The True Believers Hated By The World Without A Cause
John 15:18–25 (NKJV)
The Relationship of Believers to the World
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.’
Message
I. Those who belong to the Lord are hated by those who belong to the world (18-21)
See v18-19.
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.
There is enmity (or hostility) between evil and Good.
See Genesis 3:15 NKJV.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
God put this enmity between them as the penalty of sin.
Isaiah 66:5 NLT shows enmity between two groups within one religious nation.
5 Hear this message from the Lord, all you who tremble at his words:
“Your own people hate you and throw you out for being loyal to my name.
‘Let the Lord be honored!’ they scoff. ‘Be joyful in him!’ But they will be put to shame.
Isaiah 66:5 NLT is the Lord’s message to ‘all who tremble at His words’. ‘Your own people’ are the Jews. This verse contrasts between ‘you’ (all who tremble at His words) and ‘the Jews’. ‘The Jews’ hate ‘you’ and throw ‘you’ out for ‘being loyal to His name’. So ‘those trembling at His words’ are ‘those loyal to His name’ and distinguished from ‘other Jews’. These ‘other Jews’ hate and are hostile against those who tremble at His words and are loyal to His name.
Their hostility shows they belong not to the Lord but to the world. Jeremiah 5:10 NLT makes this point clear.
10 “Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines,
leaving a scattered few alive.
Strip the branches from the vines,
for these people do not belong to the Lord.
This verse says, “These people do not belong to the Lord.” even though they have been branches attached to the vines.
Those who stand on the side of evil, don’t tremble at His words and are not loyal to His name belong to the world (19). They hate you who belong not to the world but to the Lord (18, 19). They hate you because they hate the Lord (18).
See v20-21.
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.
If they persecuted Jesus, our master, they will also persecute us, His servant (20a). Jesus made it clear that they would persecute us. They will do so because of Jesus because they know neither the Father (21) nor Jesus (John 16:3).
II. Hatred without a cause (22-25)
See v22-25.
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.’
Invisible God came to them in visible and tangible flesh as Jesus (22a). Jesus is a witness for Himself, one of five witnesses of Jesus (John 8:14-18, See Section II at https://www.comnc.org/the-testimony-of-jesus-is-always-true). He spoke the messages from God to them (22b), which is also the Work of God He performed. He taught what no one else could. For example, only Jesus interpreted Jeremiah 4:3 NLT.
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
Without Jesus, no one could explain what this verse meant. But He interpreted it in Matthew 13:22-23 NLT.
22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Jesus performed numerous signs and wonders that no one else did (24). The works of God are one of five witnesses of Jesus (John 5:36, See Section II at https://www.comnc.org/the-testimony-of-jesus-is-always-true).
Their response to His proofs was hatred toward both Him and His Father without a cause (25). This was the fulfilment of Psalm 35:19, 69:4 NIV.
Psalm 35:19 (NIV 2011)
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 (NIV 2011)
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.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
Matthew 5:10-12 NKJV tells us what to do when facing persecution.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The apostles of Jesus rejoiced when persecuted in Acts 5:41 NKJV.
41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.
On the other hand, Luke 6:26 NKJV warns the following.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
