John 15: 17-25, The World Hates You

Jesus is in a farewell conversation with his disciples.

John 15: 17 One Command!
This is my command: Love each other.

The first mark of the Christian is that we love each other. We should start there. "Greater love has no one than this..." is a statement that Jesus will demonstrate his love for those around him whom he has chosen, not just as disciples, but as friends.

John 15: 18-27, The world will hate you (if you love each other)!
“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. 
21 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. 
25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

There is a warning included in the command, "Love each other."  If one follows Jesus, and along the way, insists in acting in love, the world will turn away.  The World has other goals.  The citizen of heaven should not expect to gain power and control in this realm.  (And the citizen of heaven does not want power and control in the next realm!)

The hatred of the world is really not focused on the Christian, suggests this passage, but is due to hatred of God and the things of God.  If the disciples are members of an eternal Kingdom then they will suffer some consequences for that here.

This hatred has been stimulated by the appearance of Jesus among the people of Israel; the religious elite resist him.

The quote in verse 20 is from John 13:16, repeating an earlier statement made during the footwashing. The quote in verse 25 is from Psalms 35:19 or Psalms 69:4.

Meditation: What should be a Christian’s expectations of society?  (Is society getting better and better as Christians make an impact? Is it getting worse and worse? staying the same? Should Christians expect success? failure? pleasure? pain? understanding? anger?)

How do our expectations influence our actions? Why is it important to have proper expectations?