I want to say 4 things from this passage.
1. Jesus anticipates persecution
Firstly, Jesus anticipates the persecution of his disciples and, in doing so, forewarns and helps them. When he says ‘if’ in v.18 he isn’t introducing an element of doubt into their minds; his words are equivalent to ‘when you are hated’. This is as certain as it gets - the church will face hatred from the world. That isn't to say that every individual believer will at all times be conscious of persecution but it is to say that this is the pattern for the church, this is the fundamental reality of life in this world.
To speak of being hated raises the stakes considerably because that is a very strong word and stands in very stark contrast to the love that Jesus has for his own (v.9). But Jesus goes even further: he says that some of his disciples will be put out of the synagogue and some will even be killed and those who kill them will think they’re doing God a favour. The stakes are about as high as they can get.
The stark warning of Jesus to his disciples is evidence, as one commentator says, that “Following Jesus is not a game”. This is a very serious business – for some, as Jesus warns here, it is a deadly business. Being a disciple is not about quiet therapy for troubled souls; it is a costly calling into the most bitter conflict. Jesus will not have his disciples believe otherwise, then or now.
By anticipating persecution, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the harsh reality that awaits them. That is a service of love on the part of the Saviour. It would be so easy for this hatred to knock us off course and to cause us to give up on our faith. Jesus says, "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray" (16:1). To be forewarned is to be forearmed. And we have been warned.
2. Jesus explains persecution
But why is it the case that followers of Jesus will be hated? Why such hostility? In these verses, Jesus not only anticipates persecution but explains it and, in doing so, provides solid encouragement to us as his people. Let’s notice 3 things here.
i) Because we do not belong to the world – We will find that the world hates us because of who we are – we will face opposition and difficulties because we no longer belong to the world but instead are joined by faith to Jesus and are his servants.
Jesus tells us that if we belonged to the world, it would love us as its own but we don’t belong to it any longer because he has chosen us out of the world (v.19). We are now united to Jesus and have our identity in him – and so, just as he was persecuted, so will we be (“No servant is greater than his master” v.20).
This explains why we suffer in this world but, as it explains it, it gives us cause for real encouragement. We suffer because we belong to Jesus; we are persecuted by the darkness because we belong to the light. Whilst none of us want to face hardship, knowing that it comes because we are loved by God is a real help.
Now, of course, Jesus is not saying here that all those who are badly treated by the world are his followers. Nor is he saying that we can safely assume that whenever we are treated badly it is because we belong to Jesus – the sad truth is that we can bring down trouble on our heads through our own foolishness and sin. Yet perhaps we can say that even then the situation will often be worse than it might have been because we bear Jesus’ name.
ii) Because the world does not know God – The world does not know God and, in its blind and wilful rebellion against the Lord, strikes out at those who do belong to him. Jesus speaks here of the ‘world’ meaning “the created moral order in active rebellion against God” (Carson).
The problem is not a few isolated individuals who can’t stand Christians – it is far more fundamental. Jesus is speaking about a clash of systems – between the Lord and his kingdom and the world as governed by the evil one and trapped in sin.
If individuals try to discourage and cause us difficulties because of our faith in Jesus, we need to see their opposition in this light. They are part of a world system that hates God and stirs up trouble for God’s people.
The issue is far bigger than a husband or wife or sibling who is a trial to us – it is the world in its violent opposition to God.
It is this explanation of the nature of persecution that leads one writer very helpfully to say that: “these verses demand decision, because the issues are of ultimate importance. Following Jesus costs something and may cost life itself. Yet not following Jesus means one is siding with a lost and hateful world.” (Carson)
If you’re not a Christian, it may not feel as though you’re siding with a hateful world but Jesus will not let the issue be fudged: anyone who is not for him is against him. The issues are stark and so, too, is the choice: to follow Jesus and live or to side with the world and be lost. What are you going to make of that choice?
iii) Because of the church’s mission to the world – Jesus adds a very significant dimension to his explanation of persecution in vv.26,27 when he speaks of the Spirit and the church testifying about him. The opposition of the world, in its hatred of God, is stirred when the church engages in mission.
In this whole section, from ch.13, Jesus has been emphasising that he is sending the disciples out to continue his mission. Jesus was persecuted and rejected as he fulfilled his Father’s calling and the same reality will face the church.
To expect to face opposition as we engage in mission is, of course, no reason to cease reaching out. To be faithful as a church to the commission of Jesus is to lay ourselves open to the hatred of the world – but the glory of God and the desperate need of the world demands that we grit our teeth and go on.
3. Jesus condemns persecution
The third thing to notice about this persecution is that Jesus says it is culpable – those who engage in it stand guilty in their sin.
In v.22 Jesus says that those who persecuted him had no excuse since he had come and had spoken to them. They deliberately fought against the light, choosing to reject the Lord of glory and looking to do away with him.
If he had not spoken to them, nor done miracles among them, they would not have been guilty – by which Jesus is not saying they would have been sinless but that their rejection of him would not have attracted the same condemnation. But they did hear, they did see and still they rejected him. That was deliberate and worthy of condemnation.
How does this sit with what we experience today? If someone treats us badly, not knowing we’re Christians, they’re guilty of sin but not of persecution as Jesus speaks of it here. But if someone hates us because of who and what we are in Christ, they are without excuse. They have no reason to react in that way – it is entirely unreasonable for the Lord’s people to be abused since, like Jesus, we are going to the world with a message of hope and mercy – to reject that is madness and invites judgement.
4. Jesus equips for persecution
The overall impact of Jesus’ teaching in these verses, as he anticipates, explains and condemns the persecution of his people is to equip them for it. We are not to be caught off-guard; the world will hate us because it hated him. It hates us because we belong to him; it is a product of the fundamental clash of systems – the world in its opposition to God. But such persecution will not have the last word; it stands condemned for what it is: implacable hatred of God, the opposition of evil to the goodness of the Creator.
We need to know that and so be equipped for the fight. But Jesus does something else – he speaks of the promised Holy Spirit, calling him the ‘paraclete’, the Comforter. He will testify of Jesus and will be the one who impels the church into its witness too.
The days may be hard; tears may, at times, flow freely because we are real people with a real capacity for grief and sorrow. But, in the midst of it all, the same Spirit who leads us into costly service remains with us as the Comforter, reminding us of our status with God and filling our hearts with the realisation of God’s great love for us. That is worth more than words can say – so don’t grow weary in well-doing but rather press on, for Jesus’ sake, knowing that our labour in the Lord is not in vain.
