John 15: When the World Hates You Because of Christ

Introduction

"Raise your hand if you feel loved." The preacher begins with a simple question, then turns it around: do you sense someone's hatred toward you? And if so, can you name a reason for it? Are you the one making that person hostile, or are they simply that way by nature?

Nobody wants to be hated. But, he says, "if we have to be hated, let it be for a good reason." The world hates Christians for one reason only: they have received the word of the Lord and they carry the love of Jesus Christ within them. "This is not an opinion, it is written in the Bible."

This Sunday, the pastor of the Église Vie Nouvelle Bruxelles is traveling to Liège for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Church of Liège. The message is given in a bilingual service, in Italian and French, from John 15:18-25. The preacher warns that the text is dense: "there is a lot of spiritual food."

Message Outline

1. They Hated Me Before You

The passage read is John 15:18-25: "If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you."
With this sentence, the preacher says, we already know the essentials: the world hated Jesus first. These words are spoken as the crucifixion draws near.
Just before, Jesus spoke about abiding in his love and bearing fruit that remains, like the branch connected to the vine.
Abiding in Christ does not take us out of the world. We were born in the world and we stay in relationship with those around us: brothers and sisters, parents, cousins. This contact is unavoidable, and the world becomes like a mirror that reveals who we are.

2. The Hatred of the World and the Love of Christ Revealed Together

The mark of the Church is love, the love of Christ. The mark of the world, among those who have not been renewed by the Holy Spirit, is hatred.
"The key to this message is hatred toward love." To understand the mystery of Christ's love, we also have to understand the hatred of the world that decided to send him to the cross.
At the cross, God's love and the world's hatred were revealed at the same time.
The spirit of the world accepts only what comes from the world, in its way of thinking and acting. Anything that does not come from it is automatically rejected. And because it hates Christ, it also hates his disciples, his friends.

3. A Hatred That Authenticates the Disciple

If the world hates Christ and his friends, this hatred shows the authenticity of the disciple. It certifies the friendship Jesus has for his own.
"If I have accepted Jesus Christ in my heart and I follow his commandments, then I will necessarily be hated." Being hated means following God's precepts, and therefore being loved by Jesus Christ.
Being hated by the world becomes a blessing: it shows that we are trying to do things the right way.
The preacher pushes the logic to the end: "If you don't feel very hated by the world, there is a problem."

4. Chosen Out of the World, Without Belonging to It

Christ's work is to choose his disciples from the midst of the world. This calling stirs up the world's anger.
If the Master is not of this world, those he has chosen are not either. They are sent into the world, but they do not belong to it (John 17:15-16).
"If you were of the world, the world would love its own." The preacher takes the example of Jesus' brothers who did not believe in him: the world did not hate them (John 7:5-7).
Being drawn out and set apart from the world while living in the world is a contradiction. But "it is a necessary contradiction." We should expect to be hated.

5. A Servant Is Not Greater Than His Master

Jesus first says this after washing the disciples' feet (John 13:16): a servant is not greater than his lord, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. The saying then applies to mutual love between disciples and to the humility of that love.
In John 15:20, the same saying is applied to the persecution the disciples will face: "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you."
Matthew 10:24-25 points the same way: it is enough for the disciple to be treated like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they call those of his household.
The world's attitude toward Jesus determines its attitude toward those who follow him. Those who persecute Jesus also persecute his disciples.

6. They Hated Me Without a Cause

Why was Jesus hated this way? Because of ignorance of the Father (John 15:21).
Jesus' coming was not a mere physical presence. It was accompanied by works and by salvation for the world. The works the Father gave him to accomplish testify that the Father sent him (John 5:36-38). The words he speaks, he does not speak on his own: the Father who lives in him does the works (John 14:10).
This is why hatred toward the Son is automatically hatred toward the Father: "He who hates me, hates my Father also."
Rejecting Jesus is a sin of its own kind. Jesus holds responsible the one who does not welcome the truth when it is presented and who does not want to see the divine works he has witnessed. They refuse to listen, to see, to understand.
Thus the word is fulfilled: "They hated me without a cause." The only cause is sin: hardening in sin, love of sin, hatred of love. Some sin through temptation, others love to remain in sin.

7. Standing Firm Together and Not Giving Up the Fight

This hatred shows itself in every area of human activity, openly or in hidden ways: false science, philosophies, ideologies, politics, work, law, today's morality, movies, radio, television, technology.
We are under a bombardment from the media, like a small boat caught in the storm. There is an attack on the things of Christ at every moment.
The message is meant as an encouragement: let us stay united and unshakable. No one can avoid this fight, so "it is better to fight together."
We have to test the spirits to discern what comes from the world and what comes from Jesus Christ (1 John 4:1). It is a call to stay awake, to think, and to serve with all our heart and with determination.
At Gethsemane, Jesus asked his disciples to keep watch with him while they were tired, and they fell asleep (Matthew 26:40-41). He gave the best of himself for us. "All the love and all the energy we have are not enough to match the love he gave for each one of us."
If you are tired, look at the examples around you: a brother who went into a rest home and keeps doing everything so as not to rest, pastors who travel miles to bring Churches together and encourage them. "What we do, we do for the Lord."
"The more the world hates you, the more it shows the love we have." After the message, a sister from the Church shares a testimony: last week, in the center where she is staying, the director threatened her because she had said "thank God" in front of him. She apologized, but affirmed that she was a believer.

Key Takeaways

The world hated Jesus before it hated his disciples. This hatred does not surprise the one who knows the Word.
God's love and the world's hatred were revealed together at the cross.
Chosen out of the world, you live in the world without belonging to it: a necessary contradiction.
The hatred toward Jesus has no cause in him. It comes from sin, from hardening, and from the hatred of love.
This fight is unavoidable: better to fight it together, awake, without giving up.

Personal Application

When you meet hostility, is it because of Christ or because of your own behavior?
In which relationships (family, work, friends) does the world act as a mirror of who you really are?
What in the media and culture you take in every day pulls you away from the things of Christ? How do you test those spirits?
With whom in your Church can you fight this fight rather than fighting it alone?
In what area are you tempted to fall asleep, like the disciples at Gethsemane, when Jesus is asking you to keep watch?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the world hate Jesus' disciples according to John 15?

Because it hated Jesus first. The preacher explains that the spirit of the world accepts only what comes from the world and rejects everything else. Jesus chose his disciples from the midst of the world: they live in the world without belonging to it, and the hatred aimed at the Master reaches his friends too.

Is being hated by the world a bad sign for a Christian?

No. For the preacher, if you follow Jesus' commandments, you will be hated, and this hatred shows that you walk according to God's precepts and that you are loved by Christ. Being hated by the world then becomes a blessing. He adds, however, that if we must be hated, it should be for a good reason.

What does "They hated me without a cause" mean?

Jesus quotes Scripture in John 15:25. The preacher points out that there was no reason in Jesus for this hatred: its only cause is sin, hardening in sin, love of sin, and hatred of love. Those who saw his works and heard his word no longer have any excuse.