John 15:20, commentary and pictures

The servant is not above his Master, so his followers must not expect better treatment than he received. If men persecuted him they will also persecute them with hatred, opposition and suffering, and if men received and obeyed his teaching they will receive the message entrusted to his messengers also. The world hates them because they are not of the world but chosen out of it, because they bear his name and represent his truth, because opposers do not know the Father who sent him, and because a godly life condemns sin and exposes selfishness. Such rejection does not mean failure nor that God has forgotten or abandoned them, but trials can develop faith and virtue while he remains with the faithful, ministers through angels, fights for them, and will at last judge oppressors as though the cruelty had been done to himself. Therefore they are to remember his word beforehand, abide in him as branches in the vine, walk humbly in lowly self-denying service, and keep sowing truth and doing their work without complaint, leaving consequences with God.

Words and Setting

The word was spoken in the upper chamber to the eleven alone after Judas left, with divine love and tenderest sympathy, as Christ began to speak of His approaching separation from them and of the cruel death before Him. He first pointed their thoughts to the great object of His mission, His joy that all His humiliation and suffering would glorify the Father's name. It was instruction given before He was separated from them to prepare them for their future work, a work that would fail if they left divine power out of human effort. They were to build their ministry on Christ and maintain partnership between God and the workers. Near the end of His earthly ministry these were words of hope, courage and comfort for His followers.

They belong to His words of comfort, counsel and prayer to His disciples before His death, in John 13-17, especially the teaching on the vine and branches and the relation of branch to vine. They steadied the disciples through disappointment and trial, though they were not fully understood until after the resurrection, when they repeated them to steady one another. They continue to give comfort, peace, hope and courage to true believers, bringing strength and assurance as long as time shall last. He spoke them because He knew the trials that would come to His church through unconverted believers, as words of encouragement and hope in John 14-16 to impart courage to stand fast in the most trying hour. They impress the need to abide in Christ through vital connection, contrasting true branches with spurious ones, a teaching that becomes clear with new understanding when the mind is renewed by the Spirit of God.

That abiding is living in vital connection with Christ, the only perfect pattern of Christianity, receiving and living by Him whose words give spiritual life, for Christ alone bears and takes away sin. Faith in the Word is shown in conduct and character, as branches depend on the vine, and those who take the Word into practical life and obey it have eternal life. The verse plainly sets out God's will for His people and means just what it says, to be believed in every verse, stood upon faithfully, and lived out before fellow ministers. It belongs to the divine antidote for the sin of the whole world, carrying on the great process by which believers are made one with Christ in this present life to be one with Him throughout all eternity. Its words are instruction for all who claim to be Christians, to be presented in every home as a message from God about receiving Christ's grace and meeting the conditions He lays down.

The lessons in John 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 are of deep import and need to be studied and even committed to memory, holding the richest promises, calling for more real, genuine piety and diligent searching of the Word. The mind is to be kept as a storehouse of truth from which to draw the richest consolation, to speak a word in season to the oppressed, the sorrowful and the afflicted, and to impart to others who are ready to perish, with "Thus saith the Lord" and "It is written" ever upon the lips. The soul becomes like a garden whose waters fail not, refreshing all around, by reading the Bible and studying the meaning of every word. Understanding is the privilege of those who watch unto prayer, and requires reconversion and grasp of genuine missionary work, emptying the heart of self daily, abiding as branches in Christ the true Vine, and learning His meekness and lowliness to bear fruit to the glory of God. The chapter is to be read and obeyed rather than left unheeded, giving an important lesson bearing on the danger of being drawn into the world's spirit and losing loyalty to Christ.

Shared Lot Promised

The servant is not greater than the lord, so those who follow Christ are not above their Master and are not to expect better treatment than He received. Because the world persecuted Christ it will persecute them, and the deeds done to Him will be repeated against His people to the close of the world's history. They share His rejection because they are chosen out of the world and no longer belong to it, and because they act in His name. That hostility is tied to not knowing the Father who sent Him, for even those who have received light and evidence may turn determinedly away, as the Jewish nation did.

If men persecuted Christ they will also persecute His followers, for as He suffered persecution, reproach, hatred, scorn, cruelty and even death for His name, they too will face hatred, opposition, trials and suffering rather than an easy path. Their persecution comes because they belong to Christ and bear witness in His name and carry His message. The warning prepares them beforehand so they do not stumble, are not intimidated or discouraged, and do not lose faith when religious authorities oppose their witness and imprison them for teaching, even when opposers believe they are serving God. Rejection therefore does not mean failure, but follows from belonging to Christ.

