How to be Hated: Reasons & Response
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Jeffrey Heine:We're gonna be in John 15 this morning. Continuing on, last week we looked at Jesus, the true vine, in whom we are called to abide. And abiding looks like obeying, obeying his word, obeying his commands, living in his love. And that promise of of a community of love that Jesus has for us within the father, son, and holy spirit, and within the church. And after that call to abide, Jesus says these words beginning in verse 18.
Jeffrey Heine:John chapter 15 beginning in verse 18. And let us listen carefully for this is God's word. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you are of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, But I chose you out of the world.
Jeffrey Heine:Therefore, the world hates you. 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.
Jeffrey Heine: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. 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.
Jeffrey Heine:But the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled. They hated me without cause. 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. The word of the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:Let's pray. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would help us in this time, that you would be the spirit of truth as Jesus said you are, and you would lead us to truth, not to error, not to fairy tales or false hopes, but that you would lead us to truth, real comfort in real days of struggle, and that you would help us to abide in Christ, to obey his commands, and to remain with you, our God, forever. So speak, lord. Your servants are listening. Amen.
Jeffrey Heine:So hate hate is, not only acceptable in our culture, it's it's really encouraged. Right? Even in our secular and pluralistic society, hate is put forth kind of as a virtue. Right? It's it's something that that you have to do to survive in our cultural existence.
Jeffrey Heine:And and we're told by the media, by the government, by by culture to tolerate and to accept and to permit all sorts of things, even things that are evil. And then we are told to disparage and and and disdain and and even hate certain things, all sorts of things, even things that are good. And then Christian caricatures are paraded around in our popular culture as, you know, those easy targets representing foolishness and backwards thinking. Those people that still believe in those archaic fairy tales about a man in the sky. And so in our culture, the the priority is about hating the right thing, the culturally appropriate thing to hate.
Jeffrey Heine:And this can be exhausting to try and keep up with. Of course, the easiest examples of this are found in our arts and entertainment world. People are celebrated and then ridiculed so fast that if you don't keep up with the tweets and the posts or the TV shows, you might find yourself still, still celebrating a celebrity that you're supposed to make fun of and ridicule. Like right now, I'm still not even sure if I'm supposed to like cold play. I don't know.
Jeffrey Heine:After the Super Bowl, I'm not sure, but I'm waiting for somebody tell me if I'm supposed to love something or if I'm supposed to hate something. And hate is so pervasive in our culture. One researcher said that in Google, 1600 searches a month are made for I hate my boss. It's not even a question. Like, it's not they're not googling to to they're just just how they feel.
Jeffrey Heine:They're just typing it in. And I guess finding other people who feel the same way. But we we we do this. We spend time and attention watching TV shows. We don't like starring people.
Jeffrey Heine:We don't like, we hate watch TV shows, award shows, political debates, those are easier to hate watch. We're not going to get into that today. But in our culture, Did you love or hate that record? Did you love or hate that meal? Did you love or hate that movie?
Jeffrey Heine:You have to make an assessment. You have to cast your ballot. Do you love it or do you hate it? And we hate by association. We hate by generation, ethnicity, race, economic, status.
Jeffrey Heine:We hate and we call it preference. We don't think, we just hate. Do you love it or do you hate it? And so often, it becomes our default response to things that we don't know or don't understand. We'll just hate it first and see if we can eventually love it.
Jeffrey Heine:It's so acceptable and so a part of our culture today to hate. This past week, I took my daughters to the dentist. And later on that day, there's this girl talking to my oldest, June, 5 years old. And the other girl was a teenager. She said after she found out that June had been to the dentist, she said, oh, I hate the dentist.
Jeffrey Heine:And I saw June's eyes get big like, what did he do? Like, should we hate this person? Like, no, like what? But but our our default is to hate. We don't like it.
Jeffrey Heine:We hate it. We hate these things we don't already love. And so soon, our starting point becomes hate. But what about real hatred? Not just I I hated the new Batman versus Superman or I hate cargo shorts.
Jeffrey Heine:Like, what about real what about real hatred? In the new testament, the word hate appears most often in John's gospel. And all these times, it's used by Jesus. Jesus is the one talking about hate. In John 15, after reminding his disciples that they have to love one another if they're going to abide and remain in him.
Jeffrey Heine:And in doing that, that's that's fulfilling his command, to love one another. He warns them about hate. The reality, the life of the disciple is to be one marked with both love and hate. Hatred from the world is supposed to be an anticipated reality just as much as love is to be an anticipated reality within the church. The reality of love and hate.
