John 15:18-16:4

Please turn back in your Bibles to John chapter 15 and pick things up at verse 18.

John 15 · chapter mention

While you're turning there, can I just say that John D. Rhodes won't be preaching this evening.

He got his dates mixed up and so he phoned me and let me know the good news.

So when you next see him, do remind him that you felt very let down by that.

John D is an old friend of mine, don't worry.

So John 15, let's pray before we dive in.

Our Father and our God, we ask that you would speak in these moments and that we would listen

and that we would hear the voice of the living God and so be changed.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Whether you're preparing to go to war or you are getting set up for a sports challenge of some kind

or even a political debate, knowing your opposition is a significant part of the battle.

It might be your commanding officer giving instructions about the tactics that the enemy employ.

It might be the coaches giving the team talk to say,

this is how they attack in this part of the field and we need to set up like this.

And it may be Rishi Sunak's advisors telling him what to expect across the chamber in PMQs.

Probably won't be another Rishi Sunak at PMQs, but there we are.

In each case, they are being given a brief on the opposition so that they can be as well prepared as possible.

Know your enemy and know how they attack.

Having explained to the disciples what their relationship should be to him,

they should abide in him, they should remain in him,

by keeping his commandments in order to be fruitful.

Jesus now turns to prepare his disciples for what lies ahead.

Having explained to him how they are to relate to him,

he now turns to explain how they are to relate to the world around them.

And as they think about the world around them, they need to know what it's going to be like.

As Jesus departs to return to the Father,

he explains what they need to expect.

They should expect opposition.

Opposition from the world around them.

Indeed, verse 19, have a look.

Verse 19, it is very stark.

Jesus says, they'll be hated.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own,

but because you're not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,

therefore the world hates you.

He doesn't mess around.

And can I say this morning, if you are coming to Christ,

if you are weighing up what that decision, putting your faith in Christ, will mean for you,

this is what to expect.

The world around you will hate you.

Jesus doesn't want there to be any surprises, any unmet expectations, any,

wait, hang on a minute, no one told me this was coming.

Such the disciples then just decide to give up.

He tells us that in 16, verse 1.

Do you see, I've said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

I'm telling you what it's going to be like, so you're as well prepared as possible,

so that you don't give up when the temperature rises.

If you're expecting sunshine and all you get is rain, you might think that you've got something

wrong.

There's a defect in you in some way.

Or you might think that you've been misled in some way, and Jesus wants to prevent this from happening.

I don't know if you've ever been knocked out, if you've ever been knocked unconscious, maybe in sport or something like that.

They might have given you smelling salts to clear your head.

This little thing that they waft under your nose, it's incredibly pungent, and it clears your head.

Well, after all the talk that we've had last week about abiding in the Father's love,

verse 19 is a bit like smelling salts.

It's pungent, and we want to recoil.

But Jesus isn't like the shonky timeshare salesman showing the fake photos of the development that doesn't exist

in order that you'll sign up and pay the money.

He isn't trying to sugarcoat things to get you in and will deal with the problems down the line.

He's very clear right up front.

Here it all is, the world, the realm of those outside Christ's kingdom,

those who are enemies of God, they will hate you, he says.

And this morning, Jesus unpacks the nature of this hatred.

But I want us to see He also provides significant encouragement as well.

We've got two points this morning.

The first is the world's hatred, and the second is God's help.

The world's hatred and God's help.

So let's start with the world's hatred.

And Jesus doesn't just tell the disciples that they're going to be hated.

He explains why it is the case, and He sets it in context.

And so there are three things that I want us to note here.

First thing is, the world's hatred, first thing, it's really hatred of God.

That's what Jesus says.

On the one hand, any hatred the disciples will experience has already been experienced by Jesus.

Verse 18,

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

And of course, they've seen up close how Jesus was rejected by the scribes and the Pharisees,

and throughout His ministry, the opposition He faced.

But of course, within 24 hours of this conversation,

they will witness the hatred of the world towards Jesus in the most stark way possible.

He will be mocked and beaten and nailed to a Roman cross

and executed at the hands of this corrupt regime.

The world hated Jesus more than anyone has ever been hated.

But Jesus makes it clear that their hatred runs deeper than that.

Look down at verse 23.

He says,

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.

Jesus has told us just a few, well, a few verses earlier.

It would have been a few minutes earlier in the context of the conversation.

Chapter 14, verses 10 and 11.

His words are the Father's words.

His works are the Father's works.

Because He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him.

When the world rejects Jesus,

they are rejecting the Father who indwells Jesus and who sent Jesus.

Of course, we could also say,

if we look ahead,

when the Spirit whom Jesus promised to send after His departure,

down verse 26,

when He comes,

we read on in the early chapters of the book of Acts,

that alongside the blessing and the growth of the church,

we see people lying to the Spirit.