If men kept Christ's saying they will keep the disciples' saying also, so those who received and obeyed His teaching will receive the message He entrusted to His messengers, while others will reject it. Some will persecute and others will receive, and the response to Christ and to His followers corresponds. Those who accepted His teaching may also accept theirs, and those who kept His teaching will also keep theirs.

The verse commands disciples to remember Christ's word, for He told them beforehand what they would meet and prepared them for their future work and portion of His work. He knew every phase of experience and conflict they would face and grieved that they must pass through manifold afflictions bringing trial and temptation to lose faith, yet mingled bright hopeful promises with the dark warning and made provision through faith that they need not fail nor be discouraged in the dark troubled future. They are called to remember that a servant is not greater than the master, to remember His own suffering when facing scorn and cruelty, and to remember that they share His cross by which He cut open the way to the throne of God.

Reasons for Hostility

The world hates those who follow Christ because they no longer belong to it but have been chosen out of it, while the world loves its own. Their refusal to follow its transgression and disobedience provokes hatred, for they will not mix and mingle with it while claiming union with Christ but keep their influence wholly on the Lord's side. Those who persecuted Christ will persecute them, while those who accepted His teaching will accept theirs, for the servant is not greater than his lord and shares his Master's rejection. Loyalty to God and His truth therefore does not guarantee the world's approval, since its hatred of His followers reflects its earlier rejection of Christ Himself.

Persecution comes for His name's sake because believers belong to Christ and bear witness in His name. As commissioned messengers they carry His work and represent a truth that works against the world's ambitious plans, so to reject them and refuse their heaven-sent message is to reject Christ and the One who sent Him. Faithfully lifting up Christ and seeking to bring people to Him provokes the world's hatred, just as it did toward Jesus. There is no real peace to be gained by uniting interest with unbelievers, for every ray of light given to living human agencies is to shine amid the moral darkness that envelopes the world.

Opponents persecute because they do not know the Father who sent Christ and cannot receive the truth. Even those who have received light and evidence may turn determinedly away as the Jewish nation did, resisting clear evidence with unsanctified hearts. Some will oppose faithful witness and even persecute believing they are serving God, and such opposition to faithful testimony does not prove the testimony false. Those who receive Christ's message will also receive the disciples' message, while those who reject it show they do not know Him who sent Christ.

Hatred is provoked because Christ's goodness and strict integrity set Him apart and condemned sin, exposing selfishness and corruption. His pure, sinless life was a constant reproach, and the purity and holiness of His followers likewise expose and rebuke those who love sin, just as Abel's godliness provoked Cain. A consistent life of service to God reproaches people who serve the world, so they hate that influence, and this hatred directed at the goodness that rebukes them will grow more manifest as the end of time approaches. The hostility continues as long as sin and sinners remain.

The conflict endures because Satan's enmity against Christ continues fierce and determined against His followers to the close of time. Evil wherever it exists, in fallen angels and fallen men who have forsaken Christ's holy character, feels no enmity toward each other but leagues together in desperate companionship against the righteous and obedient. He follows the children of God causing disaster and death through human agents controlled by him, working through the powers of darkness. The enmity corresponds to wholehearted service to God, and love manifested in the church will surely stir Satan's wrath, so the gospel must be carried forward by aggressive warfare amid opposition, peril, loss and suffering.

Opposition falls on those in offices of sacred trust and on all the faithful who hold the truth firmly and teach it distinctly and positively before the world, who obey God's commandments and do His works. Choosing to obey God and keep the Sabbath rather than follow the world's customs brings this opposition, even to conflict within a family, for there is no harmony between Christ and evil. Those who live by God's word and refuse the world's sin, lust and self-gratification take a different course that rebukes opposers. Their loyalty may be met by arrest and hearings before councils where oppressive human laws are raised against God's law while God's law is despised. Those who hold only an outward form may abandon the truth when persecution and reproach come.

