John 15:18-27 Of Love and Hate Two extreme contrasting words LOVE & HATE What is the CAUSE or BASIS of either? What brings YOU to love or hate? What causes OTHERS to love or hate you? Jesus addresses the origins and foundation for each in today s text. READ John 15:18-27 PRAY REVIEW: Don t forget that an ongoing theme in the upper room discourse has been love & obedience A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13:34, NKJV. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35, NKJV. If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:15, NKJV. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. John 14:21, NKJV. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father s commandments and abide in His love. John 15:10, NKJV. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12, NKJV. LOVE - 8X in upper room / 7 X in this chapter. Page 1 of 6
Suddenly Jesus speaks of HATE V:18 WHY would the world hate US? WHY would it hate JESUS? Cp. John 7:6-7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. John 7:7, NKJV. EXPLAIN Now that the apostles training is finished and they are about to carry on Jesus message and work THEY WILL BE HATED... They will be hated because a key part of the Gospel message is that we are all GUILTY of sin! for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23, NKJV. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23, NKJV. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-- Romans 5:12, NKJV. (LEAVE UP) PEOPLE HATE THAT!... I m NOT a sinner! You will never come to the Savior unless you acknowledge that you are a sinner! YOU MUST KNOW YOUR NEED The Gospel message ISN T God loves you Page 2 of 6
It s, You are a sinner headed for judgment, but God loves you and wants to save you from your sin For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23, NKJV. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV. (EXPLAIN) if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. Romans 10:9-13, NKJV. So please, call upon Him! V:19 I chose you out of the world? Do you understand that if you are saved God has called you out to live separate from the world? Separate Holy = SET APART (EXPLAIN) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17, NKJV. IF the world loves you, you are in trouble IF you love the world you are in trouble Page 3 of 6
You adulterers! Don t you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can t be a friend of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful? James 4:4, 5, NLT. (Because of 1John 2:15-17 ) V:19-20 Context The Apostles first Disciples must be like their master in every respect, both in showing love & obedience and in experiencing the antagonism of those who oppose their message If the darkness is opposed to the light (1:5), and if Jesus followers are bearers of that light in the world (1 John 1:7), they should expect the world to hate them in the way it hated Jesus (John 17:14). Jesus disciples must share his separation FROM and CONFLICT WITH the world. V:21-22 John 15:22 (NET) If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But they no longer have any excuse for their sin. Jesus now describes the guilt of the world. He came to these people with both words and sign-miracles, yet they remained obstinate in their unbelief, and this sin of unbelief was without excuse. Page 4 of 6
NET notes: Jesus was not saying that if he had not come and spoken to these people they would be sinless; rather he was saying that if he had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of the sin of rejecting him and the Father he came to reveal. Rejecting Jesus is the one ultimate sin for which there can be no forgiveness, because the one who has committed this sin has at the same time rejected the only cure that exists. Jesus spoke similarly to the Pharisees in 9:41: "If you were blind, you would have no sin (same phrase as here), but now you say 'We see' your sin remains." V:23 You cannot separate the intimate link between the Father and the Son You cannot love one and not the other You cannot believe in one and not the other For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. John 5:22, 23, NKJV. You cannot claim to love God the Father while rejecting The Son He who has seen Me has seen the Father John 14:9 V:24-25 ESVSB Jesus declares that the Jews 'hatred of him fulfills OT Scripture, Ps. 69:4. This Davidic psalm depicts the figure of a righteous sufferer who is zealous for God but is persecuted by God's enemies for no good reason. Thus Jesus found a precedent for his enemies' hatred toward him in the antagonism encountered by David. Without a cause reminds believers that hatred and persecution against Jesus and his Page 5 of 6
followers is often not because of any wrong that they have done but simply because of irrational evil in the hearts of the persecutors V:26-27 A clear description of the role of the Holy Spirit as well as the job description of the Apostles & every Christian worker V:26b To TESTIFY OF ME (JESUS) V:27 To BEAR WITNESS OF JESUS! IT S ALL ABOUT JESUS! We will learn in chapter 16 how the Holy Spirit will work and direct people to Jesus And when he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world s sin is unbelief in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. John 16:8-10, NLT.?Have you come to the realization of your need for Jesus? (PRAY - CONFESSION OF FAITH) Now go, be a witness for Jesus in the world END Page 6 of 6