Ananias and Sapphira, Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

And persecution following all these Spirit-filled people.

The world's hatred of the church is simply an expression of its hatred of God.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And because Christ has chosen His church out of the world,

because He has taken us out of this realm,

the world reacts.

Now, just as Jesus makes clear the hatred He faces is fulfilling Scripture,

verse 25.

You see that?

But the word that was written in their law must be fulfilled.

They hated me without a cause.

It's clear that He's in total control of everything that's going on.

He's fulfilling Old Testament Scripture as He goes.

Just as that's the case,

so everything that He tells the disciples came to pass in the early church.

Jesus' followers were persecuted and martyred for their faith.

Almost all of the men at this table would die for following Christ.

So, because the church has been named for God in baptism,

because we are united to Christ as His bride,

because we are then, verse 19,

not of the world, but we belong to the kingdom of God,

the world hates us.

So, when you're opposed for your faith,

don't be surprised.

And in a sense, don't take it personally.

The world only hates you because it hates God.

The second aspect of the hatred I want to highlight is this.

It distorts reality.

The world's hatred distorts reality.

Look at 16, verse 2.

Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you

will think he's offering service to God.

Now, the opposition that these disciples faced

came from a religious establishment

that believed that they were the true people of God.

They were convinced that their hatred of this sect,

this group that became known as Christians

because they followed this one who

said of himself that he was the Christ.

They were convinced that their hatred of this sect

was actually a godly thing,

that they would kill the disciples

thinking that God was pleased with them.

Their world was upside down.

They had completely distorted what it meant to serve God

and what constituted good and what constituted evil.

Now, the context is different,

but there's a similar distortion in the opposition

that we face today

in that the hatred that is directed towards us

is presented in virtuous terms.

We saw this with the late great atheist Christopher Hitchens,

whose opposition was largely based on moral grounds.

He was assuming the moral high ground

in his opposition of Christianity.

He described it as, quote,

a wicked cult.

For that reason, he said

that Christianity should be extinguished.

Now, a world without God

isn't by necessity a world without moral absolutes.

So, why he can call it wicked,

I don't know.

It's inconsistent, but he did.

He deemed the faith to be wicked, a moral term.

And today it's the case

that almost all of the most vitriolic opposition

that Christians face

is presented in moral terms.

Red-faced shouting,

block capitals online,

it is evil to raise your children as Christians.

It is wrong to prevent women

from aborting their baby.

It is right and merciful

to allow someone to end their own life.

It is discrimination

to prevent two people

who love each other from being married.

Now, the world may not believe

in the God of the Bible,

but they seek to take the moral high ground

in their hatred of the church.

This distorts reality.

It's God's world.

God made it the way he made it,

and he ordered it the way he ordered it,

and the right way up is to follow his way.

But when right is seen as wrong,

and wrong as right,

when up is portrayed as down,

and down up,

don't be surprised when you see it.

Christians often get wound up

about the way the world operates.

When Christians are misrepresented

or their arguments are dismissed

without any meaningful engagement,

but we shouldn't be surprised.

The enemy doesn't fight fair.

And this always involves

some kind of distortion of reality.

You are wrong.

When you say you are wrong

about somebody

who is following the order of the world

the way that it was made,

they've distorted reality.

Firstly, it's really a hatred of God.

Secondly, it distorts reality.

Third aspect of the world's hatred

that Jesus highlights

is that it is a mark of genuineness.

Fifteen, verse twenty.

It's a mark of genuineness.

Remember the word that I said to you.

A servant is not greater than his master.

If they persecuted me,

they'll also persecute you.

If they kept my word,

the sentence is,

if they obeyed my word,

they will also obey yours.

Now, this will be the pattern

of the disciples' mission.

Persecution and obedience

going hand in hand.

But because no servant

is greater than his master,

it follows that those who suffer

for the sake of the gospel,

and that's opposed to suffering

for being a fool in some way or other,

that is possible.

It is possible to be a Christian

and to be suffering,

but not to be suffering for the gospel.

It's just because we're being silly

in some way.

But it's the case that if we suffer

for the sake of the gospel,

we are following in Christ's footsteps.

We are walking the same path

that our master walked,

and therefore,

we're showing ourselves

to be the real deal.

Jesus is clear, verse 19,

that no one hates people

who do the same things they do.

No one hates people

whose lifestyle choices

are the same as theirs.

If you were of the world,

the world would love you as its own.

Of course they would.

Lives that look like the world

don't invite criticism.

Because, of course,

there's nothing about your life

that makes them feel uncomfortable

in any way.

If we're all in this together,

well then,

there's an implicit endorsement

of my lifestyle choices.

