‘It Hated Me Before’

‘It Hated Me Before’

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

John 15:18

Christ was blunt with His disciples on the night before He went to the cross.  He made a number of statements which were disturbing to them on the one hand, and which, on the other hand, prepared them for what lay ahead.  One of these statements lies before us today.  Christ was preparing His disciples for the opposition which they were going to encounter as they carried forth the gospel over the ancient world.  Christ prepared them for hatred and hostility, based upon their association with Him.  As our text says, ‘If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.’  If this was the experience of the disciples, it should not surprise us if it becomes our experience as well.  Hopefully, the hatred we experience is because of our likeness to Christ, and not as the result of our own bad behavior.  We cannot be arrogant, exceptionalist, dishonest, and harsh and then claim that people hate us for our Christianity.  By contrast, if we are indeed followers of Christ; if we have sat at His feet and learned of Him; if we have become His imitators, we will incur the hatred of those who serve a different master.  We should understand these things and expect the reception to which Christ refers in the context of our text.  Let us look to Christ to conform us to His Image and to respond to hatred as He did.

Our Gracious Master and our God,
we rejoice that You are holy and upright in all things.
We praise You, that You returned good for evil 
and we desire that You should teach us to do the same.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning