Reality Check
February 26, 2023
There’s a price to pay for following Jesus. However, for most of us in the West today, we are just waking up to this reality. Just this week, a high school student in Canada was arrested for returning to his Catholic High School Campus, after being suspended for stating his belief that there are only two genders, male and female. He was arrested because he would not recant his beliefs.
In Colorado, Baker, Jack Phillips, after winning two lawsuits over his religious right to refuse to bake cakes that promote homosexuality, is back in court again after refusing to bake a cake celebrating a gender transition. He’s been battling for his religious rights now for more than 8 years.
In Washington, Football Coach Joe Kennedy was fired for exercising his First Amendment rights to pray to God in public. It took him almost seven years to fight to undo this unjust persecution, prevailing only when the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution neither mandates nor tolerates that kind of discrimination.
There’s a price to pay for following Jesus. Now, in our country this is manifesting itself in attacks on religious rights. But if you look beyond our borders, this kind persecution is far worse. According to World Watch, a ministry of Open Doors that tracks the persecution of Christians across the world – Every day, 13 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith. Every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked. And every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and another 5 are abducted. In fact, 5,621 Christians were killed for their faith last year. 90% of these were from the nation of Nigeria. There’s a price to pay for following Jesus.
But the question we’ve got to ask ourselves today is this: Are we willing to pay the price? Are you willing to stand with Jesus when the world hates you for following Him? Now, this seems like a very harsh question after weeks of looking at all that Jesus does for us to help us follow Him. After all, Jesus has promised to give us His Holy Spirit to live in us, to teach us and to help us. He’s promised to give us His peace to sustain us. He’s even promised to give us His joy and love to live in us. So, what gives? Why all of a sudden are we switching gears to look at the cost of following Jesus?
Well, as we return to the Upper Room Discourse today, we’ve come to the place where Jesus needs to give us a reality check. Yes, He’s called us to love one another just as He has loved us. But the reality check He wants us to grasp today, Is that no matter how much we love one another, we are not guaranteed that the world will love us. In fact, the world will do quite the opposite – the world will hate you for following Jesus.
And where Jesus shoots straight with us about how the world will treat us is found in our passage this morning. So, if you brought your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to open it John 15:22-16:4.For here Jesus not only tells us why the world hates us for following Him, but also teaches how we are to respond to them. So, if you’ve found John 15:22, lets pick up Jesus’ reality check by looking at…
1. Why the world hates you for following Jesus In fact, in these next few verses Jesus is going to lay out five reasons why the world hates you for following Him. And the first reason is this:
The world hates you because the world hates Jesus Jesus starts off His reality check by saying: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. “John 15:18 So let me ask you: Was Jesus hated? Yes, the religious leaders hated Jesus. They conspired to kill Jesus. In fact, in less than 24 hours from Jesus saying this, He will be arrested, tried for crimes he did not commit, dressed up as a mock king, taunted and teased, beaten and whipped – then while hanging on the cross he will be verbally assaulted and publicly shamed before being impaled by a spear. Yes, the world hated Jesus.
But just who is this “world.” What does Jesus mean when he speaks of “the world”? He’s not talking about the world as a planet, but the world as a system of belief. The world refers to the attitude of the heart that is hostile to all God is and to all God wants. The world hates Jesus because the world lives in open rebellion to God. And if the world hates Jesus, then Jesus doesn’t want you to be surprised that it will hate you too. That’s the first reason Christ followers experience rejection, opposition, slander or even persecution. Because the world hated Jesus first. But that’ just the first reason for why you and I will be hated for following Jesus. Here’s the second reason:
The world hates you because you’re not like them Jesus continues, “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.” John 15:19
The world loves its own. The world loves those who embrace their philosophy of life. The reason the world rebels against God, is that the world exalts self. John spells out the world’s mindset for us in 1 John: For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:16 The world says, “You do you. Life is what you make it. You can have it all. The one with the most toys wins.” But Jesus has called you out of this world. He’s called you out of a life that exists only to fulfill your fleshly desires. When Jesus called you to Himself, He called you out from the ranks of rebellion to become part of His family. He called you out of slavery to sin, to a life of freedom. He called you out of a life that exalts self to a life that serves others.
He called you to be a person who walks in love, who lives by grace, who gives mercy. Jesus called you out of this world so you could be like Him. That’s why you will always struggle to fit into this world. You were not made for this world. And now Jesus says in effect, “The world will hate you because you are different, but you are different because I called you to be different. I called you into a relationship with me, where I can fill you with grace and truth, joy and peace, so you can live like me. That’s why the world will hate you.” The world will hate you because you are not like them. That’s reason #2. Now, Jesus gives a third reason the world hates Christ followers:
The world hates you because you identify with Jesus “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.” John 15:20 This reason is similar to the first: If the world hates Jesus, it will hate you because you identify with Jesus as your Master. And since you identify with the One the world rejected, you’re not going to be exempt from their rejection.
In other words, Jesus says that all humanity is divided into two camps: those who persecute His disciples and those who listen and obey His word spoken by the disciples. We are the point of the spear on which Jesus divides humanity. As we live as His followers, as we proclaim His words, people will respond in one of two ways: they will either receive His words or reject them. And they will either receive us or reject us.
So, the idea here is that Jesus wants us to understand that we are not exempt from persecution. I know this is not a comforting thought. But Jesus says, if he was persecuted, then we will be persecuted. The world will hate you simply because you follow Jesus. That’s reason number three, now let’s look at the next reason:
The world hates you because they don’t know God “They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” 15:21 Jesus says the world will despise you simply because they are ignorant of God. And the reason they’re ignorant of God, is that they live estranged from God because of their sin.