But if you've chosen

a different course,

that means you don't approve

of my course.

Well, how dare you?

When your life displays

the fruit of the different decisions

that you have taken

because you follow the Lord Jesus,

that Christ-likeness

provokes people.

You might have experienced this.

It happens in the strangest ways.

It can happen

in the strangest ways.

I remember a long time ago,

not long after I came to faith,

being out with a friend of mine

who had brought a couple of

friends along

that I didn't know so well.

We'd been there for about an hour,

and the chat was all

fairly superficial,

and I got up

and went to the toilet.

And when I came back,

the other two friends

of my friend had left,

and I said,

oh, where have they gone?

And he said,

they left because

they were fed up

with you banging on

about your Christian faith.

I hadn't mentioned

my Christian faith once.

I wasn't being

especially virtuous at all,

but I was just different.

And this is how

it sometimes goes.

You wonder why

this person or these people

are aloof

or distant

or even a bit rude,

even though you've been

very nice to them.

Why do these people

seem to not like you

despite the fact

that you're

a stand-up person

in terms of the way

that you treat them?

It's because

you're not of the world.

You're following

the same path

as the Lord Jesus.

And their rejection of you,

and it can be

a very polite rejection,

but that rejection

is a mark

of genuine discipleship.

Now, the hatred

won't be nice.

Jesus is telling us here

about something

that isn't nice.

It's not easy,

and it can be

very painful,

but there's a sense

in which

you should take

encouragement from it.

When the world

hates you,

it hates you

because you're

following the example

of the one

they hated first,

your master,

the Lord Jesus.

When you experience

that hatred,

there's a sense

in which it shows

that your faith

is alive

and that God

is at work in you.

When hatred

comes our way,

we often think,

oh, poor me.

That's the instinct,

isn't it?

Self-pity.

We think, oh,

it's so terrible

the way these people

treat me.

And it might be terrible,

but the fact of the matter

is we shouldn't be surprised.

And the fact

that it's going on

shows that we're

following in the footsteps

of our master.

Well, in preparing

his disciples,

Jesus promises them

that the world

will hate them.

He gives them

the smelling salts

that cause them

to think,

goodness.

But he also promises

them something else

in the midst

of this opposition,

and that's our second point.

It's God's help.

God's help.

The presence

of hatred

is a strange

encouragement

because it's a mark

of genuineness.

Jesus offers

three further

encouragements

as they look ahead.

the disciples

will know,

first of all,

the Father's care.

Chapter 15,

verse 21,

But all these things

they will do to you

on account of my name

because they do not

know him who sent me.

By implication,

Jesus is drawing

a contrast here

to remind the disciples

that their opponents

don't know the Father,

but that they do.

Again,

in 16,

verse 3,

have a look,

And they will do

these things

because they have

not known

the Father

nor me.

However painful

the hatred gets,

the disciples

should know

that they belong

under the tender care

of their Heavenly Father.

Elsewhere,

Luke chapter 12,

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Jesus,

you remember,

talks about how

the sparrow

that sells

for next to nothing

in the market

is not forgotten

by God

and how much

more valuable

to Him

are His loved ones.

No opposition

can take you

from the fatherly care

of your Heavenly Father.

No hatred

can accomplish anything

outside of His ordaining.

You are secure

in the Father's care.

Where I grew up,

there were lots of children

around the same age

who played together

in our road

and there was one boy

in particular

who I didn't like

and he didn't like me

and he was an amazing footballer

and I was so jealous

and typically

couldn't get anywhere close to him

when we were playing football

so I'd like hack him

and be nasty

and that kind of thing

so I didn't like him

because he was better than me,

he didn't like me

because I was nasty.

That's the back story

just so you're clear.

There was one occasion

we had many fights

over the years

but there was one occasion

we had a scrap

and he ran home

because he was soft

and I...

Where are you now, John?

Yeah, anyway.

He ran home.

I chased him up to the point

where he ran into his driveway

and his urgent running

all of a sudden

turned into a bit of a slow swagger.

Because his dad was in the porch

all of a sudden

cool as you like

of course he was

he knew that he was now safe

under his father's care.

He knew that his father could see

and his father would make sure

he was okay.

And that's the way it is

for the Christian believer

in the context of the world's hatred.

They can chase us

they can knock us around

but our father in heaven sees

and he cares

and he protects us.

And even when

that protection

doesn't always keep us from pain

it will only be pain

that he allows.

And he will ultimately turn

any harm that they do

around for our good

and we will be vindicated

in the end.

Your opponents do not have

a heavenly father

but you do.

And you're safe

under his fatherly care.

Then the second expression

of God's help

is the promise of the Spirit.

Verse 26.

Here we have the Spirit's help.

