Love Each Other Because the World is Going to Hate Y'all - John 15:18-27

4:16And we are to embrace this calling, to love each other. I'm talking each other in the body of Christ. This is who he is talking to. And we are to practice love. We are to become practitioners of love. This is the supreme command. And then he reiterates. That command in verse 17. This I command you that you love one another. And this verse is a perfect transition to what comes next. Not only does he reiterate what he's already said in verse 12: this is my commandment that you love one another, he says it again in verse 17 as a perfect segue to what's coming next. Not only are we to love one another because Christ loves us, because Christ dies for his people, but because the world is going to hate y'all. And that's what Jesus is saying. Listen, I want you to love one another because you're not going to be loved from anywhere else. You must have a love for one another, and that's where he's going to develop. And this love for one another in the body is going to be the means by which Jesus protects his church from falling. Look down at verse 16:1. These things I have spoken to you, that is just everything that I just read to you. These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. So that you may be kept from stumbling. Everything that he just said about loving one another, the command to love, and then to, then he tells them, okay, expect that the world is going to hate y'all.

6:00Of this, he says, so that you will be kept from falling. You see, the greatest danger for the disciples going forward and for the community of believers is not death. It's not persecution. The greatest danger is apostasy, falling away, perverting the witness. And so he's saying, love one another. Be devoted to one another because love strengthens. That's what it does. It strengthens. And so what Jesus is saying in the verses in between, in verses 18 through 27, is expect hostility.

6:46Expect hostility. Expect persecution. This is what your little community is going to go through. Not just the disciples right there at that time, but in every successive generation since. Expect hostility. Love each other during it. You will experience it together, go through it together. It's a unique experience. It's a unique time. And love each other during it. And in this way, you will be kept from falling. And so I want you to see. That loving each other is the means by which Christ established to ensure his church would not fall. And I want to do so so that we will, again, devote ourselves to loving one another and loving the body of Christ. This has application beyond just our immediate circle, but all those who name the name of Christ everywhere and to lovingly strengthen true mission and true churches around the world. Well, so to prepare his disciples for what's ahead, he basically tells them, expect hostility. Expect hostility. And there are five reasons why his disciples and us today can expect hostility. Now, I just want to work through those five reasons. And really, they are the root or the dynamics of spiritual warfare. Why do we come down to what is the root cause of why is there spiritual conflict? Why are those dynamics alive and well in our world today? Well, we're going to look at the very core of it, the root of it, the watershed of it all, and get down to those core issues of what's going on in the hearts of humanity and what Christ came to do. Well, I guess all my points are up there. There they are.

9:00We'll just walk through them. Okay, so first of all, expect hostility. First of all, the world hates Jesus. You can expect that because the world hates Jesus. Look at verse 18. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. So expect hostility because the fallen world hates you. And that's what we're talking about here. When he's talking about the world, he's talking about that created moral order of humanity that is in active rebellion against God.

9:39If the world hates you, that is, if it don't be surprised, or if the world detests you, abhors you, shakes their head at you, derides you, don't let this shock you. But you need to know something. It's a command. Be knowing this. If the world hates you, if you experience the world's derision and persecution and all that, you need to know something. Make sure you're understanding this, that it's not all about you. They hated me before it hated you. In fact, the reason they hate you is because it hates me.

10:29And so be knowing. Knowing. You know, it's not hard to understand. The world hates those who associate themselves with the one who is supremely hated. If Jesus Himself is supremely hated, and why we want to get rid of Christianity is really all about hatred of Christ, comes down to that, the one who comes and is God's favored king over the humanity, those who associate with him obviously are going to be hated by those who supremely hate him. Now, it's easy when you go into other countries. You can tell who loves the United States and who doesn't. And so the same is true.