When you live in open rebellion to God, the reason you do is that that your mind is ruled by the flesh. And when your mind ruled by the flesh, you refuse to be ruled by anyone else, especially a God you do not know. That’s what sin does to you. It blinds you to who God is. So, you don’t just reject this God you don’t know, you want nothing to do with Him.
That’s why the world was hostile to Jesus. And that’s why the world will treat you the same way. For if the world lives in defiant rebellion toward a God they don’t know, they’re not going to all of a sudden embrace you who say you know God. If anything, they’ll want nothing to do with you, because they want nothing to do with God. That’s why the world will hate you, because they want nothing to do with the God you know. And that leads us to the final reason the world chooses to despise Christians:
The world hates you because Jesus exposes their guilt This last one explains a lot. Listen to how Jesus puts it: “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. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 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. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ John 15:22-25 This is a remarkable passage. Jesus came to earth and did some amazing things. He spoke like no man has ever spoken and he did works no man had ever done. Yet, people hated him. Now, we normally hate people if they speak or act in a way that is mean, untruthful, or arrogant. But Jesus was none of these. S why was he so hated? Why did so many refuse to listen to His words?
Matt Carter answers this question saying: “Jesus entered a world made pitch black by sin, and he shone like the sun at high noon. As a result, all the sin and shame and wickedness around him were seen in the truest and most undeniable light. Jesus made hidden sin visible. He exposed all the ugliness in the hearts of the people. All those who thought they were pretty good saw their sin exposed, and they hated Jesus for it.”
Therefore, our existence as a people who follow the light of the world exposes the darkness of guilty hearts. Our existence reminds them of their resistance to God. Our humility reminds them of their pride. Our surrender reminds them of their rebellion. And our faith reminds them that there’s a Savior who’s come to take away sin – so our existence continually throws it in their face that they are sinners under judgment. So, they hate us because our light exposes their darkness.
They will hate us because they hate Jesus.
They will despise us because we are not like them.
They will persecute us because Jesus was persecuted.
They will defy us because they don’t know God… and
They will hate us because our light exposes their guilt.
This is the reality check Jesus is trying to drive home to us today. Just because you follow Jesus, doesn’t mean everyone will like you. Just because you follow Jesus doesn’t mean you will fit into this world. And just because you follow Jesus, doesn’t exempt you from persecution or suffering.
So just as Jesus was giving his boys a reality check here in the upper room, he wants to make it very clear to us today: There will be times when you will be hated for following Jesus… So, this begs the question: How does Jesus want us to respond to a world that is growing increasingly hostile to Christians?
2. How are we to respond to the world’s hatred? Jesus gives us two responses. And the first is this:Don’t let the world silence you He says, “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.” John 15:26-27
Again, Jesus reminds us of the help He gives when He gives us the Holy Spirit. In the coming days, Jesus will send the promised Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. When He comes, the Holy Spirit will bear witness about Jesus. The Holy Spirit will make Jesus known. And the Holy Spirit will move them to make much of Jesus.
The world may hate them, but they will not be silent. For they will take what the Spirit taught them about Jesus, and they will bear witness of Jesus. They will tell the truth about who Jesus is, as the Son of God. They will tell of the Words and Works of Jesus. They will tell how Jesus came and lived among them, revealing what the Father is like. They will tell how Jesus laid down His life for the sin of the world. And they will tell the world how they can be forgiven of sin and receive the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. In the face of the world’s hatred, they will not be silent.
That’s how we counter the world’s hatred. We counter the world’s hatred with God’s message of love. We refuse to let hatred win. We refuse to be intimidated by their threats or their attacks. We refuse to be silenced. That’s how Jesus wants us to respond to the hatred of the world.
We see this happen right away in the book of Acts. Peter and John are arrested for healing a lame man and speaking to the people about Jesus. The rulers and elders and scribes question them the next day asking, “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: Acts 4:7-9
It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12
Then, when the council conferred about what they should to do with them, they decided to tell them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Listen to how they refused to be silenced: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:19-20
That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. When the world hates you, let the Holy Spirit help you speak the truth about Jesus. Don’t let the world silence you! But be so full of the Spirit, that you cannot help but speak the name of Jesus. That’s the first way Jesus would have us respond to a world that hates us. Here’s the second:
Don’t let the world deceive you “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 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.” John 16:1-4
Jesus doesn’t minimize the severity of what’s coming. Jesus is telling them that following Him will be costly. He’s telling them that they may lose the two things they value most: They may lose their community, or they may lose their lives. Being put out of the synagogue was a big deal. It meant the loss of community. Their reputations would be ruined, their future plans shattered. They couldn’t marry. And if they already had a family, their children would be considered outcasts. For a Jew, being kicked out of the synagogue would be a worse fate than death.
But they could also be killed. Now, that’s a shocking statement. I don’t think that statement hit home with them until Jesus was crucified. But it was true. For all but John, the beloved disciple, would die a martyr’s death. So, yes, this was an extreme reality check. Following Jesus meant facing the possibility of dying.
So, what does Jesus want us to take from this? Why does he lay out the worst possible scenario of the world’s hatred in these verses? He wants His followers – He wants us to understand one thing: There’s a price for following Jesus. And He wants you to know the cost of following Him, so when hatred comes your way – you will not fall away.
Jesus does not want you to be deceived. He wants you to stand firm when trouble comes. Oh, you may not face the kind of hatred or death these first followers faced. But in this world, you can expect to find people who will hate you. In this world, you can expect there will be those who will try to intimidate you, slander you or even abuse you, so you will walk away from Jesus.
So don’t be deceived. Following Jesus will not always be easy. But it will be worth it. For the world may hate Jesus, but Jesus will never stop loving you, and Jesus will never stop loving the world.
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