Life in the Vineyard: Not Surprised by Suffering

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

E. H. Jordan once told the story of how Charles Wesley’s Hymn, “Lover of My Soul” came to fruition. He wrote,

“Charles Wesley was conducting one of his many open-air meetings, this one near Killyleagh, Ireland. During the course of his preaching, a number of persons who took exception to his views assaulted him. Unable to withstand the mob, Wesley fled for his life.

He took refuge in a farmhouse nearby. Jane Moore, a kind-hearted wife of a farmer, hid the panting evangelist in the milkhouse. She was barely in time, because at that moment some of Wesley’s assailants rushed up.

Mrs. Moore tried to divert their attention by preparing refreshments. Fearful that they might search the premises and discover the harried evangelist, she went to the milkhouse on the pretext of getting a cold drink for her visitors.

“Quickly,” she bade him, “get through the rear window, and hide under the hedge.” He clambered through the window and found a little brook flowing beside the hedge, forming a pool with overhanging branches that afforded a pleasant and safe retreat.

While waiting for the vindictive Irishmen to give up the search and leave, Wesley pulled a pencil and paper from his pocket and wrote out the immortal hymn, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.”

The first words he wrote on the paper were,

“Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly, while the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high; hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past; safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last!” Charles Wesley

God has created a vineyard for himself. Jesus is the true Vine. Everyone whom the Father has drawn to the Son, who have embraced him by faith, are the true branches that bear good fruit. True branches bear the fruit of great commitment to Christ that lives a life of love for Jesus that expresses itself through joyful obedience and endurance. True branches that bear good fruit have a great communion with Jesus, having his word abide in them and their prayers answered. True branches bear the fruit of the great commission, sharing the gospel, sowing and reaping the fruit of God’s word by seeing conversions; more branches added to the Vine. Commitment, Communion, and Commission are the fruit of any believer and church that has the life of Jesus pulsating in its spiritual veins. And when a believer or church is bearing fruit like this in the vineyard, Jesus warns that their will be opposition.

Knowing is Half the Battle

If you ever watched G.I. Joe in the 1980’s, they would end every show with a tag line, “Knowing is half the battle.” Being informed about what the situation is, where you need to be, and what you must do when you get there, is vital to mission success. Int he same vein, Jesus is helping his disciples remain in him by helping them know what is going to happen to them. In the middle of the vine metaphor, Jesus plainly tells his disciples,

John 15:18 ESV

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

The word “if” can almost be rendered “when.” When the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. Think back to Matthew 5:11, when Jesus says blessed are you when other revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. The world at some point in your Christian walk will hate you because you love Jesus. In John 15:18-16:4, Jesus will spend the next fifteen verses or so explaining to his disciples why the world will hate them. He is telling them this because knowing this truth will help them not abandon the faith; commit apostasy.

John 16:1 ESV

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

Remaining in Jesus is mission success. Jesus uses the word scandalizomai for “falling away.” It carries the sense of “causing to disbelieve” or to “stumble.” Persecution has the power to offend you in such a way that you loose faith. The parable of the soils reveals that you can have a rocky soil heart that at first appears like you have genuine faith, but the heat of persecution scorches the leaves of faith and you quickly fall away (Matthew 13:6). Jesus explains the meaning of the rocky soil heart,

Matthew 13:20–21 ESV

As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

To keep you from falling away, or positively stated, “to help you remain in him,” Jesus tells his disciples upfront how life is going to be in the vineyard. You will be hated by some because you are connected to Jesus. So the message for you is,

Knowing you will be hated by the world for Jesus sake will help you remain in Him until the end.