11:21I remember being in Israel just this last year, big signs. Thank you, America. There's nothing like with being and having moved the embassy down to Jerusalem. A lot of appreciation. I've been in countries where they don't appreciate America. And you almost want to be careful of not, you don't really want to call attention to yourself. And I remember one mission trip, we were in a place where a guy wanted to make sure he got tired of people saying, well, don't be an American. So he comes out with this USA shirt on his, you know, as if to be making himself known. But anyway, the point is, the disciples and the followers of Christ are on a trajectory of conforming to Christ. And because they are on a trajectory of conforming to Christ, guess what? They are also on a trajectory of increasingly, of increasing hostility against Christ.

12:36The disciples, you see these two worlds coming together, this community, this community of the followers of Christ and the world, everyone else, two ways you can know them. The disciples are known by their love, and the fallen world is known by their hatred. The disciples of Jesus are known by their love. He's already said that in 13, 35. They will know you by your love. And who do they love? They love Christ. They obey his commands. And because of that, they are known by their love. The world, the fallen world, is known by what they hate. They hate Christ.

13:19And the link between Jesus and his disciples is unbreakable. Hating Jesus necessarily will show up. By hating or despising his disciples. And the question, and Jesus is telling, don't be surprised, we're on collision course. You're on collision, course, because you follow me. The question is: why does the world hate Jesus? Well, Jesus has already told us. Back in 7:7, he said, The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its deeds are evil. Let me tell you why the world hates me: because I have been sent to testify that your deeds are evil, and you need to repent, you need to turn, you need to come out of that. In fact, he goes on in chapter 8 and verse 44, he says, speaking to the leaders there, he said, You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of liars. He's the liar, he is the murderer. That is who you are following, and you need to know that. And I have come to let you know that.

14:55And so it sets him on collision. Who is Jesus? Well, he's the one who's sent by God to testify that man's fallen deeds are evil. And he does that so that he can deliver people from such evil. He does that to destroy the power of the evil tyrant that holds them in his grip. And he says this in verse 14 and 30. He says, I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in me. So the chief of this world is coming to take on the Son of God and be destroyed in the process.

15:49So that's what Jesus is. That's who Jesus is. Comes to testify, to deliver, and to destroy the tyrant, the tyrannical power of the ruler of this world. So expect hostility. Why should these disciples expect hostility? Well, because the world hates Jesus and they're associated with him. Second reason they are to expect hostility is because the fallen world hates those who love Jesus. You know what happened is? I guess that's an older. I'm sorry. I'll go with that one up there.

16:37Because the world naturally hates those Jesus loves. That's what's the fallen world hates those that Jesus loves. Jesus' disciples, look at verse 19. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you were not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this, the world hates you. So here's what he's saying. The disciples are the chosen. Let me tell you, if you were of the world, which you were not, the world would love you. You know why? Because the world naturally loves its own. It would love you as its own. If you were of the world, it would naturally love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, you're not of this world anymore. You are characteristically different. And it's not because you are something special, because at one time he makes it very clear that his disciples were of the world. I chose you out of the world. I chose you out of the world, and because of this, the world hates you. So he gives them an axiom. He says, basically, the world can't hate its own. It loves its own self. And here's the problem. You are no longer part of this world. Though you once were, I called you. Out of that world. It was my choosing of you, my choice of you, that is your problem. I called you out of this world.

18:12And it's because of my action, now the world hates you. And by the way, it's important to recognize that Jesus, in just the way he calls his disciples out of the world, it's clear that love, the kind of Christ's love here, is not about acceptance of our worldliness. And there are many that would like to teach that Jesus, or do teach and do proclaim that, okay, Jesus is about accepting you as you are. No, very clearly, he says, I chose you out of this system. And because I chose you out of this system, that's why you're hated.

18:55I didn't accept you and your system. Otherwise, you wouldn't be hated. You'd still belong to the world. So sometimes we confuse love with acceptance. No, love is always about the truth. It's anchored in the truth. It comes out of the truth. And so there's the problem. You're no longer part of this world. And now you are hated by the world. Remember, Cain hated Abel because the fathers, because God's favor rested upon him. And so the fallen world hates those who love Jesus because, well, they hate Jesus, number one. Number two, Jesus are his people. And they hate this whole doctrine itself. Oh, you're the chosen ones. Have you ever heard that spoken of, Christians, in a deriding sense? Oh, the chosen ones. You are chosen.

