Like Our Master
Preparation for Persecution (Part 1)
John 15:18–25
The Change Community Church
RECAP
Where We Left Off — John 15:12–17
v.12 & 17
Jesus commands us: “Love one another as I have loved you.” — an authoritative command, not an option.
v.13
The measure of that love: to lay down your life for your friends. Jesus first did what He asks of us.
v.14–15
Obedience is the litmus test of friendship with God — reflecting the value of communion with Him.
v.16
Two designations: “chosen” and “appointed.” God qualified those He chose — to bear fruit for His kingdom.
If we are bearing fruit and proving to be His disciples, the Gospel life flows through us — bringing hope and life. But it will also draw an opposing reaction. Christ’s words here are prophetic: a preparation for what is to come.
Persecution runs through the whole New Testament — Jesus means for us to hear it.
Today’s Passage
18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.
Today’s Passage
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.
1
The World May Hate You,
but It Hates Jesus First
John 15:18–19
“If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.”
POINT 1
Not of the World — Set Apart in Christ
John 7:7
“The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify about it — that its works are evil.”
Mark 3:5–6
“After looking around at them with anger, he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Immediately the Pharisees went out and started plotting with the Herodians against him, how they might kill him.
POINT 1
We Are No Longer in Love with the World
1 John 2:15–17
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions — is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.”
We are citizens of Heaven �(Phil. 3:20). The Lord transforms our desires — we no longer chase power, prestige, riches, or fame.
EARLY CHURCH
A Peculiar People — The Early Church’s Witness
ARISTIDES · 2ND CENTURY
Writing to defend the faith, Aristides told the emperor that Christians stood out — for love of neighbour, care for widows, orphans, and the poor, and patience under persecution. Their lives were visibly different from the world around them, and that difference drew both converts and hostility.
WITNESSES
Shining Amid the World’s Hatred
Polycarp of Smyrna
c. 69–155 AD
Refused to worship Caesar, confessing only Jesus as Lord. Burned and executed — faithful to the end.
William Tyndale
1494–1536
Gave England the Bible in English. Betrayed, imprisoned, strangled and burned. “Lord! Open the King of England’s eyes.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
1906–1945
Opposed the Nazi regime and its grip on the church. Banned, arrested, and hanged in April 1945.
POINT 1
We Are No Longer in Love with the World
1 Corinthians 4:10–13
10 We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 11 Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty; we are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless; 12 we labor, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we respond graciously. Even now, we are like the scum of the earth, like everyone’s garbage.
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EARLY CHURCH
A Peculiar People — The Early Church’s Witness
Epistle to Diognetus (c. AD 130)
“They dwell in their own countries, but only as aliens… They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They love all, and are persecuted by all… They are dishonoured, and yet in their dishonour they are glorified.”
1
APPLICATION
Point 1
Recall Christ’s words when hatred for your faith comes near.
Remember your identity in Christ, even in opposition. We stand firm for our Saviour, as He stood firm for us.
2
A Servant Is Not
Greater Than His Master
John 15:20–21
“Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you… But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.”
POINT 2
The Scorn Is Aimed at Jesus
John 21:18–19
“When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, He told him, “Follow me.”
The Early Church
“The blood of the martyrs became the seed of the Church.”
— Tertullian
Their deaths did not end the movement — they multiplied it. Persecution fanned the flame rather than snuffing it out.
2 Timothy 3:12
“All who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
POINT 2
They Suffered as Christ Did
Historical tradition of the eleven
2 Corinthians 4:8–12
8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.
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POINT 2
At Peace with Rejection — for His Sake
When they reject me, they are being true to Jesus’ words — “they don’t know the Father.” They are rejecting the Master. My life is not greater than the One who set me free. My confidence is in Christ, who is with me to the very end.
1 Peter 4:12–14
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
2
APPLICATION
Point 2
Reflect: How do you identify with Jesus in your suffering? What do you need to surrender to suffer with Him?
Reflect: How are you currently prepared to face suffering on account of Jesus? What steps do you need to take to prepare?
3
We Are Responsible —
Leaving the World Without Excuse
John 15:22–24
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin… If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.”
POINT 3
Sin Is Unbelief — Rejecting God’s Revelation
John 3:18 · 8:24 · 9:41 · 3:19
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already…” �(John 3:18)
“This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)
APPLICATION · POINT 3
A — Our Lives Must Point to the Gospel
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
ILLUSTRATION · GERALD SITTSER
Live a Martyr’s Life
Two young pastors were travelling by motor scooter to serve a village nearby when a mob set upon them. They were beaten to death simply for being followers of Jesus.
Gerald Sittser · Water from a Deep Well
Their deaths, Sittser admits, don’t make him want to die as they died — they make him want to “live a martyr’s life,” giving himself completely to Jesus while he still has breath.
Whether or not we are ever called to die for Christ, the real question is how fully we live for Him now.
APPLICATION · POINT 3
B — Be Respectful, but Be Truthful
The Bible is clear: life after death without Christ is eternal separation from God. For those who have heard the Gospel and refuse to receive Him, they remain without excuse. But we cannot be the reason a person is without excuse. Think of your family. Think of your neighbours. Have we verbalized that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life?
1 Peter 3:13–15
“Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
ILLUSTRATION · POINT 3
Even Its Enemies Felt It
JULIAN THE APOSTATE · 4TH CENTURY
The emperor Julian despised Christianity and laboured to revive paganism — yet he complained that the Christians cared not only for their own poor, but for his people’s poor as well, while his own priests offered no such help.
The witness that could not be denied
Their love left the watching world without excuse — and it drew that world in.
When people see Jesus in how we live, our witness answers the question before it is asked.
APPLICATION · POINT 3
B — Be Respectful, but Be Truthful
The Bible is clear: life after death without Christ is eternal separation from God. For those who have heard the Gospel and refuse to receive Him, they remain without excuse. But we cannot be the reason a person is without excuse. Think of your family. Think of your neighbours. Have we verbalized that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life?
1 Peter 3:13–15
“Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
APPLICATION · POINT 3
C — Let Rejection Give Us Urgency
Ephesians 6:19
“Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”
Romans 1:16–17
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”
John 15:25 (cf. Psalm 69:4)
“But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.”
Christ’s rejection was not happenstance — it was the plan of God. Though He was powerful, He walked in suffering. Though He was King and guilty of no crime, He laid down His arms. We too — though victorious, though overcomers — will walk through hatred and persecution as did our Saviour, and so walk in the heritage of the saints who went before us.
We Must Prepare
Get stronger. Anchor yourself in Christ, His Word, and the voice of the Spirit.
Do not run and seek shelter — Christ promised His glory through the trial, not the absence of it.
Walk as He did, through the persecution — and show yourself as His child, not of the world.
JOHN 15:18–25
Message Recap
1
The World May Hate You, but It Hates Jesus First
John 15:18–19
2
A Servant Is Not Greater Than His Master
John 15:20–21
3
We Are Responsible — Leave None Without Excuse
John 15:22–24
JOHN 15:18–25
Reflection & Discussion
1
IDENTITY · JOHN 15:18–19
Where is it hardest to live as a citizen of Heaven instead of blending in with the world?
2
THE MASTER · JOHN 15:20–21
The world’s scorn is aimed at Jesus, not us. How does that change the way you carry rejection for your faith?
3
WITNESS · JOHN 15:22–24
If someone watched your life this week, would it point them clearly to Jesus — leaving them without excuse?
4
READINESS · APPLICATION
What is one concrete way you can live wholly for Christ this week — before persecution ever asks it of you?