Jesus in other words, Jesus is saying to his church, don’t be surprised by suffering for the gospel. That is a normal part of living in the vineyard. The world will hate you because it hates me. Le

Don’t be surprised when You are hated by the world for being connected to Jesus; let your light shine before men (John 15:18-20)

The world will hate you because the world hates Jesus.(v18)

The world that John is referring to is the kosmos. In this sense, however, the word kosmos denotes everything that belongs to the world, appearing as that which is hostile to God, that is, lost in sin, wholly at odds with anything divine, ruined and depraved (BDAG). The world we live in is sinful and broken. John referred the world as darkness. In the prologue of John’s gospel, chapter 1, John says of Jesus,

John 1:4–5 ESV

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

When Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, he reveals the status of the world. He says,

John 3:19–20 ESV

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

Darkness is a metaphor in John for evil. The world is evil and the people who live in it are born sinners who love the darkness over the light. Furthermore, Paul reminds us that Satan is not in hell, but in fact, among us wrecking havoc for God’s people. In Ephesians 2, Paul describes our natural condition before we come to Jesus. He says

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

You were once under the influence of Satan, a child of wrath, following the passions of your flesh like the rest of mankind. But God made you alive in Christ and transferred you out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light, of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). Jesus said in verse 19, “I chose you out of the world.”(John 15:19) Your allegiance is now for Jesus and His kingdom. The dark world that hates Jesus now hates anyone who has the light of Jesus in them.

Why does the world hate Jesus?

It some ways it seems odd that the world hates Jesus. Jesus was progressive in his day. He fought the religious elite of his day. He transcended social barriers by loving the poor and giving prominence to women. His values and morals have been emulated by all kinds of people over the course of two thousand years. Why hate such a popular sage or Jewish philosopher?

The world hates him because he is not a sage or philosopher. He is the very Son of God whose light reveals the evil deeds of darkness.

John 7:7 ESV

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

Jesus is the light of the world. His light shines when he testifies about God with his words and deeds. And when he does that, his light exposes everything. It’s as if God came into your room at night, after your eyes have adjusted to the darkness, and turned on a light switch. He exposes all of your filth and funk. And when evil is exposed it feels the shame and guilt, and bears the condemnation of God. The child of wrath does not surrender to the light, but with all of his heart tries to extinguish it. You tell God to turn that light off!

So it is with Jesus and the world. The world hates Jesus because his truth, his righteousness, his holiness, and his justice exposes the worlds hypocrisy, depravity, immorality, and corruption. Everyone who has the light of Christ in them and testifies with His word and deeds, they too bring light to the dark deeds of the world.

You will be hated by the world because of how Jesus shines through you.

We take much encouragement when we think of how God sees us. When the blood of Christ cover your sins God sees his Son in you. Well, Christian, so does the world. Jesus says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Some times that glory shines in the midst of persecution.

We sing a nursery rhyme that says,

This little light of mine, I’m going to let shine. The second verse sings, “Ain’t going to let Satan blow it out, I’m going to let it shine.”

The world is going to try to blow your light out when you make much of Jesus. You need to know who is trying to extinguish your light. Satan will huff and puff with all his might to put your fire. Knowing this will help you remain in the faith. You will know how to pray. You will know how to abide in God’s word. You will continue to shine your light by preaching the gospel.

Don’t be surprised when you are hated by the world for being connected to Jesus; preach the gospel (John 15:21-22).

Knowing persecution is a normal way of life in the vineyard, Jesus expects you to continue joyfully advancing His kingdom by preaching his word. Jesus assumes his church will be preaching the gospel while they are persecuted.

John 15:20–22 ESV

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. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 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.

The gospel message is the word Jesus is talking about in verse 20. Remember, the great commission is a fruit of being genuinely connected to the true Vine. You are either sowing God’s word or reaping the fruit of the harvest. Some will hear the message of salvation and keep it (v20). These are people whom the Father drawing to the Son to become new branches. These new branches are coming to Jesus knowing the church is being persecuted.