Christ was hated without cause though His works were perfect with the Father and He was without spot or stain. His followers may likewise be hated and persecuted without cause even when their lives are faultless and blameless. Since false witness was borne against Christ and reproach heaped upon Him, every child of rebellion will do the same evil work against His followers through false reports, slander, unjust accusation, insult and abuse. Those who reject the truth may fabricate accusations as Satan's agents accused Christ, and call the godly enthusiasts or fanatics because God's word condemns sin and calls people to righteousness. Humble godliness will thus be misjudged as narrow, bigoted, exclusive, excitable fault-finding and enthusiasm, yet those made partakers of Christ's reproach should not complain.

Comfort in Trials

Christ gave the warning beforehand so that his followers would not stumble, be intimidated, discouraged, doubtful, fretted, impatient, irritated, or tempted to lose faith when religious authorities oppose their witness, when they are imprisoned for teaching, or when they must pass through manifold afflictions and temptation in contact with worldly men who do not believe the truth. They do not travel the Christian way alone, for the Comforter testifies of Christ while they bear witness to him, God's angels minister to the heirs of salvation, and the Captain of the Lord's host fights for them, with the victory belonging to him and not to human skill or status. God has made provision through faith in Christ that they need not fail nor be discouraged in the dark, troubled future, and Christ mingled bright, hopeful promises with the dark warning to prepare them to bear faithful witness against evil as his representatives to an apostate world while in the world but not of it. He knew every phase of experience and conflict they would face and grieved that they must pass through it, yet his words of encouragement and hope in John 14-16 impart courage to stand fast in the most trying hour and bring strength and assurance to the true believer as long as time shall last.

Rejection does not mean failure, for belonging to Christ and bearing his message brings the same treatment he received, and opposition to faithful testimony for Christ does not prove the testimony false. Christ marked out no easy path for his disciples, but called them to carry the gospel forward by aggressive warfare in the midst of opposition, peril, loss, and suffering, only following in their Master's steps and suffering for his name's sake. Trials endured in that path can develop faith, patience, trust in God, and other virtues, and opposition from the world in wholehearted service to God can leave believers wiser and more powerful than worldly favor and fellowship would.

Suffering at the hands of the wicked does not show that God has forgotten his children, that his goodness should be doubted, that he has ceased to be good, stopped reigning, or abandoned them, for those who endure torture and martyrdom follow in the steps of Jesus whose suffering for them exceeded what they can suffer. God permits it while the wicked reveal their character and the righteous are purified and become witnesses to faith, and their faithful example also condemns unbelief. Christ identifies with them so that insults, reproaches, false accusations, and rage against those who accept the truth and identify their interests with his are charged to persecutors as offenses against Christ himself, and he will ultimately judge oppressors as though their cruelty had been done to Christ. He remains with his faithful people, and the stronger the opposition to right and righteousness the more the Lord makes his light shine.

When work is rejected, disciples are to remember Jesus and continue sowing the truth, continue serving faithfully despite opposition, and not abandon the field where he was rejected but continue cultivating it. Through his grace they can keep faith and trust in God through neglect, abuse, persecution, hatred, oppression, and jealousy, enduring affliction in a way that strengthens simplicity of character, humility, and abiding trust in Jesus. They should not meet trials timidly or complain but do their work without complaint, humbling themselves before God and trusting Jesus to make their efforts fruitful, giving God's warnings whether heard or not and leaving consequences with God.

Only hatred suffered for good works, for following Christ, and for faithfulness in discharging duty for his sake pleases God and brings reward and promise, and the believer's only anxiety must be that hatred is kindled for no other reason, knowing they have to do with God who tries the heart and has pleasure in uprightness. That promise does not cover hatred brought on by refusing to take a course to be loved, by uncultivated manners, by making truth a matter of quarrel with neighbors, by pursuing a course to make the world hate them, or by making the Sabbath as annoying as possible. Those who take such a course make God angry, cause the world to place the Sabbath and their errors on a level and throw them away together, become a stumbling-block to sinners and a reproach to sacred truth, and unless they repent it were better for them that a millstone were hung about their neck and they were cast into the sea. Since the world's Redeemer was scorned as a deceiver and hunted down as a malefactor, those who become his servants and work his works will receive the same treatment, even being persecuted, forsaken, and betrayed with friends and relatives rising against them, yet they must not become discouraged but set the Lord ever before them and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

The warning guards against dissatisfaction when Christ does not work a miracle to save his servants or humble their enemies, and against expecting an easy path or a life free of difficulty. Their calling was not to be removed from the world but to face trials in it while Christ kept them from evil, and those who refuse the world's sin, lust, and self-gratification will face its hostility yet are to overcome the world as Christ overcame it, relying on his strength.

