“If the World Hates You…”
“If the World Hates You…”
Have you ever quoted John 15:18 in a situation, to explain why a non-Christian or a group of unbelievers were treating you or someone else badly?
Or has anybody ever used that verse against you? That happened to me, once, believe it or not.
I found myself in the middle of a conversation several years back in which a former friend of mine began loudly passing judgment “in Jesus’ name” on another friend of mine who was also present — a complete stranger to him.
This former friend of mine was misrepresenting the good news of Jesus in a very public way, condemning someone whom God had already justified by faith, because of a perceived sin.
I’d intervened, privately appealing to him and letting him know that that sort of talk wasn’t welcome at my party. (I just so happened to be hosting where the conversation was taking place.)
I told him that that wasn’t how I believed Jesus would want us to treat anyone, based on what Jesus taught and the way that He lived.
I told him that I believed there was a better way — a kinder way — a more loving way.
“You’re leading your friend straight to hell!” he spouted.
“Actually, I think you’re judging them prematurely. You’ve never even had a conversation with them before tonight. If you’d take the time to get to know them, you’d understand that the reason—”
“Whatever!” he interrupted, angrily. “It doesn’t matter!”
He’d set out on a crusade to call out the “sins” (I’ve put this in quotations, because the specific issue he was addressing that night wasn’t a black-and-white sin issue) of a complete stranger, and I’d had the audacity to stand in his way. He was doing God’s work, and I was interfering. This bordered on persecution!
To him, it was obvious that I didn’t care about the soul of my friend nearly as much as he did, likely because I was just as lost as they were. If I were truly a Christian, I would’ve allowed him to cast his proverbial stones at “the sinner” — my friend — for the sake of the Kingdom. And so, dubbing the both of us lost causes, my once-friend assuaged his wounded pride with one final over-spiritualization of the situation he’d gotten himself into, declaring, “This is a classic case of John 15:18!”
Then he washed his hands of both the situation and me, and piously took his leave.
I haven’t seen or heard from him since.
In case you were wondering what John 15:18 says, here it is:
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” - Jesus (John 15:18, NIV)
Admittedly, I had to look that reference up myself before I understood what my friend’s comment had even meant. That wasn’t one of the verses I’d memorized in childhood. Maybe the reason I didn’t know that reference by heart was because I wasn’t as spiritually mature as my once-friend-turned-enemy. Or perhaps, it was because I hadn’t made John 15:18 my life verse.
But once I did read it, I didn’t just brush off his words. I considered them, asking myself some really hard questions.
Because by using that verse the way he had, my friend was not only calling me a non-Christian; he was suggesting that my behavior was proof that I hated him (and by extension, also hated Jesus). That’s a pretty big deal.
The good news is that I’m 100% sure that my former friend was 100% wrong. His judgment about me doesn’t hold water, because he’s not my judge. Only Jesus is worthy to judge me, and His spirit bears witness with my spirit that I belong to Him (Romans 8:16). Praise Him for that!
Also, I didn’t (and still don’t) hate my former friend. In fact, if it was up to me, we’d still be friends. (He does not want to be.)
What I did hate was how he was treating my other friend, and the fact that he was using our shared faith in Jesus to justify his condemning words.
While Jesus never shies away from speaking hard truths when hard truths need to be said, He’s also compassionate and kind, and chooses not condemn us, even when we’re caught dead-to-rights in our sins (John 3:17; John 8:1-11).
I didn’t hate my friend. I just wanted him to stop being a jerk “in Jesus’ name.”
And that’s the thing about how John 15:18 is often used by Christians that really bugs me, because I think we’ve misunderstood it, and maybe even abused it. And for this reason, we certainly are finding ourselves hated by non-Christians… but I don’t think it’s in the way (or for the reason) that Jesus meant that they would “hate” us…
Did Jesus really say that?
While it might not be hard for us to believe that Jesus said the world (non-Christians) would hate us (Christians), it’s a little harder to believe that Jesus also taught that, if we want to be His disciples, we’re going to have to hate some people ourselves.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” - Jesus (Luke 14:26, CSB)
It’s interesting that we’re not quite as quick to throw this verse around. Let’s face it: at face value, this verse is really confusing!
What Jesus taught in Luke 14:26 lands in stark contradiction to John’s (the disciple whom Jesus loved) continuation of Jesus’ teaching in one of his letters to Christians, in which John wrote this:
If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister. - 1 John 4:20-21 (CSB)
This is a contradiction, or at least it seems to be one, until we understand what Jesus actually meant in Luke 14:26; and to do that, we have to dig a little deeper and do a word study…
What Jesus meant
According to Strong’s, the Greek word “miseó” (μισέω) which has been translated “hate” in Luke 14:26 can have these meanings:
“I hate, detest, love less, esteem less.”
And this is what HELPS Word Studies tells us about miseó:
“properly, to detest (on a comparative basis); hence, denounce; to love someone or something less than someone (something) else, i.e. to renounce one choice in favor of another.”
