“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin [guilt], now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’” John 15:22-25.
To have some measure of understanding of this passage, it needs to be read, and reread, and reread, and pondered. What goes before it needs to be absorbed, and what follows it ought to be considered, it is all a package, a whole, an unity. For the experience of Jesus Christ is also our experience in Him. As we saw in John 15:1 – 5, He is the Vine and we are the Branches, we draw our Life from Him, we are called to abide in Him.
When we are deficient in our understanding and knowledge of our unity in the Trinity, we cannot but help to be deficient in our witness, for our witness is to be from Jesus, in Jesus, and unto Jesus. We are His Body, His expression, in heaven and on earth. Witnessing to Jesus Christ is not a matter of technique, it is a matter of expressing His Life and of being His Presence. It is less a matter of what we do, and more a matter of who we are in Him. It is less a matter of communicating knowledge, in the way we typically think of that word, and more a matter of sharing love and grace and mercy.
What is Jesus saying to us in John 15:22 – 25? How does this relate to our witness?
Let’s begin the answer by reminding ourselves that 15:18–16:4 begins and concludes with us being hated and rejected as Jesus was hated and rejected. A servant is not above his or her master, if the master is hated the servant will be hated. If we claim to be the servants of Jesus Christ, and never encounter opposition and rejection, then either Jesus is mistaken in what He says, or we are not who we think we are. Jesus even says that people who kill us will think they are doing the service of God.
As I’ve written, one of the reasons I deeply regret using a certain book and course on witnessing in churches is that it taught how to avoid the Cross, how to avoid rejection, and therefore how to avoid true identification with Jesus Christ. What a fool I was. I wanted my congregations to learn to share Jesus, and I employed the wrong means. I wanted to help my dear people, but how could I help them if I was teaching them – in ignorance, but that is no excuse – to avoid the Cross and its offense?
And as a warning, one of the reasons the book in question was popular, is that its author was the pastor of a “dynamic” and growing church, which had spawned a network of similar churches; how can we argue with “success”? Also, on a regional level, people who I knew and trusted endorsed the book and its methodology, good people, well-meaning people. I wanted people to know Jesus through the witness of my parish, I wanted my folks to know the joy of sharing Jesus. I love being part of a team, I love working with other pastors and churches. I love Jesus and I love people.
What is popular is seldom the Truth.
Now then, the picture Jesus gives us in 15:22 – 25 is not only a picture of His ministry on earth some 2,000 years ago, but also a picture of His Incarnational ministry in His Body since Pentecost. Jesus continues to speak, Jesus continues to do works which no one else did prior to the Incarnation, for we are His Body and He expresses Himself through us.
I would add that of all His works, there is no work quite like the work of laying down His life for the world and His brethren. For us, there is no work like the work of giving oneself for the salvation of others, serving as agents of reconciliation between man and God. Jesus Christ did this in the Father, we continue this work in Jesus Christ.
Paul writes, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10).
John 3:16 is a continuing action of the Father within the Son.
Then we have the enigmatic statement, “They hated Me without a cause” (John 15:25; Psalms 35:19; 69:4).
I write “enigmatic” because such hatred doesn’t make sense, at least on the surface. Here is Jesus, wanting the best for everyone, loving and giving and serving and suffering, showing mercy and kindness; and what does He receive in return? Abandonment, torture, and death. Does this make sense to you?
The same crowed that shouted “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday cried “Crucify Him!” on Good Friday…beware of what is popular, within and without religion, within and without “Christianity.”
If people hated Jesus without cause, they will hate us without good reason. We can’t really explain it when these things happen. Of course, there are times the reason is obvious, when we won’t lie at work, when we insist on treating all people with equity and kindness, when we share the Gospel. But there are other times when the hatred will not make any sense, and we ought not to be surprised when it happens. If it happened to Jesus, it will happen to us, for Jesus Christ lives within us.
Yet, we should not give up on others, even when they hate us.
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be the sons [and daughters!] of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:44, 45, 48).
During an extended KP (kitchen duty) assignment in the Army, I had a supervisor who did not like me, and I didn’t know why. He talked to me sarcastically and gave me some nasty jobs, including the chore of cleaning out the grease pit. I got along well with everyone else in the mess hall and normally said “grace” before meals with others, but this man did not like me and I just didn’t know why.
One afternoon I was outside, cleaning out the grease pit, and I was singing about Jesus. I still recall the song:
“Jesus, O Jesus, do you know Him today? Please don’t turn Him away. Jesus, O Jesus, without Him how lost I would be. Without Him I would be nothing. Without Him I surely would fail. Without Him I would be drifting. Like a ship, without a sail.”
This supervisor came outside and heard me singing, but he didn’t hear what I was singing. He came over to me and sarcastically said, “O, now you're singing? You think you can sing while you work? Well then, why don’t you sing what you were singing to me. Let’s hear it.”
And so I sang to him about Jesus.
And his heart melted.
Maybe I reminded him of the faith of his parents or grandparents. Maybe the hope of Jesus touched a man in turmoil. Whatever the reason, the words of the song penetrated his heart, and our relationship changed. The hostility evaporated.
There isn’t much in this life that we can really understand, but I hope we will come to understand that Jesus Christ is the Light of the world and its only hope. I hope we will understand, in some measure, the high calling we have to be faithful to Jesus, to be His Presence to those around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment