John 15:18-16:4
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 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. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[a] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 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. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 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. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’[b
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
16 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you,
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- We often think, either consciously or unconsciously, that if we love people and do good, we should be rewarded and we should be loved in return. While ideally, that would be the case, frequently it is not. This passage seeks to prepare us for that sad eventuality (vs. 18-21, 26; Jn 16:2; Jn 17:14).
- React to the following:
- “The depth of our love is not when we love those who love us. It is not seen when we love the lovable. The depth of our love is seen when we love the unlovable, when we love the vile and detestable. The depth of our love is not seen when we love people at their best, but at their worst. The depth of our love is seen when we love those who despise and hate us, when we love our enemy.” -Bill Cullen
- “The will of God, to which the law gives expression, is that men should defeat their enemies by loving them.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- “Christian love draws no distinction between one enemy and another, except that the more bitter our enemy’s hatred, the greater his need of love. Be his enmity, political or religious, he has nothing to expect from a follower of Jesus but unqualified love.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- “No sacrifice which a lover would make for his beloved is too great for us to make for our enemy.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- “What does this mean?” (Martin Luther)
- Luke 6:27-33
- Romans 5:7-8
- Romans 12:17 and 21
- 1 John 3:16
- 1 John 4:10
- What is suggested by v. 22? For what are we/people accountable (see John 9:41; Romans 1:18-23, Romans 2:12-15)?
Prayer
Jesus, there is a saying “to be forewarned is to be forearmed.” Satan likes to strike when our guard is down. Scripture does a lot of forewarning so that we might be forearmed. We are encouraged to be alert as Satan roams around looking for people to devour. Help me heed Your warnings today so Satan does not devour me, so that I might be able to be in the world as one of Your ambassadors of love without becoming of the world.
Greek Words of the Day
English Word: world | Transliterated Word: Kosmos
Orderly arrangement, decoration, the world, including its inhabitant, adorn, + real existence
English Word: falling away | Transliterated Word: skandalizo (skan-dal-id-zo)
To entrap, trip up, stumble, to sin apostasy, displeasure,
From skandoalon (a trap), to be a stumbling block for someone, cause offense
Causative, to cause to offend, to be led astray or into sin, fall away from the truth
Family Engagement Activity
Today, find a way to love someone that you don’t like, and invite your family to join you. Talk about how hard it is to love all people, especially those who hurt you. Come up with ways you can love the unlovable the way Christ does. How can you bless someone who bullies, persecutes, or hurts your feelings? Going back to the hole-y cup model, clog the lowest hole today.
AND
Play Red Light, Green Light and talk about what makes you stumble. If you were going too fast, did you get caught more often?
Going Activities To Consider
Today, find a way to love someone that you don’t like, and invite your family to join you. Talk about how hard it is to love all people, especially those who hurt you. Come up with ways you can love the unlovable the way Christ does. How can you bless someone who bullies, persecutes, or hurts your feelings? Going back to the hole-y cup model, clog the lowest hole today.