#24 – Knowing God Better – John 15 (continued)

I like people who simply state what’s true. It sometimes takes courage to tell the truth, to not sugar-coat it. Especially tough when its the last thing the person wants to hear, but needs to.

We’re going to see Jesus tell the disciples some really tough news. Jesus is about to go the cross soon. And his message to them is this: you’re going to suffer too.

See, you’re not sure YOU even want to read this. We hate suffering!

But Jesus wants them to be prepared. He doesn’t want them surprised by this. And, he tells them some good news in the midst of it. So here goes…

These are Jesus’ disciples, whom he chose, and they indeed left everything and followed Jesus. So now Jesus is preparing them for his departure. John 15:

18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.
19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you….Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.

Q – The disciples are obviously going to stay in the world a while. They’re not going to die soon. So what did Jesus mean by “I chose you to come out of the world”?
A –

The world, the Jews and the Romans will hate them and persecute them because their lives have been changed by Jesus, and they’re going to talk about it! If they kept silent. If they went back to fishing, or collecting taxes, or whatever their occupation, they probably would be fine. But Jesus chose them to live differently.

To live for him.

He knew they will spend the rest of their lives telling others that Jesus is the Christ. And, because of Jesus’ life in them, they would display a character that would be different from others.

Q – How about you? What do you do when our culture goes a certain way, and you choose another way because of your relationship with Jesus? Can you give one example where that’s happened in your life?
A –

Jesus tells them that the world’s hatred for Jesus is not rational. It’s without cause. And the world’s treatment of the disciples will be the same. They will suffer for the same reason – some people choose to reject God.

21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the One who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.

24 If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’

So Jesus is telling them, be prepared, they’re going to hate you too, and it will also be unfair. Without justification.

In John 16, Jesus gets very specific:

2 For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. 3 This is because they have never known the Father or me.

So Jesus is giving them the truth so they will stay strong, and understand why this is happening.

We’ll end with these last statements in John 15…the good news.

Jesus is not leaving them to fend for themselves. They will not be telling the world about Jesus on their own. Whew.

Jesus tells them again that he will send them the Holy Spirit:

26 “But I will send you the Advocate–the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.
27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

This week, ask God to give you an opportunity to testify about Jesus. Remember the vine & branches? Ask Jesus to convey his love through you.

And tell them something about Jesus that might be helpful for them to know.

If you get asked a question you don’t know how to answer, tell the person to go to: www.EveryStudent.com. That’s not cheating. That’s serving a person well, in helping them consider reasons to believe in Jesus.

Maybe email them a link to an article.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. He will. More on the Holy Spirit in our next email.

A verse I like: “And I pray that the sharing of your faith may promote the knowledge of all the good that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Philemon verse 6, RSV)

Sincerely,

Marilyn Adamson
director of EveryStudent.com
and StartingwithGod.com