19:58And it's a mockery, but let me tell you, that becomes the anchor. That is the anchor of the problem right there. Christ set his love upon his disciples. And he's going to make this very clear: you did not choose me, I chose you. And because of this, you are now at odds. So Christ's name is at stake. And so then, look at what he says. Be remembering this. Look at verse 20. Remember the word that I said to you: a slave 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. In other words, okay, remember what's going on. I chose you. Here's your problem. I chose you out. Now be remembering. Be remembering. Remember our relationship.

20:52It's a master and a slave. Remember, he just said this to them back in a few verses back in chapter 13, 16. He says, look, If I am your master and I wash your feet, guess what you are to be doing? You are to be doing the same. If I am your master, sacrificially love each one of you, then you are no, you're not of a higher dignity. You are to love each other sacrificially as I have loved you. That's been my example that's Christ given. So I will remind you of that. Remember, be remembering, you are not greater than your master. Now he puts this same thought, same teaching in the context of persecution, master-slave relationship. You are not of a higher rank or of a higher dignity than I am. Because they persecuted me, guess what's going to happen to you? Be expecting hostility. This is going to be life on planet Earth for you, for y'all.

22:03What's interesting here, look at what he says. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. So not only if they persecute me, they will persecute you, but also if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. Fascinating. You see, the division point of humanity is going to be over Christ. But it's going to be over the Christ these apostles proclaimed over their word. Their message, the apostolic testimony, is going to be the message about Christ that divides humanity. There isn't another message about the Christ of Scripture than those of the apostles that we have. You see, oftentimes what our problem is, is we forget our relationship with Christ. We get to thinking we deserve better than Christ. We think of ourselves as a higher rank or higher class than Christ, so we don't have to humble ourselves and loving each other or humble ourselves in being persecuted, accepting, and we're not, in this country, we're not accepting persecution, we're not undergoing persecution, okay? Not like it's happened in church history and not like it's even happening around the world right now. We are forming, we are experiencing a mild form of alienation, but nowhere, not anywhere in the category of what these disciples were facing.

23:50But it is their message that it's going to divide. So expect hostility. The world hates Jesus, and the world naturally hates those Jesus loves. Course, naturally follows. But number three, they are to expect hostility because the world does not know the Father. They do not know the Father. Look at verse 21. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake because they do not know the one who sent me. So hostility to Jesus finds expression in opposing his followers or his followers, just like burning a flag would be an expression of hostility to the country it represents. So as Christians, as followers of Christ, we bear his name, and so any aggression that is focused at Christ naturally is going to find expression in his followers. And this is what Jesus is saying. He's saying, look, they're doing this for mine, they're going to do all these things to you for my name's sake. It's because of my name. It's not about you. It's about me. And it's an important perspective that you have on this. You're caught up in the conflict of two very different worlds. And they overlap for a while, and we are feeling the pressure of these two worlds, but it's not about us. It's really about him.

25:23And so he goes on to say, let me tell you the root reason for the hostility. Against Jesus' disciples, he says at the end of verse 21, is because they do not know the one who sent me. The root spiritual conflict is found in willful ignorance of the Father. This is where the problem is. This is that spiritual conflict. This is the one who is ultimately being hated is the one who sent Jesus, his father. And that's what Jesus came to reveal. Let me tell you what's really going on. You don't just hate me, you hate the one who sent me. And the one who sent me is my father.

26:20He's the one who conceived the idea of sending Jesus in the first place to expose their sin. He is the one. He is the ultimate one that is hated. See, the Father is the one they ultimately hate. He's the one they ultimately abhor, they ultimately detest. And Satan slandered God at the very beginning. Adam believed the lie and has propagated it since. Jesus came to say, no, let me tell you what the Father is really like.

