John Part 33
Notes
Transcript
Tonight we are going to start try to finish chapter 15
We left off at verse 17
Jesus had been talking about being the true vine
The subject changes slightly in verse 18
However, the overall subject is the same.
So, we are no longer talking about the true vine
or being connected to the Father through Jesus
Or about bearing fruit
However, we are still talking about Jesus leaving soon
The Spirit coming
and comfort
but part of how Jesus comforts his followers
is to be honest about what is going to happen to them
when Jesus does physically leave them
And that is what we will focus on tonight.
Let’s start reading in verse 18, and go down to verse 22…
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but 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 also keep yours.
21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
Ok, let’s look back at verse 18
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
The word “if” here is a test
Because, verse 19 will prove that the world MUST hate you
If you are a follower of Jesus
and, so, the “IF” really means…
If you are a true Christian as verse 19 will show…
So, the world will hate you,
and when you figure out that the world does not love you
that is when you must remember what the world did to Jesus
They hung him on a tree to die
So, if the world seems to love you
Then you are not really with Jesus
because the world hates Jesus
and they prove it more and more each day.
You will see them talk about how brave people of other religions are
when they share their faith
or when they stand up for what they believe in
but let a Christian share their faith publically
and they will turn off the cameras
they will tell them not to speak that name
why?
Because the world hates Jesus
and if you are really with Jesus
the world will hate you too
They are fine with you being a follower of buddah
Confusious
the Dali Llama
Allah
Yoga
The world loves them
but the world hates Jesus.
Why?
Because Jesus is not of the world
And we shouldn’t be either...
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
So, Jesus is drawing a line between those that are of the world
and those who are chosen out of the world
And it might seem here that Jesus only chose a select few
and those who are chosen are special
and those who were not chosen are not special
and will never be special
However, Judas was chosen by Jesus
and Judas turned back to the world
Also, Paul talked about a man named Demas
Who was at one time a fellow worker with him
but fell back in love with this present world
So, there is a way to switch sides
and go back to being of the world
and I will show you that you can also be of the world
and become chosen, too
it is a two way street
And the choice is yours to be of the world
or of Jesus.
If you choose the world, the world will not hate you
but that is proof positive that you are not of Jesus.
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 also keep yours.
So, this past two chapters is about comfort
but here, Jesus mentions the word persecution
And he says that because the world persecuted Jesus
The world will persecute us
So, what’s that got to do with comfort?
That’s the point, really
Jesus would not need to comfort his followers
if they were not about to go through things that were not comfortable
It isn’t meant to be comfortable leaving the world behind
and following Jesus
The world will hate you
and the World will persecute you
So, if a church is teaching people
that they can keep living like the world
and that being a christian does not require
coming out from among the world
they are not true disciples
True disciples are not of this world
And they do want the things of this world
I am not interested in what is going on with celebrities in this world
I don’t care what the royal family is doing
I don’t care who is dating what actor
or what role someone has in a hollywood film
I don’t have a clue what the top 40 songs are
I don’t really have any interest in the lives of people of this world
except in how I might lead them to Jesus
and we cannot love the world or the things of the world
or God’s love is not truly in us
That doesn’t mean we do not love people
You can love people and still not be infatuated with their worldliness
If you are still in love with things of the world
you’ve got to put those things away
That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun
You can do things
and have hobbies
and enjoy life
I’m not talking about being a recluse either
Jesus went out to eat with people of the world
He was able to be in the world
and still not be of the world
There is a difference
If you’ve memorized the lines to the latest hollywood movie
and know every top 40 song by heart a week after it comes out
but can’t name 10 books of the Bible
then part of you is still of this world
21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
Now, Jesus says, that when the world does hate us
and when the world does persecute us
That means they do not know God the Father
They might know of him
but they do not KNOW him.
