Daily Devotions
John
John 15:18-27 "LESSONS JESUS TAUGHT"
Day 223 – John 15
LESSONS JESUS TAUGHT
Jesus had much to say to His Disciples. The hour was late. Soon, there would be no more time to teach them anything. Much of what He had to say to them, He had already taught them. Either in His teachings given to the multitudes, or in His debates with the Jews, or in private sessions with His Disciples, Jesus had already taught His Disciples deep and important spiritual truths.
This late hour saw Jesus reviewing vital lessons that He had taught. But as may be expected, with each lesson, He seemed to teach new lessons. There were fresh insights. Deeper implications were highlighted. Impact upon impact was made on the Disciples, even though the lessons were ones that had been taught before! What a wonderful Master-Teacher Jesus was!
YET ANOTHER TOPIC: THE HATRED OF THE WORLD
Jesus had covered many deep subjects already, but there was still some time left. He wanted to cover as much ground as possible. Each word had cleansing power. Each word would cleanse His Disciples further. Each word also had power to strengthen their faith. Thus Jesus sought to steep His Disciples in the Word of God, truth upon enlightening truth!
The next lesson He taught His Disciples was truly troubling to the soul. On the one hand He taught His Disciples much about how they should abide in His love. On the other hand, they must also learn that the world would hate them intensely. Let us ponder over these words Jesus spoke to His Disciples.
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me
before it hated you.”
John 15:18
What solemn words these were! What a contrast Jesus offered between the love that He had given to His Disciples, and the kind of hatred that the world would hurl against them. It was a sobering and disquieting truth, but it must nevertheless be brought to the surface. It wouldn’t do to be caught unprepared.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT JESUS MEANT BY “THE WORLD”
What did Jesus mean when He spoke of “the world”? Definitions are of critical importance when such important topics are brought up for careful study.
1. NOT THE NATURAL PHYSICAL WORLD
Jesus did not mean the physical world created by God. The physical world could be a beautiful world, if man did not hurt it! The creation that the Disciples saw around them bore testimony of a great and wonderful God. The Psalmist was right to speak of the heavens declaring the glory of God (Psalm 19:1-6).
2. THE WORLD OF SINFUL MAN
Jesus was making a reference to the world of sinful man. John the author made reference to the world and its unthinkable rejection of Jesus.
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him,
and the world did not know Him .
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”
John 1:10-11
The Disciples must know that when Jesus spoke of the world, He included the Jews! They were part of the world that had rejected Him. Not content with rejection, they poured forth a deep sense of hatred for Him!
3. A WORLD TAINTED BADLY BY SIN
It was a sinful world that Jesus entered into. He knew that right at the start, He had come to redeem the world from being in bondage to sin. The grip of the evil tyrant called “Sin” was throttling the life out of mankind!
4. A WORLD HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY SATAN
The world was under the control of Satan. So subtle was his hold on mankind that it did not even sense his infernal presence. Only the enlightened and the discerning knew of his existence and the extent to which he influenced the world. One such person was the Apostle Paul who in his letter to the Ephesians Church wrote about the influence that the Evil One had over the world.
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
in which you once walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
who now works in the sons of disobedience…”
Ephesians 2:1-2
A WORD OF WARNING CONCERNING “THE WORLD”
Why was it necessary to warn the Disciples of the hatred of the world? Jesus knew that the Disciples did not have a very full or complete idea as to what the ministry entailed! It just would not do to have them imagine that serving God was just a matter of preaching or teaching people what the Scriptures said! They must realize that the world, the very people they seek to win, could be nasty and hostile towards them!
Not everybody can deal with the problem of “hatred”. It can be frightening to feel the intensity of hatred that the world can nurse towards believers! Those who are not mentally or spiritually prepared to face the hatred of the world could end up defeated, discouraged or even devastated!
Jesus bore the brunt of the hatred of the Jews! He showed the Disciples how they too could cope with intense hatred. Jesus had to deal with the problem of the Jews twisting His Words, open confrontation aimed at hurting His public image and ministry and finally the fact that they plotted His death! Without proper preparation of the heart, mind and spirit, the Disciples would be defeated!