27:00And because of that, they hate him because he hates, because they hate what God is really like. So expect hostility. Number one, because the world hates Jesus. Number two, the world naturally hates those Jesus loves. Number three, the world does not know the Father. And number four, Jesus was sent to expose the world's sin. That was his mission. He came to remove their excuse. Look at verse 22. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sinned. But now they have no excuse for their sin. That is, they have no cover-up, no pretext, no pretense. They have no excuse. See, Jesus came doing the things he did that only God could do, saying the things he did, which only God would say, so that they would no longer have a pretext or an excuse for their sin. He came to blow their cover. Let me reveal what's really going on in your heart. Now, he's not saying that they would have no sin in the sense like, okay, you would never be guilty of lying, cheating, stealing, or any of that. He's not saying that. He's talking about their base core sin. And what is it?

28:30It's rejection of God's gracious self-revelation. It's the rejection of God's gracious self-revelation and the preference of darkness instead. Here's what I'm testifying to you. Your deeds are evil and you love the darkness. And that is what Jesus came to come and expose. And boy, do we get a graphic picture of this dynamic? A few chapters back in chapter 9. You remember the man born blind? Let me just read to you a second. Obviously, Jesus did an unmistakable miracle in their presence, and they knew it, and it got to a point to where they couldn't deny the miracle. And so listen, just pick up the dialogue. So they're interrogating this man. They interrogate him in several different rounds. And in the third round, they bring him in. Verse 24, they said to him a second time, Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. Wow. He answered them, whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. But one thing I know that though I was blind, now I see. So they said to him, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become his disciples, too, do you? They reviled him. You are his. Disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. Really?

30:05We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from. The man answered and said, Now, well, here's an amazing thing: you do not know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes, and you want to say you don't know where he is from? We know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will, he hears him. Since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. In other words, it's plain this man is from God. He has done something only God can do, and you know it. So, what's their response? Oh, you're right. Let me repent. Destiny. No, you were born entirely in sins, and you are teaching us, get out of here.

30:59That's the willful ignorance that Jesus came to expose. So, he came doing the things he did, saying the things he said. And what is the fundamental sin of fallen humanity? Well, it goes on in verse 23. He who hates me hates my father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now they have both seen and hated me. And my father as well. They have seen with their eyes. They have seen. They know what they are doing. They have seen and they have hated me and my father as well. They knew the one who sent me. Just with that miracle in chapter 9, they knew who sent me. It was evident.

31:53Verse 25, but they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their law. They hated me without cause. Now, here's the fundamental sin of fallen humanity: they hate the Father, they hate the one he sent, and they hate them without cause. I mean, why wouldn't? Without reason, why wouldn't people come to Jesus? Is it just an informational issue? It's a heart issue, isn't it? Where are you today? Jesus exposes their sin. They hate the Father. And you know why? They love themselves. They love self-rule. They love their own way. They love autonomy. And they hate for no good reason. What has God ever done to you? Let me get very personal. You today who do not know Christ, who actually Do not follow Christ, who do not accept what He has to offer. Why do you not? What is it in your heart that keeps you from Him? Is it information only?

33:14That's not what Jesus is saying. Fundamentally, there's something in your heart that is contrary to your Creator, and you need to repent. He's saying, That is what needs to come out of you. That is what I came to expose, and I came to expose it so that you can know your Father and my Father. Turn to Him today, if that's you. Don't go on hating Him without cause. It's like our cardinal sin, right? I see it all the time up here on Friday nights or anywhere. Man, I was minding my own business, I didn't do anything, and this person just came over and clobbered me. Really?

34:08What happened right before you got clobbered? Well, I tripped her. Oh, okay. So you weren't just minding. You know, we deep down, we know that it's like I wasn't doing anything. And that's probably why we get so infuriated at these shootings, random shootings. Why are you taking out innocent people? What have they ever done to you? And that's the fundamental. Fundamental sin of humanity. What has God ever done to you but been excellently gracious and kind and good in all ways to you? What has he ever done to not deserve your allegiance?

