Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
‘Opposition’ is something we too often experience in our world, and did you know Jesus warned His disciples about that? We’ve been looking closely at what Jesus told His friends on that Thursday evening of Passover weekend. They of course had no idea, that this would be their last few hours with Jesus before His horrible death!
John the disciple records that Jesus warned them about very difficult days ahead: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first! If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own…. But I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:18,19)
While the disciples could not imagine it, the next few hours would bring TO Jesus some of the most horrific torture imaginable, including beating, flogging and crucifixion. Why? What had Jesus done to deserve such abuse? That important question has been one faced by followers of Jesus, who have encountered opposition around the world, since that Passover/Easter weekend when Jesus was killed. As you may know, even today, thousands of people, weekly, are tortured and killed, in many parts of our world… ONLY because they are followers of Jesus and they refuse to deny Jesus.
Jesus answered the question even before anyone was asking it: “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also…They will treat you this way because of My name, for they do not know the One who sent Me… Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well...this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘they hated Me without reason.” (John 15:20-25)
A frequent focus of Jesus’ messages was the contrast between light and dark; truth and false; right and wrong; good and evil. Jesus, God the Son, came from God’s holy heaven, bringing God’s holy truth into a dark, evil, violent, truth rejecting world. Opposition arose against Jesus even while He was still an infant, long before He spoke His first message. Do you remember? King Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem to slaughter all the baby boys under age 2 in an attempt to kill infant Jesus. (Matt. 2:16-18)
That opposition continued even in His hometown Nazareth! Do you remember they ran Jesus out of the Synagogue and out of town when He claimed to be the living fulfillment of Isaiah’s description of Messiah! (Luke 4:14-30) But why such vicious opposition to Jesus who loved people so much?
Jesus had given lame people the ability to walk, and He gave sight to the blind, and Jesus freed people from demons, never asking for a penny of payment for His miraculous, life-giving services!! Jesus had fed crowds of hungry people never asking for anything in return.
Jesus had never asked anyone to do anything against their will. In fact, all the wonderful help Jesus gave to people was in response to their desperate cry for help. We’ve seen that over and over as we’ve walked with Jesus.
So, my friends, what is your answer? How can the world hate Jesus so much, despite all the good things He does in the lives of so many people? How can our world even today hate Jesus so much they will burn down church buildings, or assault Christians trying to protect the unborn, or in many places arrest and imprison people for reading a Bible or praying?
The apostle Paul, a few years later, wrote this to suffering Christians in Rome as he described the reason for this hatred of God and God’s truth: “Although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1:21,22) There it is my friends!
When any person, anywhere in the world, rejects God, refuses to accept God’s truth, darkness very quickly envelopes their mind and heart. What darkness? The darkness of the dark kingdom, the darkness of confusion, doubt, deceit and eventually despair. Paul wrote: “The mind controlled by the sinful nature is hostile to God, it does not submit to God’s truth, nor can it do so… But the mind controlled by the Holy Spirit of God is life and peace…” (Rom. 8:5-9)
So, look around your city, your part of the world. Can you see the obvious contrast between those people who love and are very grateful to God for all that God provides to us human beings; and the opposite, those people who reject God and give God no credit for anything and they want nothing to do with God? When looking at that great contrast, I wonder what you see when you look deeply into marriages and families, or emotional stability, or relationships, or reliability and reputation.
Believe it or not Jesus had one more thing to warn His disciples about regarding the opposition they would face: “They will put you out of the Synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when those who kill you will think they are offering a service to God! They will do such things because they have not known the Father or Me.” (John 16:2,3) Of course you know history well enough to know that began to happen only a few weeks after Jesus’ resurrection!
Jesus could see the grief on the faces of His friends, but it was important they hear and understand the truth of what the next days would bring, so Jesus continued: “I am going to Him who sent Me… You are filled with grief because I have said these things. But truly I tell you it is for your good that I am going away!” (John 16:5-7) Stunned, the disciples looked at each other, deeply confused. How could it possibly be better for them if Jesus left them?
So, Jesus continued: “Unless I go the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness and judgment…when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you.” (John 16:12-15)
With these words Jesus began to explain the great advantage His disciples, and all of His followers of all time would experience by having the Holy Spirit of God living within us! God’s Spirit guides us; teaches us God’s truth; counsels us; warns us of danger; empowers us for living God honoring lives, despite the opposition we may face! Are you living that joyful, vibrant, Jesus following life, even if facing opposition regularly?
Let’s pause and ponder these remarkable words from Jesus and consider the ‘Lessons Learned’ notes in the link below. Then a wonderful worship song which I hope refreshes your soul, and let’s meet here again tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: John 16:1-15.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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