Jeffrey Heine:And I know that this is not a hypothetical for so many of you. One of the privileges of being a pastor here at Redeemer is that I know many of your stories. I know many of your stories where you have lost relationships with parents, with siblings, with children, with spouses, with dear friends, specifically because you are a follower of Jesus. I've heard the stories of so many of you who have lost family and friends, who have distanced themselves from you, who have ridiculed you, have even cut off all contact with you because you are following Jesus. And for some of you, maybe that hasn't happened to you, maybe not yet.
Jeffrey Heine:But to prepare his disciples for this reality of both love in the church and hatred in the world, Jesus wants to tell them why they're going to be hated. He explains these three reasons why hatred is coming and what they must do to face that hatred. And I think it it can be helpful to look at this passage as having 4 parts, three reasons for hatred, and then one response to that hatred. The way that Jesus or John is presenting Jesus' words here in chapter 15 is very unique. There's a lot happening in the language here in chapter 15.
Jeffrey Heine:And I I won't bore you, with with talking about subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, although I could. I could bore you to tears talking about it. But I wanna make sure that you get to Red Lobster before the baptist and the presbyterians get there. So we're gonna keep moving. In this section, Jesus is making if statements, if statements, and then however statements, but or however statements, if this, if this, but this.
Jeffrey Heine:And he does this pattern 3 different times throughout this passage. If this, if this, however, this. And so we'll take time to look at these sections, these reasons for why we are hated, And then we will look at that response. So first, the first section, verses 18 through 19, if we can follow along here. Jesus says these words, if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
Jeffrey Heine:If you are of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, Therefore, the world hates you. You see here, Jesus says, if we face hatred, we need to remember that the world hated him first. We need to remember that that if we are of the world, then we will be loved by the world. But if we're not of the world, if we're not of the world, and the reason that we're not of the world is because Jesus has called us out of the world, then we're going to be hated.
Jeffrey Heine:That's why the world hates you. The world hates you because you are not of the world. What does that mean? What does it mean to to not be of the world? Jesus didn't Jesus say earlier in in John 316 that for God so loved the world that that's why he is in the world to to to ransom and redeem?
Jeffrey Heine:And so if the father loves the world, and or why why are we not of the world? What's so bad about the world? There's an important distinction for us to make here so as to understand why we would be hated by the world. To be of the world means to go along with the worldview of the world, to to be a part of the systems that are against Christ and his kingdom. Being of the world means that the world tells you who you are.
Jeffrey Heine:It tells you about your identity, what you're worth, what your value is, what your purpose is. And your purpose and your identity do not come from the world. You've been called out of that. And Christ and his kingdom, he tells you your worth and your value and your purpose. And this, this will cause the world to hate you.
Jeffrey Heine:You were called out of the world, out of the strong current of the culture of hatred and rebellion against God. You've been called out of that. God's compassion upon the world does not mean that He approves of all these systems, systems of prejudice and violence and anger, selfishness and sin, which are so pervasive. No. We are called out to oppose those things as God opposes those things.
Jeffrey Heine:In, not of. Right? It's a catchy phrase, but what does it look like? Very soon, in John 17, the same night Jesus is talking to his disciples here in John 15, Jesus is going to pray to the father concerning his disciples, and he's gonna say these these words. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world.
Jeffrey Heine:I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world. Just as I am not of the world, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
Jeffrey Heine:See, Jesus did not pray for a rescue mission to recover the disciples out of the world and scoop them up into heaven. No. He prays for protection from evil. He prays that they would be in the truth of God, the sanctifying truth of God that would set them apart, the truth of God, because his word is true. And then he says, just as I have been sent by you, Father, into the world, I have sent them.
Jeffrey Heine:That's what it means to be in the world and not of the world. It means to be sent into the world. It's a mission to be sent rather than us trying to just hide ourselves and not cause any trouble, not interact, but to isolate, to insulate, to not have to deal with the hatred and the pain that comes from that. Rather, that we would engage, that we would be sent on mission into the world to love in the midst of hatred. The world will hate this because you are not of the world.
Jeffrey Heine:You were chosen out of the world. That's why you're hated. The second section, verses 20 through 21. Remember the word I said to you. A servant is not greater than his master.
Jeffrey Heine: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. So the first reason was that we are not of this world. The second one, the world hates you because of the name of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:On account of the name of Jesus, the disciples will be hated. Jesus says that his disciples should not expect an easier road than he had. He reminds him of that image, that a servant is not greater than the master. And so if the master suffers, why should the servant expect anything better? Why should the servant expect anything easier?
Jeffrey Heine:And then he says this, but all these things they will do on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. Jesus, you know, promised his disciples and he taught his disciples, and it's recorded for us in Matthew and in Luke, that Jesus said this, blessed are you when people hate you and when they persecute you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on the account of the son of man. See, Jesus says that there is blessing when a disciple is hated on account of Jesus. The disciples needed to be prepared by Jesus for this hatred because this hatred came swiftly. We read early on in the book of acts that there arose a great persecution in that day in Jerusalem.
Jeffrey Heine:And that in in verse 3 of chapter 8, that this man named Saul was ravaging the church. He was entering house after house and arrest arresting men and women, dragging them off to prison. Some would be beaten, some would be killed. And in acts chapter 9, at the beginning, we see that Saul is breathing hatred. Like his very breath, breathing out everything that came out of him was threats.
Jeffrey Heine:Everything that came out of him was murder against Christians. And then in verse 4 of chapter 9, we see that this this severe hatred that Saul had against the Christians was confronted by Jesus himself. The risen Jesus confronts Saul, and this is what he says to him. Why are you persecuting me? And Saul says, who are you, Lord?
Jeffrey Heine:And he responds, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Think about that. Jesus demonstrates that the the suffering that the men and women are going through, the the stoning of Stephen, the prison, the arrests, the threats, the murder, it's a persecution of him. Not just solidarity. No, he's he's not just like, oh, these are these are some of my friends.
Jeffrey Heine:It's not solidarity. This is in full reality, in full unity directly. Jesus says that Saul's persecution of the Christians is a persecution of Jesus himself. That's what it means on account of. That we are so unified with Jesus, so unified with Jesus that we would suffer on the basis of his name and he would suffer in our suffering.
Jeffrey Heine:Do you see that? That we are so unified and united with Christ because of the work of the Holy Spirit, that we would suffer on the basis of Jesus, and Jesus would suffer in our suffering. Jesus tells his disciples that they are not above their master, that they will be treated harshly, and to remember that they are being persecuted based on his name. And he says that these people who are doing this, they don't know the Father. They might say that they know the father, but they don't know the father.
Jeffrey Heine:They don't listen to his words. Suffering on the basis of Jesus's identity is, that's what persecution is, suffering based on the identity of Jesus, who he is and what he has done. It's important for us to remember, especially when we look at the apostle Paul, that we too were enemies of God. We read that in our confession this morning in Romans chapter 5, that we too were enemies with God. We stood opposed to Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:And Jesus in his grace and kindness called us out of that hatred and into his love. And again, the stories that fill up this room, many of you hated the followers of Jesus before you became one. Many of you ridiculed and maligned and and drugged people's name through the mud because they followed Jesus until you yourself, just like Saul, came face to face with this living Lord, and you realize that all that hatred, all that slander was against him, we will be hated on account of the name of Jesus because hating Jesus is manifested in the hating of his disciples. So we are not of this world. We suffer on the account of his name being being unified with Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:And then the 3rd section, 22 through 25. 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. 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.
Jeffrey Heine:But the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled. They hated me without cause. The third reason, the world hates us. The world hates you because they reject Jesus. If Jesus had not come and spoken to these people and shown them these signs, the signs that no one else had done, signs regarding his true identity as the one who has been sent by the father, they would not be guilty of the sin of seeing and hating.
Jeffrey Heine:So this isn't talking about they would be guiltless or that they they wouldn't have any sin whatsoever. He's talking about this particular sin, the sin of seeing and hating Jesus. But Jesus came and and declared to them who he was and who sent him, where his message came from, from the Father. And they hated him. And in hating Jesus, they hated the Father.
Jeffrey Heine:In rejecting Jesus, they were rejecting Yahweh, whom they said that they were following. They saw and they hated. And this outright rejection of God can be one of the most painful things that we face as Christians. Again, to the stories that fill up this room. Yes, we can we can face rudeness, we can face a changing culture, changing laws, we can face various forms of unfriendliness, but what is often the most painful is when we share the good news of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:When we step out on that mission and we proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus, we proclaim the gospel that those who are far off can be brought near by the blood of the one who loves them and laid his life down, and took it back up, defeating death and sin. When we speak those words of Christ and his kingdom, and they are rejected, that hurts. And I know some of you have faced that, some of you time and time again. In those deep relationships of family and friends, coworkers whom you've prayed for for years. And that rejection, not simply of you, but of God, it hurts.