Currently, Iran is ranked number nine on Open Doors lists of most persecuted Christians in the world. Under muslim rule and authority in government and culture, our brothers and sisters in Christ in Iran suffer the loss of property, family, and even some of them their lives. And yet,

“In the last 20 years, more Iranians have become Christians than in the previous 13 centuries—since Islam came to Iran. In 1979, there were an estimated 500 Christians from a Muslim background in Iran. Today, there are hundreds of thousands—some estimate more than 1 million.” The Gospel Coalition

Churches who joyfully advance the kingdom of God while being persecuted will bear the fruit of conversions. The light of Christ will shine brightly in the dark sky of persecution. Johnathan Edwards beautifully note,

“True virtue never appears so lovely as when it is most oppressed, and the divine excellency of real Christianity is never exhibited with such advantage as when under the greatest trials.” Johnathan Edwards

When a man shows patience at great expense to his comfort, we marvel at it. When a woman shows great kindness toward her someone who oppresses her, we marvel at it. When the church loves her enemies by preaching the worthJesus and his good news while she is being persecuted, the world that hates Jesus, cannot help but to marvel at him work in the lives of his people.

Christians who do nothing for the kingdom have nothing to worry about. Churches who are not joyfully advancing the kingdom will not be persecuted. There is nothing to persecute. The church in and of itself is not offensive. The gospel message is offensive. Jesus expects you and I to preach the gospel in every season of life, even when the world comes against you.

Don’t be surprised when you are hated by the world because you are connected to the Father; remain in Jesus (John 15:23-25)

Jesus makes a clear claim to his deity in verses 23-25.

John 15:23–25 ESV

Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 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. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

Jesus already taught that they way he made the Father known to the world was through his words and works.

John 14:10–11 ESV

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Jesus is reiterating that he and the Father are one. Like he said to Philip, to know the Son is to know the Father. To know the Father is to know the Son. You cannot have the Father apart from the Son, and vice versa. Jesus revealed His Father through his works, the miracles, signs, and wonders; things that only God could do. Jesus says the works are enough for them to believe.

The world is guilty of hating the Father. If you reject Jesus’s words and works, you reject the Father’s work of salvation. The disciples are not to be surprised by the world’s hatred of the Father. It was already written in the law.

Psalm 69:4 (ESV)

More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause...

Jesus quotes a part of Psalm 69:4; “hate me without cause. “ The point Jesus is making is that if King David, a man after God’s own heart, could be hated without cause, how much more can God’s Messiah be hated?

Jesus says to his disciples

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The only way to truly love the Father is to love the Son. You cannot have the Father apart from the Son. This makes Jesus both inclusive and exclusive. God calls every sinner to repent, and he will welcome any sinner who does repent; red, yellow, black, and white they are all precious in his sight. It does not matter how bad you’ve been, how rich or poor you are, or abled or disabled your future is, God will welcome every sinner who repents into his kingdom. However, every sinners who repents must accept His Son as their only hope for salvation. You must confess you are a sinner, repent of your sin, that is turn from it, and trust Jesus’ death as your atoning sacrifice and his resurrection as your hope for eternal life There is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved. So the Father is inclusive in that anyone is welcome to enter his kingdom, but exclusive in that you can only enter through Jesus. Don’t be surprised when the world hates you because you are connected to the Father through the Son, remain in the Son.

Don’t be surprised when the world hates you because the Holy Spirit continues to joyfully advance the kingdom of God by making much of Jesus through you (John 15:26-27)

John 15:26–27 ESV

“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. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Jesus told his disciples that a helper was going to come to bear witness about Him. He elaborates more on the Spirit later in chapter sixteen. Hey says,

John 16:7–11 ESV

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

The Spirit will come to help to them testify about Jesus. The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment through the mouths of those branches connected to the true Vine. The Spirit will empower Jesus’ church to continue Jesus’ ministry on earth.

When the Pharisees sought to kill Jesus they wanted Jesus and his message and ministry to go away. The Father had other plans. Jesus’s death and resurrection and ascension would not only serve to save sinners, but also equip them and empower them to continue to joyfully advance the kingdom of God by making much of Jesus.

Pentecost is the fulfilment of the promise of the Holy Spirt to empower believers. Before he ascended, Jesus promised his disciples,

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

In Acts 2, Jesus made good on his promise and baptized the disciples with His Spirit. And as soon as the Spirit fell upon them, all the disciples began to testify of Jesus in various tongues. They would continue to testify about Jesus and the Pharisees would continue to persecute the church for their testimony.