Prophecy Through History

Christ was speaking of the close of the world's history, and what was done to Him will be repeated against His followers to the end of time. The world's hostility to His Spirit and to pure truth persists through changing forms and will continue unbroken to the end, because those who are not of the world but chosen out of it will be hated as He was hated before them. That hatred is directed against those who show His character, for His goodness and strict integrity set Him apart and drew the world's hatred, and the same hatred against such character will grow more manifest as the end approaches. Satan's enmity against Christ continues fierce and determined against His followers to the close of time, working through human agents, so that evil in fallen angels and fallen men, which feels no enmity toward each other, leagues together against the righteous and obedient.

The prophecy was fulfilled in the apostles' time and soon after it was given, when remembering the warning kept the disciples from being intimidated or discouraged when imprisoned for teaching. The Jews who rejected Christ met His disciples with indignities, outrage and cruelty, and their response to God's messengers showed refusal to hear God. From that time the gospel has always been proclaimed amid opposition, danger, loss and suffering, including imprisonment, exile, torture, massacre and execution. It will be fulfilled again because the unregenerate heart remains hostile to God's law and to Christ's principles, and those who resist clear evidence about Christ may turn against those who carry His message.

The same lot continued through the first centuries, when those enduring torture and martyrdom followed in Jesus' steps and suffered less than He suffered at the hands of wicked men. Their suffering did not show that God had forgotten His children or ceased to be good, for He permits it while the wicked reveal character and the righteous are purified and become witnesses whose faithful example condemns unbelief. Insults against them are charged as against Christ Himself, He remains with the faithful, and He will ultimately judge oppressors as though cruelty had been done to Christ. The hostility directed against Jesus rests also on those who believe in Him from the time He left them until His return in power and glory, because their purity and holiness expose and rebuke the selfishness and corruption of those who love sin, as Abel's godliness provoked Cain and the Saviour's character led to rejection and crucifixion.

That history runs through the Waldenses, through corrupt papal leaders animated by the spirit that crucified Christ and slew the apostles, through Luther censured as proud and divisive for new truth, through Huss and Jerome holding truth though recanting would save life, and through the faithful in Bohemia under bloody persecution. It runs also through servants censured and left unsupported while opposers are praised. The warning applies to all who truly live godly lives, not merely to professors, for those holding only outward form may abandon truth when persecution and reproach come. If believers meet no ridicule or censure, conformity to the world may have made them too like it to provoke hostility, since separation from worldly customs to please God brings hatred even though life is faultless, as Christ was hated without cause.

Persecution may take the form of arrest and hearings before councils that enforce human laws while despising God's law, arising because opponents lack experiential knowledge of the Father and of Christ. Because of faith many will be cut off from house and heritage here, yet if they give hearts to Christ, receive the message of His grace, and rest upon their Substitute and Surety, even the Son of God, they may still be filled with joy. As spies watched Jesus and sought grounds to accuse Him, His followers may be watched, cast out as evil and opposed even by friends. Suffering for Christ is an honor, as Peter showed by asking to be crucified head downward rather than in the manner of his Lord.

Faithful Life and Mission

Abiding in Christ through vital connection as branches in the vine is what the verse impresses, contrasting true branches with spurious ones. It requires coming out from the world and being separate, refusing to mix or mingle with the world while claiming union with Christ. Influence must be kept wholly on the Lord's side, with no self-love, indulgence of inclination, or compromise of faith that would make a person Satan's servant, a decision of eternal importance. A compromising religion corrupted by worldly currents is admired by the world, while true faith holding to righteousness and holiness must struggle against wind and tide and will draw scorn and derision, and that scorn is a compliment to Christian integrity. Rather than dwelling on real or supposed faults of fellow believers, Christians are to receive and live by Christ, whose words give spiritual life, for Christ alone bears and takes away sin. If Christ dwells within as the hope of glory, personal spirituality rebukes worldly pride and extravagance, and faithful warnings and earnest prayers clash with worldly ambition and bring meanness and derision, so believers must not be discouraged or float with the current but cling by living faith to Christ the Rock and Redeemer. By this unity humanity lays hold of divinity, reflecting heaven's light.