34:46That's the sin that Jesus came to expose. I come to testify that your deeds are evil and that your problem is you love darkness and you need to come into the light. And what's wonderful about Christ is that he's like light going into the darkness. Light does not retreat from the darkness, does it? Truth does not shrink back from error. It boldly goes in and confronts it. And here's Jesus with this little band of believers going up to Jerusalem and he's confronting.

35:27He's confronting sin and he's dealing with it and he can't wait to get there. That's the nature of the one we're following. So expect hostility. That's what Jesus is telling him. Number one, the world hates you, hates Jesus, so expect hostility. Expect hostility because the world naturally hates those who follow Jesus. Third, the world does not know the Father, so expect hostility. Fourth, know that Jesus was sent. To expose the world's sin, and boy, the world does not like their sin exposed. You deal with anybody and you start touching on those cords where you're actually exposing sin, you will meet hostile reaction, right?

36:15And so, Jesus was sent to expose sin, and guess what he commissions his disciples to do? Disciples, you're sent to testify about me. The exposing sin ministry is now being handed on to Jesus' disciples, and they are going to go through their generation, starting with this one, proclaiming the truth, following Christ, and just their very presence by the things they do and the things they say and the message they proclaim is going to awaken by the work of the Holy Spirit. He's going to talk about this later, convicting the world of sin. This is his ongoing exposing sin ministry. And you can see this. Look at verse 26.

37:10When the helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is, the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me, and you will testify also because you have seen me and have been with me from the beginning. I don't have at all the time that I would love to spend to. Comment on this remarkable text in church history. The whole fallow clause, those of you who are students of history, where does the Holy Spirit proceed from? Does he come from the Father and the Son, or just the Father? All that happens here in this verse. Would love to spend some time on that, but clearly, the emphasis of this passage, though it has implication for procession, obviously Jesus is saying, I will send to you from the Father. I will send the Holy Spirit. He is coming from the Father. Obviously, Jesus is speaking of his oneness with the Father and authority there and the procession that would come. But the emphasis of this passage is not upon the procession of the Holy Spirit, but is upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And what is the ministry of the Holy Spirit? He's going to testify about Jesus. Look at it. He will testify about me.

38:34That's the message. That's the work of the Holy Spirit to testify about Jesus. And you will testify. You will testify. The Holy Spirit will come. He will be given to you. And he will testify. And guess what? You will testify. Your testimony of the Holy Spirit is going to come so that you will testify of me. And it's a command. You will be testifying. But because he bears witness, the disciples must bear witness. But notice that last phrase: because you have been with me from the beginning, or since you were with me at the beginning. It's very important.

39:24You will testify because you have been with me from the beginning. He's talking about the beginning of the ministry. You have been with me from the beginning. There are no modern-day apostles. There cannot be. Because the Holy Spirit was given to these so that they would testify, and they had to testify because they were the eyewitnesses to the account of Christ, because they had been with him from the beginning. There's no ongoing revelation, it is the apostolic testimony that is being proclaimed. There is only one record about Jesus, one authoritative record, one accurate record, and that is the apostolic testimony. You have been with me from the beginning, you will testify because the Holy Spirit's going to come, and you must give an account.

40:24So the Holy Spirit is going to testify through his apostles about Jesus. They, the eyewitnesses, Are going to testify of what they have seen, what they have heard, and while they are testifying, they will call into another generation of ear witnesses. And those ear witnesses will believe their testimony, as Jesus has said, and they will then call into another generation of ear witnesses, and then another generation of ear witnesses. So the Holy Spirit has set up a way for every generation to stay in touch with Jesus' words.

