewish persecution of Christians is documented in the Book of Acts (see Acts 4:1ff.; 5:17ff.; 6:8ff.; 8:1; 13:45ff.; 14:2ff.; 14:19ff.). And it wasn’t long before Gentiles likewise opposed the spread of the gospel (see Acts 16:19ff.; 19:23ff.).
There were 10 great persecutions from in the first 300 years of Christianity under the Roman Empire. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs tells of those crucified, fed to wild animals, pulled apart on the rack, boiled in oil, flayed alive, or roasted on a gridiron…and much more too gruesome to go into. Christians were forced to the catacombs in Rome to get away from the persecutions. An estimated 2-4 million died over a period of 300 years.
During the dark ages an estimated 50 million Christians died for their faith. Many of those were killed for ‘protesting’ the heresy of the Catholic Church during the “Holy Wars” and conquests. It happened during the Protestant Reformation and to those who took the Gospel to foreign lands.
When the communists seized China about 1 million Christians were slaughtered. Yet the house churches are thriving today, even in the face of death if caught. The church historian, Tertullian summarized it well when he wrote, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Persecution fans the flames and stokes our souls!
And it’s still happening today: Countless Christians have died in the revolutions in Africa in the last few decades. In the Sudan, Nigeria, Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Iran, North Korea and dozens of other countries great persecution is happening. Thousands have been killed, many more tortured and threatened.
Could it happen here in North America? Certainly. Open opposition to Christianity seems to be mounting.
Why does the world system, including much of the “religious world” hate disciples of Jesus Christ? Jesus gives several reasons.
The world hates Christians because,
A. We are identified with Christ (John 15:18, 20)
John 15:18, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” If the world hated Christ, they will also hate those of us who are identified with Christ. The same hatred for Jesus which prompts unbelievers to call for His crucifixion will soon be vented upon those who have identified with Jesus, and through whom our Lord will continue to work in this world. In John 15:20 Jesus quoted the same statement He made earlier (John 13:16) “A servant is not greater than his master.”
The Lord wants us to know that behind the world’s hatred for us is its hatred for Him. But you may wonder, why does Jesus say that the world hates both Him and the Father, as well as all believers, when many unbelievers would say that they don’t have anything against Jesus or against Christians? In Matthew 12:30, Jesus draws a similar line: “He who is not with Me is against Me.” He paints the contrast in black and white to show that you must take sides. There is no gray zone. Either you love Jesus and His Father and all who follow Jesus, or you hate them all, whether you admit it or not!
The world hates us because we are identified with Christ. Second, the world hates Christians because,
B. We do not belong to the world (John 15:19)
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you
Jesus has been teaching us in this chapter that those who are His disciples have entered into a new spiritual position: we are “in Christ.” We abide in Him and He in us. If we are in Christ then we belong to Him, not to the world. Jesus will pray for His disciples in John 17:
“Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world. … I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:11, 14-16).
To be sure, we are in the world physically, but we are not of the world spiritually. As Jeuss said in John 15:20, He is our Master, we are His servants. We serve Jesus as Lord and that changes everything.
This means that the world does not understand our thinking or our behavior. The world thinks that people are basically good, whereas the Bible says that all are sinners in rebellion against God. People in the world live for themselves and their own agendas, whereas the Lord’s people live for Him and His purposes. The world makes up its own relative moral standards, whereas God’s people obey His moral absolutes.
The world system functions on the basis of conformity. As long as you look like the world and accept its values you will get along with the world. But as Paul writes (Rom. 12:2), “… do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” The world will want to press you into its mold, but instead we are to be those who are transformed into the likeness of Christ.
D. A. Carson writes about the world’s hatred for those who hold to Christian absolutes. He states,
They demonstrate their forbearance and large-hearted goodness when they confront diverse opinions, varied lifestyles and even idiotic practices. But if some Christian claims that Christianity is exclusive (as Jesus insisted), or that moral absolutes exist because they are grounded in the character of God (as the Bible teaches), or that there is a hell to be shunned as well as a heaven to be gained, the most intemperate language is used to excoriate the poor fool. The world hates. (Jesus’ Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer [Baker], pp. 116-117)
There will always be two responses to Jesus. John 15:20, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” Some will persecute, some will keep Christ’s word. Some will hate, some will believe.
The world will hate us because we identify with Christ, because we are not of this world and thirdly because,
C. They do not know God (John 15:21)
21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
If you had asked the religious leaders in Jerusalem if they knew God they would have affirmed, “Yes, of course we know God. We are His chosen people. We worship at His temple. We have His commandments.” But Jesus repeated said that they did not know Him or the Father:
(John 8:19, 55) 19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” … 55 “Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.
No one can know God apart from knowing Jesus Christ. In John 15:23 Jesus says, “He who hates Me hates My Father also.” The same is true of believers in Christ. Jesus says (John 16:3), “And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.”
Fourth, the world hates Christians because,
D. Jesus exposes their sin (John 15:22-24)
How does Jesus do expose their sin? By His words and His works. First, His words condemn them:
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
And also His works condemn them:
24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.
We have seen this emphasis throughout the Gospel of John (John 3:2; 5:36-38; 10:24-27; 14:10-11). The people have no excuse, no pretended cause for their sin. They had seen His works and heard His words but they would not come to the truth.
Jesus did not mean that they are only guilty because He came and did miracles and taught them or that those who have never heard Him are sinless. The Bible is clear that all people, even those who have never heard of Jesus, are guilty sinners before God (Rom. 3:10-18). All people have evidence that there is a Creator by looking at His creation, but they “suppress the truth in unrighteousness … so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:18-20). Also, all people have violated their consciences, doing what they instinctively know is wrong (Rom. 2). And so, all have sinned and are guilty before God (Rom. 3:23).
This statement is parallel to what Jesus told the Pharisees after He had healed the blind man and they would not believe (John 9:39-41). Since they had the clear evidence of the miracle and the testimony of Jesus, this made their sin even worse. Why? Because the light of Jesus Christ in His works and His words revealed their own sin—and they did not want to face their own sin.
When Jesus exposes people’s sin, unless the Holy Spirit is convicting them and drawing them to Christ, they react defensively. As Jesus told His then unbelieving brothers (John 7:7), “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.” Or, as John 3:19-20 states, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
This is the reason why Paul writes (2 Tim. 3:12), “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” If you live in obedience to Jesus Christ, you will threaten unbelievers in your family, at school, or at work, because your godly life will expose their sin. As a result, they will try to get you to sin so that you’re just like they are; or they will attack you falsely.
Let me make it clear: You should not be the source of offense by being insensitive, rude, or obnoxious. We need to conduct ourselves with wisdom, grace, and sensitivity toward unbelievers (Col. 4:5-6). The offense is Jesus Christ. We suffer for the sake of His name, not ours. As Jesus said (Matt. 5:11-12), “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The world will hate Christians because we are identified with Christ, because we are not of this world, because they do not know God, and because Jesus exposes their sin.
The good news is that the world’s hatred for Christ and for believers does not thwart God’s sovereign plan, but rather it fulfills it. Jesus says regarding the world’s hatred of both Him and His Father (John 15:25), “But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’” Jesus is quoting Psalm 35:19 and Psalm 69:4 to show that unbelievers can rage against God, but they don’t have any true excuse for their hatred. But by hating the Lord they are inadvertently fulfilling God’s word. The scripture assured Jesus that the hatred of the world was not because of anything He had done to deliberately incite their hatred.
So when unbelievers seem to win, don’t be upset. God is still in control and He will ultimately judge all unbelievers who wrong you. Some of them He will even save like He did the great persecutor of the faith, Saul of Tarsus whose life was transformed when He met Jesus to become the apostle Paul. The Lord will vindicate His people who have been persecuted for His name’s sake.
In spite of the world’s hatred, we should never respond with retaliation or hatred. There may be times to ask God to judge the wicked (2 Chr. 6:23). There are times to shake the dust off your feet and move on (Matt. 10:14). There are times to be silent rather than to cast your pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6; Luke 23:9). But as we will see next time, our normal response should be to witness to the world in the power of the Holy Spirit (John 15:26-27).
That is how we abide in Christ in this hostile world.
