The world hates the Father, the Son and the Church

Introduction

The Lord Jesus is leaving his disciples, in the verses we have read we see he is preparing them for what they will face as they seek to fulfil the great commission.

We see that he tells his disciples that they will be hated by the world. He explains why this is and why they should expect it and not be surprised by it.

The Lord Jesus made sure that he did not leave his disciples with unrealistic expectations, he was effectively telling them, your mission will be difficult, do not be discouraged by it, rather expect it.

A question that we can ask for ourselves today is;

Should the church expect to be loved by the world?

If the church is facing hostility from the world is it doing something wrong?

These are questions that sometimes receive different answers depending on who you ask. There is a tendency among some Christians to try and fit in with the world and be accepted by the world no matter what, even at the expense of faithfulness to the truth of God’s word.

Should we expect to be loved and accepted and liked by the world?

The Lord Jesus gives us a clear answer to this question in our passage this evening.

This passage splits neatly into two main parts. The first part is v.18-21- you will be hated because Christ is hated. The second part is v.22-25- Christ is hated because the Father is hated.

I. You will be hated because Christ is hated v.18-21

a)Do not be surprised v.18

The Lord Jesus begins preparing his disciples for the opposition from the world by telling them not to be surprised. In v.18 he says “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”

The world in this verse refers to the system of the world which is in rebellion against God as well as the people who are part of that system.

After telling them not to be surprised by the world’s hatred he then explains why the world will hate them. He gives them three reasons.

b)Reason 1-You are not of the world v.19

In v.19 the Lord Jesus says “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.”

The Lord here says the world will hate you because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. The Lord Jesus explains that the world’s hatred is aimed at the church because it is not like the world.

The two are completely different. The followers of Christ are different to the world and set apart from it. The thing that distinguishes the two is the election of God. The Lord Jesus tells his disciples that he chose them out of the world.

It is for this reason that the world hates the followers of Christ. The church has been chosen by Christ. Therefore it is set apart and different from the world. Therefore, the world hates the church.

After explaining one of the reasons the world hates the church the Lord Jesus goes on and tells his disciples that this persecution should be expected, he experienced it himself, which is the second reason.

c)Reason 2-Servant isn’t greater v.20

In v.20 the Lord Jesus says “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.”

The Lord Jesus again tells his disciples that they will be persecuted and the reason is that he himself was persecuted.

If they persecuted the Lord Jesus then they will persecute those who come in his name.

If they persecute Jesus they will persecute you if they obey Jesus they will obey you.

Reason 1- you are not of the world, reason 2- they persecuted me, reason 3- They do not know God.

d)Reason 3-They do not know God v.21

The Lord Jesus in v. 21 gives a further reason for why the world will persecute his disciples. He says “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”

Why would the world persecute the disciples for following Jesus, the reason is because they do not know God. Although they may claim to know God, in reality they do not.

App- In this first section the Lord Jesus tells his disciples to expect persecution as they go into the world in the name of Christ.

He then gives them three reasons why they will experience the world’s hatred. Today we have the same calling to display Christ to the world, to spread the Gospel and to live holy lives. What can we expect if we do this? The answer is not popularity, or fame. The answer is opposition, hatred, persecution.

Why? Because the world hates Jesus therefore it will hate us. We can never expect to be loved by the world nor should we want to, as long as it hates our Lord and Saviour.

What should we think when we are experiencing this hatred, should we be worried we are doing something wrong? Well the Lord Jesus seems to suggest here that if we are experiencing this we are probably doing something right. This is what we should expect, we should give thanks to God when we do experience less of it but we should not be surprised when we experience more of it.

The world will hate the church because it hates Christ. Next we see that Christ is hated, because the Father is hated.

II. Christ is hated because the Father is hated v.22-25

In the verses that follow it seems that the Lord Jesus is anticipating an excuse for persecuting Christ and his disciples. Perhaps people may say, they did it out of ignorance they thought they were pleasing God and did not know Christ was sent from him. In the final three verses the Lord Jesus removes this hiding place for those who persecute his people.

a)They have no excuse v.22

In v.22 Jesus says “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”

Here the Lord is referring to the Jewish people who had rejected him and were going crucify him, as well as persecute his disciples. He had taught among them, he told them the truth. Yet they have rejected him. For this reason They have no excuse.

b)Hate the Son, Hate the Father v.23

The Lord Jesus elaborates further in v.23. He says “He who hates me hates my Father also.”

Here the Lord silences those who say we follow the God of Israel and yet reject Jesus. Jesus says if you hate me then you hate the Father also.

The reason for this is that he came from the Father, he is one with the Father. He says elsewhere, if you have seen me you have seen the Father.

The Father and the Son cannot be separated. If you reject one member of the Trinity then you reject them all.

c)They have seen and still hated v.24

In v.24 we see how it is clear they hate the Father. Jesus says “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.”

The works that the Lord Jesus did clearly revealed to those who witnessed them that he was from the Father. Therefore if someone having seen the miracles rejects Christ, they are knowingly rejecting the Father also.

Here we see that those who wanted to persecute Christ and still be seen to be faithful to Yahweh were deluding themselves.

d)God’s word stands true v.25

But in case the disciples were tempted to think that this was due to some oversight on God’s part the Lord Jesus makes it clear that they are doing what was prophesied they would do.

“But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

The Lord is Sovereign he is in control, these things that were taking place were determined before hand to take place, these haters of Christ are fulfilling the Scriptures they are claiming to follow.

They claimed they were trying to be faithful to the Scriptures and for this they rejected Christ, actually the only relationship they had to the Scriptures was they were fulfilling the prophecies of people rejecting the Messiah.

App-

Today it is not uncommon to find people who say I believe in God but I don’t believe in Jesus. Does that person really love the true and living God.

Jesus says no. If you hate Jesus then you hate the Father also.

Conclusion

How should the church expect to be treated by the world?

The Lord Jesus teaches his disciples in this passage that the world will hate them. The reasons are that they hated him first, he chose them out of the world and they are different to the world and they do not know the Father. Why do they hate Christ? because they hate the Father.

The church should not be surprised when it experiences adversity from the world because it follows Christ.

As Christians we must be prepared for this, we should give thanks to God when we experience less of it but we should not be surprised when we face more of it.

If this was all that was said on this topic we may not have much to feel very good about. But if you keep reading through this upper room discourse you will see that the Lord Jesus touches on this topic again in Chapter 16 and this is what he says; John 16:33 “33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Yes the world hated Jesus, it crucified him. But he rose again from the dead. He has overcome the world, because he has overcome the world we too will over come it.

For now we are called to be in the world and to call people out of it by proclaiming the Gospel, we can be of good cheer because Christ has overcome it by his death and resurrection. Now we look forward to being part of the new heavens and the new earth where there is no adversity but only love for Jesus.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”