41:06And it's the same message called to testify about Him. So the Holy Spirit is going to come, testify through His apostles about Jesus, the one who the world hates, and the one along with the Father who sent Him. You see a collision course happening here? Sound fun? Is that why we can expect hostility? Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Why? Why? Why is God doing this? Because it's the loving, generous, and kind thing for God to do. With a world that is in open rebellion to Him, He sent His Son into the world to expose their sin, to call them into a right relationship with Himself, that they may not be of the world permanently, but that they can come out of the world. Jesus has ascended. He. Been exalted on high. He now sends his people out to go do the very same thing to be part of that same ministry of reconciliation. And it is the loving thing to do to collide with truth. Light shines into the darkness. That is the collision.

42:17And it's the gracious thing to do, and it's a wonderful, wonderful privilege to be part of it. Listen, the church has something very unique here. Look into it. That generation had no excuse. You know why? Because they witnessed the miracles. Jesus removed. You've seen all this. You have no excuse. Future generations, our generations, have to rely on the words of the apostles and the internal witness of the Holy Spirit, but there is no valid excuse for us either. Because as we look back, we recognize in history that these men died, they suffered and died for their testimony. People do not suffer and die for a lie. We also can look at the testimony that their fruit has remained till today. I mean, this is why we're still here.

43:09Their testimony has been believed through the generations. Here it is. We are still cleanly connected to the words of Christ. Even the second, third generations, just we have the same record. But listen, listen to something about the church. The church has done something that. All the governments and political powers could never accomplish and have not accomplished and will not accomplish. You know what the church, if we were to right now just ask everybody to stand up from maybe the Asian continent, we'd see some people from some Middle Eastern continents stand up countries. How about the African? How about the South America? How about the North America? How about the European? We would see in this congregation, in this little group, people from all over the globe. Let me tell you something. All the political powers of the world have not ceased wars, have they? And yet, among here, we have people that we would give our lives for, right? There is a love, there is a reconciliation, there is something that Christ Himself did in, and we are from all the nations, yet we live at remarkable peace, not just peace, but a love for one another. That is the work of the Spirit. And let me tell you why the world needs the church. It's because in the church, the different ethnic groups are already reconciled.

44:44We don't have to reconcile because we've already been reconciled in Christ. He has reconciled us, and we are to live out that reconciliation by being devoted to one another as he was devoted. To us, the church is the answer for the world. We have wars and rumors of wars, and what it is, it's ethnic ethnos against ethnos. The world cannot bring about peace and reconciliation, but those in Christ can. And that is our mission to testify. And yeah, there's going to be some bumps, collisions. But the greatest threat is not death, persecution, it's apostasy. Because while the church is going forward experiencing hostility, there is going to be a temptation to defect, to get isolated, to feel alone, and to get extremely discouraged and defect.

45:54That's what John's audience was experiencing. John wrote this towards the end of the first century, and he's writing this to encourage churches. Don't be surprised at the hostility that's coming your way. Love one another through it all. That is the means. That is a means that Christ has established to keep his church from defecting. So love one another. It's going to be an ongoing witness. And this has to do with internal this body, and it has to do with those who are taking stands for Christ around our nation and those and around our world. We are to love them. I want to close by reading a portion of 2 Corinthians.

46:53If I can find it, is that in the New Testament or in the Old? Okay, I've got it here. 2 Corinthians, I want to read to you. Paul had this thought, 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. That's where he goes. That's where he leads us. And he manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. For we are the fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one, an aroma of death to death, to the other, an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

47:38For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, who is adequate for these things? Father, you sent your Son. We believe he is who you sent. We love him because we love you. We love your message of reconciliation. We love you for not leaving us in our sin, and we call upon your name now to even further deliver us, to sanctify us. Father, and to help us to not be ashamed of being the aroma to Christ.

48:24Father, we just thank you for this great and wonderful privilege. May we truly look around and see those who are suffering on so many levels. Help us to love one another because you loved us, and help us to love one another because, well, the world isn't going to do that. Help us to strengthen one another through our love and give us the grace and the insight and the means on how to do that effectively and beautifully in your sight.