Jeffrey Heine:We are hated because we are not of this world. We are hated because of our union with Jesus, suffering on the account of His name, and we are hated because the world rejects Jesus as King. So what do we do? How do we respond to these reasons for hatred? Look with me at verse 26.
Jeffrey Heine: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 says 2 things here. There are 2 responses to this hatred. The first one, when you feel that hatred, when you know that hatred because you are not of the world, because you are in union with Christ, and because the world has rejected Jesus as King, when you when you come in contact with that hatred, the spirit of truth, the advocate, the helper, the comforter, he will bear witness to you about who Jesus is.
Jeffrey Heine:Think about that. When the hatred comes to your doorstep, the pain and the anguish of persecution, relational pain, physical pain, because we're not just talking about what's happening to the people in this room, to Christians around the world. Because we have this broad view of suffering for the sake of Jesus' name. What is our comfort? That the holy spirit in you would declare and bear witness to you about the goodness of Jesus, that you would grow in a confidence of who he is and what he has promised to do.
Jeffrey Heine:He bears witness to us. The the apostles, they needed this. They they they needed this and they saw it, play out in real time. And in acts, chapters 14, we read this, but you will receive power when the holy spirit comes on you and you will be my witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And they all joined together constantly in prayer.
Jeffrey Heine:And after they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. That's the playing out of this witness that the spirit would bear witness to us. And then that second part that the followers of Jesus would bear witness to. The Spirit bears witness and empowers us to bear witness in the face of hatred. Spirit tells us that we are a child of God.
Jeffrey Heine:In 1st John, chapter 3, we read this. And this is the commandment that we believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ and love one another. So that's the first part of 15, right? John's kind of recapping what's happening in 15 later in his epistle. He says, and this is my commandment, that that we believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.
Jeffrey Heine:Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him. And by this, we know that he abides in us, by the spirit whom he has given us. That's like a recap in just a few sentences of all of chapter 15, that we would fulfill this command to love one another. And in doing that, we would be abiding. And then the proof of that abiding is the spirit bearing witness to us that we are in Christ and that Christ is in us.
Jeffrey Heine:The spirit empowers us to carry out this sentness, this mission where Jesus is praying in John 17 that we would be sent into the world just as he was sent into the world to bear witness about him. That's how we respond to hatred. Now, the disciples, as I said, needed this teaching. They needed to be reminded that they must abide in Christ by fulfilling this commandment to love and to fortify themselves against this coming hatred. They needed this teaching because tremendous hatred was soon to be directed right at them.
Jeffrey Heine:Severe persecution took place for the next 300 years. And each of the men that were listening in this time, listening to Jesus, the the night of his betrayal, each of these men would go on to suffer greatly. Peter, Andrew, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, Philip, all crucified themselves. Thomas took the gospel east of Syria, perhaps as far as India, where he was pierced with spears. Matthew was stabbed in Ethiopia.
Jeffrey Heine:Bartholomew went to southern Arabia and was beaten and drowned. James, the son of Alphaeus, went to Syria and was stoned and then clubbed to death. Matthias went to Syria and was burned to death. John was exiled to Patmos. They all faced the hatred that Jesus was talking about.
Jeffrey Heine:And the comfort that they took with them was that the spirit would bear witness to them. The spirit would preach to them and remind them, bear witness to them about who Jesus is and what he promised to do. And they, in turn, were emboldened to bear witness to the hating world. They needed that teaching, and so do we. And we've had different problems in the kind of American Christian culture when it comes to hatred from the world.
Jeffrey Heine:Too often, we have called inconveniences persecution. But also, we have too often failed to recognize real sacrifice and the real cost of following Jesus day to day in the South. The real sacrifices needed to be obedient and to bear witness. You see, neglecting to acknowledge real sacrifice is just as foolish as calling every inconvenience we face persecution. Hatred from the world that is not connected to our union with Jesus, his name and his works, is probably due to us not living out passages like 1 Timothy 2:2, which says this, we are called to lead peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way.
Jeffrey Heine:Or we're neglecting the call for the followers of Jesus to bless those who persecute us, to bless and not curse, to live in harmony with one another, to not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, to never be wise in our own sight, to repay no evil with evil, but to give and to do what is honorable in the sight of all and as far as it's possible for us to live peaceably with everyone. See, being hated for being a jerk or a bad neighbor or a shady business person, being reckless with people in dating, being unfriendly to your roommate, an insulate boss, an unreliable coworker, or even worse exhibiting any form of prejudice, being hated for those things, that's not persecution. That's our sin. And we have to own up to that. We can't call every time the name Christian is dragged through the mud in the media or in our community that that's necessarily persecution.