The world will hate you.

Verse 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

and you also will bear witness

because you have been with me

from the beginning.

Jesus will help the disciples

but not at arm's length

but by sending the Helper

the Holy Spirit

from the Father

who will himself

bear witness about Christ

and strengthen the disciples

to do the same.

Now the way the language works here

in this verse

is important

and if we understand it properly

the encouragement

that these verses provide

is deep as deep can be.

So the sending of the Spirit

you see it lies in the future.

Jesus says

he will send him.

And this happened in history

at the day of Pentecost

when the Spirit was given

to the disciples.

And as they bore witness to Christ

in the preaching of the Gospel

the Spirit opened

the eyes of 3,000 people.

The church was born.

The missionary endeavor

across the world began.

And people were one to Christ.

But notice also

that Jesus says

the Spirit proceeds

from the Father.

He proceeds from the Father

in the present.

That is happening

in the present.

This is referring to

the eternal and ongoing

procession of the Spirit

from the Father.

What Jesus is doing here

is amazing.

He is taking us

behind the curtain

as it were

to glimpse the mystery

of God the Holy Trinity.

and telling these disciples

that through the Lord Jesus

they have been brought

to know the Father

in whom the Son dwells

and the Father

and the Son, remember,

and from whom

the Spirit

eternally proceeds.

That's the care

that they've been brought into.

The doctrine of the Trinity

is seen by some

as a sort of

speculative doctrine.

It's not very practical.

It's only for the theologians.

We want something

more relevant,

we're told.

But that simply

cannot be the case

when we read these verses,

can it?

The Lord Jesus

clearly believes

that in order to prepare

these disciples

for their darkest hour,

the world is going to hate you.

What do you need to know?

They need to grasp

the fundamental reality

of who God is.

When the Helper

who was with Jesus

in the beginning,

who eternally proceeds

from the Father,

when He comes,

He will resource

the disciples

with the power

of heaven,

and He will anchor them

to God the Holy Trinity.

No enemy force

is better resourced

than the church.

Before the God

of all eternity,

every,

every enemy

fades away.

This is encouraging

for us

as we face

the hostility

of the world.

We have the same

divine helper,

the indwelling Spirit

at work in us,

and He enables us

to go on

bearing witness

to the Lord Jesus

in our lives.

Wherever you are,

wherever the Lord

has placed you

in your day to day,

you have all of the power

of the indwelling Spirit

at work in you

to enable you

to bear witness to Christ,

to be faithful

to Christ

where you are.

Of course,

it's also worth saying

that we are

the beneficiaries

of the fulfillment

of this promise

in the life

of these men.

the promise

to these men.

They were emboldened

by these words

that Jesus spoke,

and the early church

testifies to their witness

in the world

as the gospel

is preached

to all nations,

and the church

begins to grow.

And,

in addition to that,

this group

were also enabled

by the Spirit

to provide the church

in every age

through their witness

to Christ

in the writing

of the New Testament.

We have a New Testament

because the helper

came and helped

this group

bear witness.

In the New Testament,

we have the joint witness

of these apostles

and the Holy Spirit.

And because they were

both with Christ

from the beginning,

verse 27,

the beginning of His earthly

ministry in the case

of the apostles,

and the beginning

of His life

in the case

of the Holy Spirit,

we can trust

their words.

The Father's care,

the Spirit's help,

and then finally,

more briefly,

we're also helped

by Christ's message.

The message

that He's given us here,

16, verse 4,

have a look,

but I have said

these things to you

that when there are comes,

you may remember

that I told them to you.

The very fact

of this instruction

from Jesus

is help in itself

because it means

that we aren't surprised

by anything

that lies ahead.

I said this at the start,

when we know

what's coming,

we can prepare.

When we know

the way the enemy operates,

we can set ourselves up

in order

to give us

the best possible chance.

I don't know

what form the hatred

will take.

I don't know exactly

where the opposition

will come from,

but it will come,

and I'm expecting it.

forewarned is forearmed.

When the storms gather,

when relationships break down,

when hostility

from the HR department

and work gets

kind of steamed up,

you get cancelled,

whether young people

being bullied in school

because you're a Christian,

or there's division

in the church,

or whatever the opposition

might look like.

when this happens,

we're not surprised.

We're not thinking

that something

has gone wrong.

We're not thinking

necessarily that

we've done something wrong.

It won't be nice,

but we don't panic.

We just think,

ah, okay,

this is how it's

going to go then.

And we remind ourselves

that this is ultimately

about the Lord

and that He can take

the hatred.

He can handle that.

We remind ourselves

that we are safe

in the grip

of our Father's care.

We remind ourselves

that we have the Spirit

who helps us

in the time of need.

What a wonderful help.

Let's pray together.