Kaleo San Diego Church

Today’s message may feel more like a short homily than our normal 1 to 1 ½ hour message. 

 

One reason is that there is a pretty constant a pointed that Christ is discussing with His disciples, and two, because when tucking my little 6 year old in bed last night we were talking about what adoption is and she asked if the reason I was adopted was because I had big hands, and I talked a lot.  From the mouth of babes…

 

John’s Gospel moves at a pretty fast pace until we come to the last week, and now even more so, the last night of His death.  John spends 5 chapters devoted to the dialogue that Jesus has with His disciples.  If you remember when we first began this study in John, we mentioned that 90% of what John writes is unique when compared to the Synoptics of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

 

Matthew-Presented his Gospel to Jews, and so he shows Jesus as the Messiah and King that fulfills the Law.
Mark-Presented his Gospel to Romans and introduces Jesus as one who is mighty in deeds and could certainly get the job done that was set before him.
Luke-Wrote his Gospel to the Gentiles and introduces Jesus as a perfect man of whom the entirety of the Old Testament pointed to. John-Presents his Gospel to the Greeks and develops an amazing argument of the Deity and Sovereignty of God the Son from the perspective of an eye-witness.

 

CONTEXT

 

Again, we are in the last night before Christ is crucified.  Judas Iscariot who was supposed to be a dear friend and follower of Jesus, has already left to betray Christ and to identify Him so that Christ’s pursuers could capture Him and take Him in the cover of night, to have a mock trial and to subsequently be murdered.

 

Jesus knows all of this, yet has decided to spend His last night with His closest friends, encouraging and teaching them to serve one another, to love one another, to abide in Him and now to bear witness of Him to all the world by being hated and potentially murdered.

 

THE STUDY

 

Before we read the passage it would be good to discuss what Jesus means when He says “the world.”

 

The word is used in 8 different ways in the New Testament, but in this portion of Scripture, Christ is referring to “the world” as those that are opposed to God and His work.

 

Often times we confuse worldliness with culture and without knowing switch the two words and assume they mean the same thing.

 

We know that culture is nothing more than a sum total representation of the character of the people it represents.  If the people are God glorifying and loving, their culture is one that would be considered the same.  If they are evil and wicked and without God, you could say that their culture is evil and wicked.  Culture is neutral and simply waits to be defined by those that participate in it.

 

Worldliness however is something entirely different.  Worldliness refers to that which fundamentally is the opposite of holiness, righteousness and purity in Christ.  Worldliness is characterized by its opposition to the things of God.

 

So Jesus now moves from telling His friends that they need to serve one another, love one another, and abide in a close relationship in Him, to introducing to His disciples a foretaste of what’s to come.

Jesus essentially says that there is a large group of people called the “world” that hates Him, Hates the Father, and definitely hates them and will probably find a way to kill them because of their relationship with Him.

 

Let’s read.

 

15:18“If the world hates you, you should realize that it hated me before you. 19If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you do not belong to the world and I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 20Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21They will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have any sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23The person who hates me also hates my Father. 24If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have any sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25But this happened so that the word written in their law might be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ (Psalm 69:4- Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.)

26“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27You will testify also, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Chapter 16

16:1“I have told you this to keep you from stumbling.  2They will throw you out of the synagogues. Yes, an hour is coming when the one who kills you will think he is serving God! 3They will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4But I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you this in the beginning, because I was with you.”

 

Ok boys, here’s the deal.  The world is going to hate you because I chose you and you love me and I love you.  Don’t worry though because you’re in good company, they hate Me and My Father also.

 

I gave them sign after sign, yet they didn’t believe because they don’t know God. 

 

It’s ok though because My Father and I are going to send the Holy Spirit and He is going speak truthfully about who I am and give testimony of Me through you.

 

I’m telling you this so that you won’t freak out when it happens, but they are going to toss you out of the synagogue and they are going to kill you and claim they are doing it for our God.

 

So don’t be alarmed because when it happens you’re going to remember what I said about them.

 

Since I’m leaving and won’t be with you any more I decided to tell you what’s going to happen.

 

Does this sound like our modern day message of “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?”

No it doesn’t.  Jesus is interested in preparing His followers for the inevitability of their faith if it is lived out as a witness for Him.

 

Let’s think about what has happened since Jesus predicted their actions:

 

We are told that Stephen was “full of faith and power” and was nothing more than a servant of the widows and Apostles.

Yet we are told that he debated and frustrated the Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, so much as He spoke of Christ, they devised a plan to have him taken into custody.

He then stood before the council with his face shining like an angel and proceeded to give the council a Jewish history lesson, speaking of the Old Testament fathers, until he finished with his lesson and then shift the attention to the council;

Acts 7:51 he abruptly ends His long speech on Jewish history by speaking directly to them. 51 “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 "who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it."

What was their reaction to the truth Stephen spoke?

Acts 7:54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 8:1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

We see this same pattern with the Apostle’s.

James the son of Zebedee, was executed by Herod about 44 AD (Acts 12:2).

Peter and Paul were both martyred in Rome about 66 AD, during the persecution under Emperor Nero. Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified, upside down at his request, since he did not feel he was worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.

Andrew went to the Soviet Union. He was the first to bring the gospel to that land. He also preached in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and in Greece, where he was crucified.  Legend says that it took two days for Him to die of crucifixion and in that time, he preached the Gospel and called people to repentance and faith in Christ, and many responded and placed their faith in Jesus.

Thomas went east of Syria. He preached as far-east as India. He died there when pierced through with the spears of four soldiers.

Philip had a powerful ministry in Carthage in North Africa and then in Asia Minor, where he converted the wife of a Roman proconsul. In retaliation the proconsul had Philip arrested and whipped, then stoned to death.

Matthew went to Persia and Ethiopia. He was stabbed to death in Ethiopia.

Bartholomew had missionary travels to India with Thomas, Armenia, and also to Ethiopia and Southern Arabia. He was beaten then crucified, after which they took him down from the cross and eventually beheaded him.

James the son of Alpheus ministered in Syria. The Jewish historian Josephus reported that he was stoned and then clubbed to death.

Simon the Zealot, ministered in Persia and was crucified after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god.

Matthias was the apostle chosen to replace Judas. History tells us that he was in Syria with Andrew and put to death by burning.

John, the writer of this Gospel, is the only one of the Apostles who died a natural death from old age. They tried to kill him by boiling him in oil.  God spared him and they exiled him to the island of Patmos where he wrote Revelation.

 

In Recent history we see this trend continue at an even more alarming rate:

1893-1923 Turkey destroys 5 million Christians.

1930-1953 Sixteen million Christians were executed under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

Since the crucifixion of Jesus more than 43 million Christians have been killed for their faith.

160,000 believers were martyred in 1996 . . .not 160,000 in this century, but in 1996. Countless others were subjected to unimaginable horrors.

More Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than in the previous 19. Sudan, China, Ethiopia, Kuwait & Egypt are just a few of the many countries in which atrocities are documented today.

Some 165,000 Christians will die for their faith in Jesus this year. Religious statistician David B. Barrett writes in his new book "Today's Martyrs."

That means there will be around 452 Christians murdered today!

605 million Christians live "under political restrictions on religious liberty" and 225 million endure outright persecution.

 

How do these stories make us feel as Christians in America?

How are we to take our lack of persecution in this country? 

 

Is it a blessing or a curse?

 

How does preaching a message of “God has a wonderful plan for your life,” differ with this story?

 

Let’s pray.

 

Communion and tithe.

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