God has ensured you are not left to advance his kingdom by your own power. he has given you His Spirit to empower you to continue Jesus’ ministry on earth. Do not fear about your faith. The Spirit will empower you to believe. Do not fear about what you will say. The Spirit will empower you to speak truth. Do not fear about falling away from the faith. The Spirit will empower you to hold fast. You have been sealed with the Spirit as a guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). And if the persecution becomes so much that you cannot formulate words out of your mouth, the Holy Spirit is there to help you pray (Romans8:26-27). Don’t be surprised when the world hates you because the Spirit of God continues to joyfully advance his kingdom by making much of Jesus thorough you. The Spirit has empowered you and equipped you to continue the work and hold fast to the faith until the end.

Don’t be surprised when the hates you with a religious zeal; remain orthodox in your religion (John 16:2-4)

Jesus forewarned the disciples that they will be excommunicated from the synagogue. Some of them will even be killed in the name of the temple or Judaism or of God himself. In their religious zeal, they will think they are serving God.

John 16:2–4 ESV

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. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.

Stephen comes to mind immediately (Acts 8). You will be killed by pious and religious people. That crowd killed Stephen thinking they were glorifying Yahweh. But Jesus says in fact, in verse 3, they never knew the Father.

If this seems odd to you; I get you. I can understand persecution from the atheistic culture. But suffering at the hands of the religious establishment would feel counter-intuitive. We are supposed to be on the same team. That is what Post Modern religious people say to you when they say you can believe in God and have your truth. Just don’t contradict my truth. And religious people who are still in the dark will amen that agreement. The world says you can have your god. You can have your religion. You cannot have orthodox religion. Meaning, you cannot have the right religion. You cannot worship Jesus as the Son of God, the Light of the World, who came into the darkness to expose their evil deeds, calling them to repent of their wickedness, and trust in His salvation. The world, even the religious in the world, will hate you for loving the real Jesus.

we have already seen in the history of the world since the church came into existence an unhealthy marriage between the institutional church and the state. The greatest example in the western world might be Nazi Germany working with the Lutheran church. There were many who opposed this union, Richard Wormbrand being one of them, as well as, Diedrich Bonhoeffer. They were the minority. There were many Lutheran elites who tried to work alongside the Nazis to the peril of many believers, Bonhoeffer being one of them; he was shot to death by firing squad for loving Jesus.

With all this hate, you can see why Jesus wanted to give them something to help them remain in Him. The mark of a true believer in Jesus is endurance, perseverance, especially in the midst of persecution.

Last year 2021, the Open Doors World List reporting period, listed,

5,898: Christians killed for faith-related reasons.

5,110: churches and other Christian buildings attacked.

4,765: believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned .

3,829: the number of Christians abducted for faith-related reasons. (These are just the numbers they can track. The number is much higher.)

Life in the Vineyard is difficult for now. For now Jesus tells us we will suffer for his name sake. No servant is above their master. Sometimes we will suffer that the hands of secular authorities, political parties, government authorities, academic institutions. Other times we will suffer at the hands of other religious groups, even churches that bear the name of Christ, but have left orthodoxy. But take heart Christian, Jesus says, “I have overcome the world!” We know the love of Christ. We know He has saved us from the wrath of God and made us alive in Him. We are citizens of heaven and one day the vineyard will not suffer at the hands of those outside the vineyard.

Dr. George Duffield, author of “Stand up for Jesus,” another of our famous songs, once said of Wesley’s hymn, “Lover of My Soul,” “If there is anything in Christian experience of joy and sorrow, of affliction and prosperity, of life and death—that hymn truly is the hymn of the ages.”

Wesley wrote that hymn while suffering for Jesus’s name sake. Wesley was not surprised by his suffering. He was ready for it because he knew it would come. In fact, he rested so much in Christ that he wrote the second stanza that sings,

“Other refuge have I none; hangs my helpless soul on thee; leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me. All my trust on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring; cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing.” Charles Wesley