Despite the opposition described in the surrounding verses, disciples are called to represent Christ, help others, show His love, and be a blessing to the world. Their future work would fail if divine power were left out of human efforts; they were to build ministry on Christ and maintain partnership between God and workers. The gospel is to be carried forward by aggressive warfare amid opposition, peril, loss, and suffering, and those who do this work are only following in their Master's steps, suffering for His name's sake. Persecution and reproach are the lot of true followers, yet during Christ's personal absence the Holy Spirit comforts and strengthens them to serve faithfully. They need not be terrified, for God helps and guides the faithful and the enemy's power is limited to what providence permits, enabling reliance on God rather than human wisdom or rash action to remain faithful and to enlighten and bless others. They must not hide the truth when going against the world's customs and traditions but let it shine so others may be saved and sanctified.

The servant is not greater than the Lord, so believers must copy Christ's example and cannot place themselves higher than Him by refusing lowly work. Though the Majesty of Heaven, rich in honor and glory, He did not hold Himself aloof from the unfortunate but labored among the afflicted, poor, distressed, needy, despised and lost to help those who most needed help. Those who think refined taste and high calling make it beneath them to mingle with and help the most helpless take a position higher than their Lord and will in the end be found lower than the lowest they shunned. Even when disagreeable, duty demands uniting with the Master as coworkers in helping the class most in need of help. As He endured abuse, reproach, hatred, mockery, betrayal, and death, followers must expect to be unpopular and to suffer, walking meekly and lowly rather than seeking the highest place, and those who walk humbly with God and share His sufferings will also share His glory. His example teaches walking humbly, not exalting self or relying on merits, but hiding life in Christ, and by observing how He lived in the world they can know how to walk without mistake. Self-denial and sacrifice as He lived them are an essential condition and principle of discipleship.

Ministers are to believe the plainly set out will of God in the verse and live it before fellow ministers. Understanding it is the privilege of those who watch unto prayer, and it requires reconversion and grasp of genuine missionary work. It requires emptying the heart of self daily, abiding as branches in Christ the true Vine, and learning His meekness and lowliness to bear fruit to God's glory. The verse calls followers to remain faithful in the service He has sent them to do despite the world's opposition, for as the world persecuted and hated Christ it will persecute and hate those chosen out of the world, while those who receive His teaching will also receive the disciples' message.

Obedience includes keeping temper and maintaining a Christlike, untarnished reputation when in contact with worldly men who do not believe the truth, rather than becoming fretted, impatient, or irritated, showing a faith that works by love and sanctifies the soul rather than personal pride and self-sufficiency. It means enduring slander, false accusation, criticism, and hostility with patience and peace rather than retaliation, remaining faithful where placed and trusting God. It means being a coworker with Christ with character molded by the Holy Spirit after the divine similitude, practicing His lessons to save souls by heeding the confessions and pleadings of an erring one like a sheep bleating about the fold, opening the door and welcoming her to the fold and connecting her again with His work, refusing to close hope's door, acting as Christ would act, calling her to die to self and live unto Christ, and taking responsibility to help her walk with God and be an overcomer. In the home it means fathers and mothers must never get into a scolding line because scolding gains nothing, but must bring children up in nurture and admonition by teaching them the love and nurture and knowledge of Christ.

Because hardship may bring privation, believers should learn practical skills including trades, building, and cultivating land so they can provide for themselves and families when reproach and persecution come for the truth. They have a Saviour on their side and are never alone, and to be on His side is to work with Him to the best of ability to overcome the enemy's temptations and to labor unitedly and heartily for victory at every step. The Lord reveals Himself to them as they work for heaven and eternal life that they may enter through the gates into the city where there is no more death and no more sin and no more temptation, to see the King in His beauty and gain beauty of character that they and their children can be welcomed through the gates with right to the tree of life, for it is only a little while until earth's history closes.

Taking the word to heart corrects lack of love and lack of resignation to bear any cross or difficulty. Sacred union with God brings His salvation in a remarkable manner, and He must do a great work for His people before they stand in review at judgment. Readiness comes at once by humbling the soul before God, seeking the Lord, confessing where wrong has been done, and letting light shine forth because the Lord is working. It calls followers to respect Christ, trust Him, rest helpless souls in hope on His promises, and live those promises before the world, expecting the same treatment He received where persecutors persecute and keepers of His teaching keep theirs also.