With Dale Ratzlaff
John 15:18-25
If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, “A slave 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. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, “THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.”
As in the last study, the setting is Jesus with His disciples only a few hours before His arrest. He is preparing His “friends” for what is coming after He leaves them.
By comparing earlier statements in John regarding the “world” with our passage we see a heartbreaking tragedy.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John uses the “world” loosely in our passage. We should think of the world as all those who have rejected the eternal life offered by Jesus.
Now, because of what Christ has done for the world, the world hates Him and those who promote His message of eternal life. It seems incredible. We ask how could this be? Yet we see this exact thing taking place in our society today. Christians who promote Christian values and point the way to life eternal are hated and called many derogative names. By rejecting the truth, they hate those who promote it as it causes them to feel guilty.
If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
Jesus, wanting to impress its importance, repeated that He was not of this world.
And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world” (Jn. 8:23).
Now in this last discourse, He states the same thing for His disciples, “I chose you out of this world.” There is no way we could ever get “out of this world” on our own. What does it mean that we are not of this world? This is a concept grounded in the new covenant gospel and is stated many different ways.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life (Jn. 5:24).
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13).
For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (Eph. 5:8).
The fact that we are not of the world is something we ought to explore. How does it change our life here?
Remember the word that I said to you, “A slave 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.
Here’s the statement that says if we are “slaves” (now “friends”), we will receive the same treatment that Jesus did. The correlation between Jesus and His followers not only speaks about persecution but also success. Some will keep our testimony also. Here we are promised a measure of success in kingdom work.
A slave is not allowed to choose his master; the reverse is the case as Jesus has made these disciples his own. To be sure it is a thousand times better and higher to be slaves of this glorious Master, who makes his slaves his confidants and friends than to remain imaginary masters of ourselves but in reality, slaves of the devil ( R.C.H. Lenski, New Testament Commentary, John, p. 1056,1057).
But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
In Scripture, the name of God is a loaded term. We believe in His name for salvation. We proclaim His name in our witness. We pray in His name. We worship His name. We suffer for His name. The name of God stands for all that God is, all that He has revealed, and perhaps more than He has revealed. It communicates the self-existent I AM Moses met at the burning bush.
To know Christ is to know the Father.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” (Jn. 14:9).
In the same way, those who persecute Christians do not know the Father for they have rejected Christ who reveals the Father.
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
We should read the first part of this verse like this: “if I had not come and spoken to them, as I did, they would not have sin, as they do.” This does not mean that before Christ spoke to them, they were not sinners. But now after He has spoken to them and they rejected Him, they have the sin of willful unbelief. The proclamation of the gospel of Christ has major consequences to those who hear. They can accept and believe, or they can reject and remain in willful unbelief.
He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.
Jesus says almost the same thing as He did in the verse before. Then He said He had spoken to them and they rejected His teachings. Now He gives a second reason why the Jews remain in willful unbelief. He showed them many miraculous signs in addition to His spoken word. They saw these miracles and hated Him the more. Faith generated by signs is not necessarily the strongest faith, but it is better than no faith at all. When carefully studied, each “sign” was not only a miracle but also testified to the goodness of God and His ability to meet a vast array of human needs. The spiritual truths revealed in the signs of Jesus are many.
- At Cana when Jesus turned water into wine, He showed His ability to provide when man’s ability to cope with the needs of normal festivities failed.
- When Jesus healed the Nobleman’s son, Jesus showed His concern for the sick and demonstrated His power to heal.
- When Jesus healed the man at Bethesda who had been crippled for thirty-eight years, he showed God’s power and love for the disabled and helpless.
- When Jesus fed the five thousand, He demonstrated the inability of man to meet everyday human needs by providing more than enough for a hungry crowd.
- When Jesus walked on water and calmed the storm, He showed His ability to cope with and control the powerful forces of nature.
- When Jesus opened the eyes of the man born blind, He showed His power to save those who felt they were under the curse of sin.
- When Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb, He showed that He was the resurrection and the life and those who believe in him will never die.
All these signs convey more than just a miracle. They convey the love and grace of our God.
But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me (Jn. 5:36).
The world, indeed, talks of God and may even call him Christian names like Father, but theirs is only a figment of the mind, an idol of human invention, constructed according to the ideas of the world…The True God, who alone exists, who sent his Son to redeem the world, the world does not know; and, holding to its self-made god, the world fights against this true God and his Son and persecutes those who confess this Son and his great Sender. This is the inner reason for the world’s hatred, and the disciples of Jesus must understand it fully (Ibid. p. 1060).
But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, “THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.”
This quotation is taken from either Psalm 35:19:
Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously,
Or from Psalm 69:4,
Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies; What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
Both of these Psalms are written by David and refer to his situation. However, Jesus sees the parallel nature of what David faced with His own experience.
We note again that Jesus does not say, “our law,” but “their law.” This is a significant observation mentioned several times in the Gospel of John.
Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true (Jn. 8:17).
Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, “I SAID, YOU ARE GODS”? (Jn. 10:34).
The relationship of Jesus to the Old Testament law is different from that of the Jews. This fact was clearly stated early in John:
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:17).
While the old covenant law pointed forward to the grace that was offered through Christ, it did not reveal that grace clearly.
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:1-3).
For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near (Heb. 10:1).
The bottom line which was only hinted at in Jesus’ use of “their,” or “your” law, is that on this side of the cross we ought to focus our attention on the new covenant revelation. It is here we find truth clearly defined. It is here we find grace, infinite grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than our sin.
Application
- Some of us have endured a measure of hatred and ill will, but most of us have not suffered real persecution for our faith. Carolyn and I have often spoken of our commitment to remain faithful to death, even death by persecution for Christ. However, when the time comes, will our resolve hold true? I think of the courage one of the school girls had in a school shooting. The shooter was killing the Christian students. After killing several students, he asked her if she was a Christian. She said “Yes,” and was shot. What courage, what faith, what a witness to others! Not only does Christ warn His disciples about the hatred they will receive, but Paul agrees stating,
Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12).
- We should not have a martyr complex and rush into trouble. Both Christ and Paul avoided those who were seeking to kill them. But at the same time when confronted with denying faith, both refused to do so. God will give us the strength to suffer when the time of trial comes. But it would be well for us to make sure our faith is strong enough for that test and rehearse in our minds standing firm in the face of persecution.
- Jesus stated clearly that both He and His disciples were “not of this world.” What assurance comes with this truth! To know that the transfer has already taken place is good news indeed. The way this transfer is described in Greek is that it happened at a point in time and in the case of John 5:24, as stated in previous lessons, it is in the perfect tense meaning that the transfer remains, there is no going back! Here, again, are two precious promises.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life (Jn. 5:24).
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13).
- Understanding the differences between the old and new covenants is fundamental to experiencing God’s grace. Knowing what it means to be “in Christ” brings assurance unknown in old covenant life. In the context of Paul’s failure to keep the law, we find a wonderful promise.
For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me… There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death (Rom 7:19,20; 8:1-2).
Focusing on our behavior as evaluated by old covenant law is a sure recipe for discouragement. Remember well what John said.
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:17).
Prayer
Father, thank you that you have transferred me from this sinful world into the realm of your kingdom. May I focus on your grace and not on Jewish law. Increase my faith so that when hate is directed toward me because I am promoting your gospel, I will not deny you and keep loving those who hate me.
In Jesus name.
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