The very first words that this passage states is about the world and the hate they have for the disciple’s faith and Jesus Himself. Jesus states, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you”. Think of a time you were made fun of or persecuted for your faith in Jesus Christ. This has been happening from when Cain murdered Abel and is still ongoing today. After reading chapter 15, you realize that there is an ongoing trend of the world hating the Father, Jesus, and Christians for who they are. Jesus even states, “They hated me without a cause”. We aren’t safe from the persecution because of our faith. Instead Jesus says that we will be hated.
Although there is the fear of being hated by the world, Jesus gives us a twist in His message and a change in the feelings.
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
Jesus will send a Helper, from the Father, to be with us. The Holy Spirit is the gift that Jesus gives us after His death on the cross. People nowadays would want Jesus to be alive but have to realize that if Jesus had not died, the Holy Spirit would not have come upon every person that believes. The gift, and Helper, is for all of those who have faith in Jesus.
Although we may have the world hating the believers, we have the Holy Spirit inside of our hearts to help comfort, guide, and grow closer to God.
The end of the passage is finishing up what Jesus is saying. He says to them that the words He spoke are meant to keep them from falling away. He then starts to restate the hatred of the world. People will throw the disciples and other believers out of the synagogue. He affirms the hatred of the world by saying that people will even go to measures of killing believers, thinking that it will do good to God. Jesus affirms all of these forms of hatred that will happen but closes with this:
John 16:4 — “But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.”
Jesus ends with this, knowing that soon He will fulfill the prophecy and die on the cross.
Remember these words that Jesus said to His disciples before the hour of His death. We will be hated by the world. We will be persecuted, suffer loss, go through trials and tribulations, and more. But Jesus has presented us with a gift of the Holy Spirit and a Counselor. We can only draw closer to Him through the things that happen in our lives.
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