John 15:23-25 23The one who hates me hates my Father also. 24If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sinned; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. 25But the word that is written in their Law might be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
When Jesus came, he exposed the darkness within the Jews. Like their ancestors, they had replaced the worship of God with something else. They were blinded to their idolatry, which was cloaked in their religious practices. John recorded in great detail their rejection of the truth Jesus brought. This truth focused on him and the revelation of the Father’s will that he brought. The contrast between the two alternatives is strong and clear in chapter 15. How one responds to Jesus’ revelation indicates what one believes about God. Jesus is the divine Word made flesh, God with humanity, the revelation of God’s love and grace, and the embodiment of the Father. We show our love for God by loving the Son.
Verse 23 builds on these ideas with the giving the opposite. Since Jesus and the Father are one (1:1, 18; 5:19–30; 8:58; 20:28), one’s attitude to Jesus is linked to one’s attitude to God (13:20). To hate Jesus means one has actually rejected God. Verse 24 gives the basis for Jesus’ judgment. He had done miracles that could only be done by God. Not even the greatest heroes of the Old Testament could compared to all he had done. The unnamed opponents in these verses were clealry the Jewish leaders, but there were others, including many Pharisees, who rejected Jesus and refused to believe in him. Jesus had exposed their sins, which were hidden behind their legalistic and self-righteous actions. Those who should have known better were acting like the world. Those in the world whom these leaders rejected as sinful were the ones who were coming to Jesus in faith.
The hatred of the Jewish leaders towards Jesus had been prophesied. Jesus quotes an idea found in Psalm 35:19 or Psalm 69:4. Just as David was hated, so would the Messiah. What they were about to do in condemning Jesus was part of God’s eternal plan. Their rejection was still done out of their own free will, but God knows all things and all time. They fulfilled the very Law they professed to uphold. They had seen the light but chose to remain in the darkness. They had experienced love but chose to hate. Jesus already warned that such people would face judgment (3:18). The most serious question we must answer is how to respond to Jesus, for our response will determine our eternal outcome.
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