December 16, 2002
LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Dec. 29
The world rejects Jesus' followers as it did him
___John 15:18-25; 16:1-4
___By Robert Creech
___University Baptist Church-Clearlake, Houston
___History's greatest irony occurred among the people of Israel at the beginning of the first century. The only nation on Earth expecting God to send a Messiah rejected him when he arrived.
___John observes this ironic fact in his prologue: "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him" (1:10-11). The intense light of God's revelation in Jesus blinded the religious leaders of Israel (9:40-41).
___In his last discourse, Jesus prepares his disciples to go on without his physical presence (John 13-17). He discusses the key elements they will need to understand, weaving them together in these final words.
___Disciples will need to know what it is to love and to serve. They must learn to experience God's peace by trusting his promises. They will want to understand the life of prayerful abiding in Jesus in order to live fruitful lives. Moreover, so they may not become discouraged, they must come to terms with the reality of the world's rejection. Authentic discipleship will face a culturethat will not approve of the truth.
___Jesus describes the opposing culture as "the world" (15:18-19). The fourth gospel uses the term "world" (kosmos) 78 times, as compared to only 14 times in all of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
___He uses the term in three distinct ways. Occasionally, it means the created order, equivalent to the Hebrew phrase, "the heavens and the earth" (17:5). Frequently, the term means "the world of humanity," the world God loves (3:16-17), and the world Jesus came to save (1:29; 4:42; 6:14, 33, 51; 8:12; 9:5, 39; 10:36; 11:27; 12:19, 46).
___John has another, distinctive use of "world." He sometimes uses this word in a moral sense to refer to the world of humanity in its sinfulness arrayed against God and his purposes. This is the world over which Satan rules as "prince" (12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the world that has rejected Jesus and his revelation (7:7; 8:23; 12:31; 14:17, 19, 22, 27, 31; 15:18, 19; 16:8, 33).
___In 1:10, John uses "world" with all three meanings: "He was in the world (the world of humanity), and though the world was made through him (the created order), the world did not recognize him (the sinful world system)."
___Just as Jesus has faced the rejection of "the world," so will his followers (15:18-24). The world will treat the disciples of Jesus with such hostility because the world does not know the Father (15:21). Jesus has made the world aware of its sinful rebellion against God, and those who are part of that world refuse to accept the truth (15:22-24). In addition, Jesus has chosen his disciples out of that world system, so they no longer belong to it (15:19).
___The reality of the world's hostility calls for disciples to live faithfully, despite the opposition. Jesus alerts his followers to this truth so they will not be led astray (16:1). He does not guarantee immunity from the world's opposition. In fact, he promises such hostility will come. However, he assures his disciples the world's opposition has not defeated him and will not defeat them, either. He affirms, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (16:33).
___God does not expect disciples to live faithfully in the midst of the world's hostility by means of their own strength. Jesus testified faithfully to the truth despite the world's opposition, and so will the coming Counselor, the Spirit of Truth (15:26). The Spirit will empower disciples to do the same (15:27). The presence of the Holy Spirit will serve as the continuing presence of Jesus to keep disciples strong and faithful, despite the world's hostility.
___During Jesus' life, the world showed its opposition in a variety of forms. For Jesus himself that hatred took the form of harsh words, hostile plots, violent torture and death. Some of his earliest followers experienced rejection, exclusion and ridicule (7:50-53; 9:34-35), to the degree that the testimony of some was silenced (11:42-43; 19:38). Jesus made it clear such a response from the hostile world would continue (16:2).
___In a culture like ours, where violent opposition occurs less frequently, we must not be lulled into thinking the hatred of the world has disappeared. It simply takes on other forms. The world that opposes God and his ways never accepts the truth of God in Christ.
___We can look for such opposition to show itself in the way popular media portrays or ignores Christians. Such portrayals can be highly effective in maintaining Christian silence regarding the truth, just as exclusion and rejection silenced believers in Jesus' day.
___Jesus encourages us, in the face of the world's hatred and rejection, however, to continue faithfully to bear witness to the truth (15:27).
___Questions for discussion
___
___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