“Miseó” can mean to “hate” or to “detest,” but it can mean something else as well; and we can infer from context (based on everything else that Jesus taught, and based on what His disciples went on to teach after His ascension) that Jesus most certainly was not teaching that you and I have to or should hate anyone!
What Jesus taught was that, if we want to be His disciples, in the choice between anyone or anything else and Him, we’re going to have to choose Him.
This is an instance in which I believe the New Living Translation captured the actual meaning of this verse better than most word-for-word translations:
“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” - Jesus (Luke 14:26, NLT)
Now, if you’re currently thinking, “Wait a second. Aren’t we supposed to be talking about the meaning of John 15:18? Why are we taking this rabbit trail?,” just hang with me. This rabbit trail is about to prove to have been worth the detour, because we’re about to find something that tastes good at the end of it…
The Greek word that’s been translated “hate” in John 15:18 is — you’ve probably guessed it — “miseó.”
This means that Jesus might have been saying:
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” - Jesus (John 15:18, NIV)
But it’s just as possible — and I’m going to argue, far more likely — that what Jesus was actually saying is this:
“If the world chooses what they already know and have over what you’re going to offer them in My name, keep in mind that they chose what they already knew and had over what I came to offer them first.” - Jesus (John 15:18, paraphrased)
It reads a little differently like that, doesn’t it? But I think this wording helps us better understand what Jesus was trying to communicate.
See, Jesus wasn’t just a person; Jesus was the Bread of Life (John 6:35), and the source of Living Water (John 4:10-14; John 7:37-39). Rejecting Jesus meant rejecting the life-giving sustenance He came to offer a world dying from spiritual hunger and thirst!
And as followers of Jesus, you and I are not just people anymore either; we’re now vessels carrying that same Bread of Life and Living Water, to be shared with all who hunger and thirst — anyone willing to receive Him — anyone who has come to realize, “It’s Jesus or nothing, because if I can’t have Jesus, nothing else matters!”
All throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus offered Himself to the world, and the world had mixed responses.
Reading through the gospel accounts, we can see that there were some who readily received Jesus (like Andrew and the woman at the well); most people were at least intrigued by Jesus (and that’s still true today); and yes — there were a small few (mostly the religious leaders, who feared losing their authority and prestige) who genuinely hated Jesus.
We are told that Jesus often had huge crowds of people following Him, curious to see what He had to offer them (both physically and spiritually) and to hear what He had to say. Sometimes, the things Jesus said made people angry; but more often than not, the things Jesus said were simply hard for people to accept, because Jesus’ words challenged what people already believed, and often required something from them that they weren’t quite ready to give up (e.g. Matthew 19:16-22; Luke 9:57-62).
A perfect example of this can be found in John 6. After doing many miracles, healing people, and feeding them (both physically and spiritually), Jesus was surrounded by a crowd of hungry people wanting more. So, Jesus gave them more. He offered Himself to them — the Bread of Life!
But upon sharing the message of salvation with them, we’re told that this crowd of people who had been following Jesus for some time now responded to Jesus’ words by saying, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60); and many of His fair-weather followers stopped following Him that day. They didn’t hate Him. They just were satisfied to stick with what they already knew and had, rather than receiving what Jesus came to offer them — miseó.
As the majority of the crowd walked away from Jesus that day, He turned to His closest followers and asked them, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?” (John 6:67). And we’re told that Peter responded by saying, “Lord, where else can we go? It’s You, or nothing! Only You have the words of eternal life, and we believe You!” (John 6:68-69, paraphrased).
In the years, and even the days leading up to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus was not hated by the majority of those who did not put their faith in Him. Most people were either enamored with Jesus, or at least thought He was intriguing albeit strange. And it’s worth noting that, just days before Jesus claimed that the world “hated” Him, that same world had put on a huge public demonstration of their worldly (fleshly and fickle) love for Him (John 12:12-19).
In light of all these things, when Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first,” it doesn’t make sense to me that Jesus would have meant “hate” in the way we think of hatred.
And I don’t think Jesus’ disciples would have understood it that way either. I think Jesus’ meaning would have been obvious to them.
Over the previous three years, as they’d walked with Jesus, they’d watched people choose — over and over again — the broken lives they knew over the better life Jesus was offering them. (Miseó.) And so, it would be reasonable for Jesus to suggest to His disciples that, when they would later be sent out to continue proclaiming the good news of Jesus, many more people would choose the broken lives they already knew over a better life in Jesus. (Miseó.)
Therefore, when Jesus told His disciples,“If the world chooses what they already know and have over what you’re going to offer them in My name, keep in mind that they chose what they already knew and had over what I came to offer them first” (John 15:18, paraphrased), I think He was managing their expectations, so that they wouldn’t become discouraged when faced with rejection and lose sight of their mission.
Similarly today, when an unbelieving world rejects you and me (what we believe, and even the way our beliefs shape our morals and values), we shouldn’t be discouraged, and we shouldn’t take it personally either. Instead, their rejection of us should move us with compassion toward them (Matthew 9:36) — toward those who cannot yet see the all-surpassing value of Jesus! They are dying of hunger and thirst! They just don’t know it yet.