Jeffrey Heine:It could be us being sinful. And so when we are hated, we need to look for that line between us and our union with Jesus, not our bad attitudes, not our sin. Jesus' words in John 15 are not an excuse for a Christian to be foolish or sinful. The words of John 15 are that that the one who has come and rescued us out of foolishness and rescued us out of sinfulness, that we will be hated on his account. And because of that, we should not be surprised when hatred comes to us.
Jeffrey Heine:Persecution is suffering being hated because of Jesus, and there's enough of that out in the world for us to face. To truly bear witness. I know for some of you, this these things that talking about these things might be pushing you to a place where you say, well, I don't feel like I really experience that kind of hatred. I don't feel like I really experience those kinds of things. And so so rather than trying to guilt you into something, I I I want us to to turn the lights on in the dark parts of our lives and say, how are you bearing witness?
Jeffrey Heine:Where is your witness now? Not in the glory days, not from the mission field if you're back, but the mission field of here, the mission field of just where you are. What does your witness look like here? And to think, to think about those places where, or maybe we're afraid to be hated. Peter was concerned about that, and he wrote a church about that.
Jeffrey Heine:He said he said this in 1 Peter 3. But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them. Don't be troubled. But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy.
Jeffrey Heine:Always being prepared to make a defense, to bear witness to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. And listen to this. And do it with gentleness and respect. Have a good conscience so that when you are slandered, when those who revile you, your behavior in Christ Jesus will put them to shame. For it is better, it's better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will than for doing evil.
Jeffrey Heine:He says don't be afraid of the hatred. Don't be afraid of the persecution. Don't don't let it trouble you. But when it comes, bear witness. Be ready.
Jeffrey Heine:Bear witness, and do it with gentleness. And do it with respect. Hear the other person out and respond with love. We don't have to fear persecution. We don't have to fear hatred.
Jeffrey Heine:Peter would face severe hatred himself, and he's reminding his brothers and sisters, he's reminding you that in your hearts, in the deepest parts of who you are, that you would honor Jesus and be prepared to bear witness to anyone who asks. So how do we bear witness? It's it's in that gentleness. It's in that faith. It's in that hope.
Jeffrey Heine:It's in not having to win every argument. It's being willing to suffer wrong. It's in all of those opportunities that we would bear witness that Jesus is King and His kingdom is coming. And and and we don't have to win every argument. We don't have to get every promotion.
Jeffrey Heine:We don't have to stab people in the back to get ahead. We don't have to push people down so we can get further. We can stop and be with the lowly and make ourselves low. We don't have to seem smart to everyone. We don't have to impress everyone.
Jeffrey Heine:We don't have to buy everything. But rather, we can bear witness that He is enough. Jesus promises love in the church and acknowledges the reality of hatred in the world. And in a matter of minutes after Jesus has said these things to his disciples, he will say this, I have said these things to you that in me, you may have peace. In the world, you will have trouble.
Jeffrey Heine:You will have persecution. You will have hatred. But in me, you will have peace. So don't fear. Don't worry.
Jeffrey Heine:Take heart. I've overcome the world. Let's go to him in prayer. God, with sober hearts and minds, help us to take heart. That that Jesus has overcome a world of hatred that we might have peace in him and love with you forever.
Jeffrey Heine:Help us to live boldly with gentleness and respect. Help us to be honorable in the sight of all so we might bear witness. Spirit, I ask that for for many that are in this room right now that are that feel weak in the face of this mission, that feel wounded in the face of hatred, spirit, I pray that you would bear witness to them even in this moment, the truth of the gospel, the certainty of our king. Spirit cast out all fear because fear has to do with punishment. And we stand before you, Lord, knowing that Jesus has taken all all of our shame, all of our punishment, all of our fear that we are due.
Jeffrey Heine:So help us, Lord. Bear witness to us that we might bear witness to a world that hates. And help us, Lord, to love one another, that this would be a place, that this would be a people, that this would be a household of faith where there is love, a place of rest for the weary who are bearing witness in a hateful world. Help us to love, to love deeply and well, and to live in the peace you have for us. We pray these things in and for the name of Christ here and around the world.
Jeffrey Heine:Amen.
