The world hated Christ. Christ, the king of love was sent to the world by the love of God. But the world hated him to the utmost and crucified him instead of receiving his love.
With the same hatred, the world hates the followers of Christ. In the era the Pax Romana, the Roman peace, stretched over all the world.[1] But Christians were threatening the Roman peace. The government persecuted the Christians because the Christian insisted, he had no king but Christ. Persecution came to the Christians because they put Christ first. Persecution always come to the man who does that.[2]
William Temple remarks that the world “would not hate angels for being angelic; but it does hate men for being Christians. It grudges them their new character; it is tormented by their peace; it is infuriated by their joy. ”[3]
Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” The hatred against Jesus gives birth to the hatred against Jesus followers. If we are scorned and hated because we follow Jesus, we should remember his word and know that Jesus went through the even greater contempt and hatred ahead of us. Then we will gain comfort and courage to overcome all things.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
The world loves its own things but hates Christians who long for things of heaven more than the things of world. Ultimately, Christians do not belong to the world. Though we live in the world, the foundation of our existence is from God. God chose us and called us out of this world with his unconditional love. This is how we came to be today.
Another important truth from today’s message is that the world hating Christ and Christians is ultimately because it does not know God, the one who sent Christ. In other words, the hatred of the world essentially results from refusal to acknowledge God.
We stand in between the hatred of the world and the love of God. However, the world hates us, no force, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in our Lord, Christ Jesus!
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). However persecutions be, may this beautiful confession of Apostle Paul be our own.
[1] Barclay, The Gospel of John, 213.
[2] Barclay, The Gospel of John, 214.
[3] Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, 528.