(Also, for what it’s worth, people can become downright mean when they’re starving to death. That’s not about us. It’s just their hunger talking.)
So, what if someone really does hate me?
If Jesus didn’t actually teach that we should expect to be hated by those who don’t follow Him, then how do we explain it, if/when the world really does hate us?
Well, there are a few different possible explanations for us to consider...
Even today, there are some non-Christians who truly do hate Jesus, and by association, those of us who follow Him. This is because, if what Jesus taught is true, then His message and what He has to offer the world threatens their authority and prestige — just as was true with the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. (Some more recent examples of people like this include Adolph Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Xi Jinping, as well as their followers.) The persecuted church is a very real thing, even today. But for most (if not all) who are reading this, this sort of hate against Christians is not common or something we personally experience in our day-to-day.
If a non-Christian hates you for being a Christian, it’s possible that their hate for you has nothing to do with you or Jesus. The reason they hate you might be because someone else left a bad taste in their mouth regarding Christianity.
In my personal experience, when someone has expressed that they loath me because of my faith, it’s never actually been about me or my faith. It’s been about their painful experiences with others who’ve mistreated them (or the people whom they care about) “in Jesus’ name.”
If the only prior experiences someone has ever had with “Christians” or “Christianity“ were negative — if they have been led to believe that being a Christian means being a bully with a heavenly hall pass — then I get it! If that’s what Christianity was really all about, I wouldn’t like Christians much either. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be one, and I’d likely hate Christians, too.
If a non-Christian hates us for being a Christian because someone else mistreated them “in Jesus’ name,” then we have the incredible opportunity to love that person well in Jesus’ name, and to demonstrate to them what it really means to follow Jesus. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll have a change of mind and heart, and we might get to be a part of them realizing just how wonderful the better life Jesus is offering them truly is!
Last but not least, if you’re a Christian, and a non-Christian hates (or strongly dislikes) you — especially if this seems to be the case with just about every non-Christian you know, and you don’t live in one of the zones that’s been labeled as a “restricted” or “hostile” region by The Voice of the Martyrs…
It’s worth pausing and prayerfully considering (alongside the teachings of Jesus about how we should treat others) how you’ve been treating the people in your life who do not yet know Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord.
Sometimes, the world hates us because — simply put — we’re being jerks (i.e. we’re being everything that Jesus is not).
Sometimes, non-Christians hate Christians because we are (or have been) unkind, uncaring, judgmental, hypocritical, greedy, self-centered, and a whole host of other unchristlike behaviors, “in Jesus’ name.”
And the natural response of anyone who is walking in the flesh (non-Christian or Christian) is to hate those who mistreat them.
We’ve all seen the extreme side of this — things like the killings during the Crusades, or the blatantly hateful conduct of Westboro Baptist Church. But even in far less extreme ways, I’ve witnessed firsthand Christians (or in some instances, those who just call themselves “Christians”) acting as if, in order to be a good Christian, they have to be combative with non-Christians.
Christians sometimes reframe this as “loving the sinner, but hating the sin,” yet often times, acted out, this looks strangely identical to both hating the sin and the sinner. Withholding kindness or friendship from them, or figuratively casting stones at them, or calling them derogatory names, or trying to stop them from being exactly who they are outside of Christ — as if they can possibly be anything but that, apart from Christ!
There have been Christians who’ve cherry-picked Bible verses that, when taken out of context, not only give them permission, but also a duty to treat non-Christians badly “in Jesus’ name.”
But Jesus never gave us permission to hate non-Christians. He never commanded us to mistreat them. And He never gave us authority to judge them. (Actually, the opposite of each one of these things is true.)
And it’s worth mentioning that Jesus had something pretty harsh to say about people who did things “in Jesus’ name” without His say-so (Matthew 7:15-23).
If the world hates you — whether because of persecution, or because of others who’ve worn the name of Jesus badly — I’m so sorry! It’s not supposed to be that way. And there’s a good chance that their hatred has absolutely nothing to do with you. But the good news is, even if non-Christians hate you, you can still love them in Jesus’ name!
However, if the world hates you, and you’ve been acting like a bully with a heavenly hall pass toward anyone who doesn’t share your beliefs or morals, then you are misrepresenting the good news of Jesus to a hungry, thirsty world.
When Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18, NIV), He was not meaning that people hating us should be our end goal — the proof that we’re doing something right.
If we are genuinely hated (detested) by non-Christians, this is not a fulfillment of prophecy, nor is it a badge of honor to be worn proudly (as if to boast, “I’m just following in my Savior’s footsteps. After all, they hated Him, too.”); and for most of us, being hated for our faith doesn’t even have to be our cross to bear.
So if the world hates you, and you’ve been giving them a good reason to hate you, then maybe, just maybe — for the sake of everyone — you should stop acting like a jerk “in Jesus’ name.”
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