I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the door, I am the good shepherd, I am the resurrection and the life, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and I am the true vine.
John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
Jesus tells His disciples that the world would not just hate them, but because of their hatred they would also be persecuted. Jesus is saying: Don’t be surprised when the world hates you and persecutes you because of your relationship or your love for me. Just know that they hated Me and persecuted Me before they ever hated or persecuted you. “A servant is not greater than His Master”. (Not yet experienced)
The disciples Jesus spoke to that night would know the hatred and persecution of the world. They were all persecuted and all of them died as martyrs in Jesus’ name, except John — who they tried to kill (boiled in oil) but he just would not die, so they exiled him to Patmos.
Peter: Crucified upside down in Rome. Andrew: Crucified on an X-shaped cross. Bartholomew: Flayed alive in Armenia. Paul: Beheaded in Rome by Nero.
Christians through the centuries have known the hatred of the world, and millions have died for Jesus. The numbers reveal that more were killed as martyrs for Jesus in the 20th century than in all previous centuries combined. (Nigeria)
Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Now, if you are hated, persecuted, and ridiculed by the world, make sure that our persecution is coming because of righteousness and because of Jesus. (Ephesians 4:15 speaking the truth in love,) Not because you’re just an obnoxious person.
Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jesus’s disciples are to be known by their love, the world by its hatred.
When we experience the hatred and persecution of the world, (1 Tim. 3:12)(Luke 12) because of righteousness, because we stand with Jesus and stand on the truth of His word, instead of allowing it to depress us or discourage us we should be excited/joyful, (theirs is the Kingdom-great is their reward) because it’s the evidence/proof that we have been chosen out of the world by Jesus.
Vs19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
That’s pretty heavy, and it should cause each of us to examine the attitude that the world has towards us. How does the world see us? Do I look like the world or do I stand out like a light in the darkness?
Jesus tells us simply why the world will hate you, persecute you, insult and ridicule you: John 15:21-24 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.
A person is held responsible for what they know. A person is not held responsible for what he does not know. And when God judges, people will be judged according to the knowledge that they have received. With knowledge comes responsibility to act upon that knowledge.
2 Peter 2:21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. You might say, Well, then it would be better if I had never heard the truth. Well, it’s too late for you because you have heard the truth, and that knowledge brings responsibility.
Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”
Grace brings salvation. You don’t go out and “get” salvation; it comes to you because of God’s grace, and you have the opportunity to receive it or reject it.
Watchfulness-Faithful and Wicked Servant Luke 12:47-48 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
John 15:25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
Psalm 35:19 Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye.
Psalm 69:4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.
David was confident in his innocence regarding his enemies, believing they hated him without reason, just as Jesus was.
The scribes and Pharisees, the high priest hated Jesus. Why? Because until He came and stood beside them, and spoke the truth to them, they looked like good men….They thought they were good men.
Jesus reveals to humanity its true nature.
They hated him without reason because everything He said was true, and they were of the world.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
John 15:26-27 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
We are called to carry the gospel, to share the good news of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation– We are Ambassadors for Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
(Do Not undertake alone) The Holy Spirit, as Jesus tells us, is the Spirit of truth. He is the one who will empower us to testify, to share the good news with boldness and conviction.
The Holy Spirit is also the one who causes us to rejoice and be glad when we are hated, persecuted, ridiculed, insulted, and people falsely say all kinds of evil against us.
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