So, when Paul was still going by the name Saul
and he was persecuting the disciples of Jesus
He was doing it because he did not really know God the Father
And Paul said, I am a Jew of Jews
from the Tribe of Benjamin
and Yet… Paul did not really know his own God
because, if he had known God
He would have Known Jesus.
as Jesus said earlier in this conversation
That’s why he said, Who are you Lord
when he was blinded on the road to Damacus
on his way to kill some Christians in Acts chapter 9
He asked, Who are you Lord
Because he did not know who God really was
and what did the Lord say?
I AM Jesus, Whom you persecute
So, when Paul was persecuting the followers of Jesus
He was really persecuting Jesus himself
And Jesus is the Lord
The Same God that Paul thought he knew
but he did not really know him
or he would not have had to ask
Who are you?
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
So, just like the law in the OT
did not rid the world of sin
it only revealed to the world that we were sinners
The words of Jesus did not save everyone who heard it
but they were still spoken
so that there would be no excuser for sin.
23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.
Here is about the 6 or 7th thing Jesus has tied to himself
that identifies himself as the Father
If you see me, you’ve seen the father
If you hear me…
If I teach…
If I do works…
If you know me…
And here, he says, if you have me
You hate the Father.
24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.
So, not only did the words of Jesus condemn them
the deeds of Jesus condemned those who hate God
They heard his words and saw his works
and still hated him
and that hatred was also toward God the Father
whether they knew it or not
Because Jesus is God in the flesh.
25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
This is a prophecy found both in Ps 35 and Ps 69
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
Remember, the Helper is the Holy Spirit
And, that Spirit is God in Spirit form
instead of in human form
And here, Jesus says that he is sending the helper
But in John 14.26
Jesus says that the Father will send the helper in Jesus’ name
So, who is sending the helper?
Jesus, or the Father?
The answer is yes.
God is sending his own Spirit to help us.
The word “proceeds” here means to go out
The first time it is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament
is in Gen 2.10
10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
So, in the way a river flows out of Eden
The Spirit of Truth
Flows out of God the Father
And Jesus is the Spirit of Truth
He is the way, the Truth, and the Life
27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
So, the disciples are called to bear witness of Jesus
They were able to do this because they had been with him since the beginning
Chapter 16 is still part of the same conversation
The scene hasn’t changed
Jesus is still talking to the 12
and in verse 1 he says…
1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.
So, all these things goes back to chapter 13.1
Jesus says that all the things about washing feet
all the things about going to prepare a place for us
all the things about the helper coming
the Spirit of Truth
all the things about the True vine
and all the things about the world hating us
all that was said to keep his disciples from falling away
Why did he need to keep them from falling away
Well, they are all about to scatter very soon
Judas will betray him
Peter will deny him 3 times
and everyone is going to run and hide except John
Things about to get real
And they couldn’t imagine how real it was going to get.
I try to tell people who come to Jesus
That they need to be prepared for it
because the devil will not pay you any mind
so long as you love the world
but turn half an inch in the direction of Jesus
and watch the world hate you
watch the world persecute you
what the enemy attack
I wish that coming to Jesus was a walk in the park
I wish that turning from the world would get you applause from the world
and that nothing bad would happen
But all too often
when people give their life to Christ
their family puts them out
they lose their job
they lose relationships
and it seems like things are falling apart
and many people quit
but for those who hold on
they will see that God will get you through all of it
and the end will not just justify the means
The end will blow away any memory of the means
Because nothing in this world is worth missing heaven over
Job lost everything he had
and Satan wanted to get him to stop blessing God
But Job did not quit on God just because life was hard
Life is going to be hard regardless
So, why live a hard life and not be rewarded at the end with heaven?
If we’re going to live a hard life
we may as well get to have eternity with Jesus to make it all worth it
So, when the going gets tough
Just remember that Jesus is at the end of the road
He’s waiting for you to make it
and he is cheering you on
And he has already warned us that it won’t be easy
but he does not want us to fall away.
1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.
2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
