On Line Bible Study - for the Week June 10 - 16

Lesson 562

 

Have you ever added sugar to a beverage, and then tried to remove it?

John 15:18     "If the world hates you, bear in mind that it has hated me before you."
The first part of chapter 15 speaks of our relationship with Jesus.  He is the "vine"; he tells of the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life; and he emphasizes the centrality of love - his love for us and ours for each other.

With verse 18 the emphasis shifts from our relationship with Christ to our relationship with "the world".  There are a number of parallels between this section of John's gospel and the other gospels; however, John is the only one places the material in the context of the last supper.  Some of the parallels:

• John 15:18 - The world hates you ...  Matthew 10:22
• John 15:20 - No servant is more important than their master ...  Matthew 10:24
• John 15:20 - They will persecute you ...  Matthew 10:23
• John 15:26 - When the Paraclete comes ...  Matthew 10:20

It is one of the more challenging aspects of discipleship - what is our relationship with "the world"? 

Jesus says we are salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13ff).  The way of Christ is so very different from what we experience in the world.  Competition; scarcity of resources; accumulation of power; control of others - all of these things characterize the market place.  Even when society attempts to help the poor we are competing, one agency against another, for the notoriety that enables us to raise the most funds that gives us the most power to do the work ...

Raymond Brown emphasizes in his commentary on John that the word "hate" as it is used here is to be taken literally.  There is an animosity between the way of Jesus and the priorities of the world that make it very difficult to combine the two.  But the Christian is called neither to judge the world nor to remove ourselves from it.  We are to accept the animosity that naturally results when diametrically opposed world views confront each other.  Christianity expressing itself in the world is not like adding sugar to coffee; it is more like trying to blend oil and water.

We must not shy away from the task!  The Spirit will come ...  Our work is not resolve the tension; rather, our task is to insure that the message of Jesus is shared - lived, proclaimed,  Do we trust the Spirit to be present with us?

How will your Christian faith encounter the ways of the world this week?  When will be the times you are tempted to shy away, to acquiesce, to cave in to the pressures of the world?  When those moments come, be looking for how the Spirit will step into the scene.