Today’s passage is a challenging one for me, and today’s big idea within this passage is one that won’t (and shouldn’t) be popular. It is something that should rub most people the wrong way, not because of what it is directly, but instead by what is implied.
In this passage Jesus says, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (verses 18-19)
This is a well known passage in scripture, however, before jumping on to the next idea, let’s pause, and ask ourselves who hated Jesus the most when He was here on earth. Was it the common working person? Was it women or children? Was it foreigners who were visiting Judea? Or was it the spiritual leaders in the regions where Jesus traveled?
In almost every case, the spiritual leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, priests, etc.) were the ones who seemed to hate Jesus the most. Common working people, women, and children sought Jesus out and created huge crowds that followed Jesus wherever He went.
In at least one case, Jesus turns to the crowd at the end of a powerful sermon, and challenges their commitment – to the point that most of them leave. Did they leave because they “hated” Jesus? I don’t believe this to be the reason. Instead I believe the crowds dispersed because they thought Jesus’ remarks were unrealistically high and/or that He had gone nuts. However, these ideas are a far stretch from “hating” Jesus.
On the other hand, the spiritual leaders seemed to be envious of Jesus’ popularity. They would have wanted for everyone to leave Jesus and follow them – and this caused hatred to enter their hearts.
So here is today’s big idea: When Jesus says that the “world” will hate us like it hated Him, don’t be surprised if “spiritual” people (including “Christians”) hate you. Spiritual people hated Jesus (and His disciples), and the closer we are to Jesus, the more likely this will be the case for us as well.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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