It’s incredible to think that anyone hated Jesus. He never hurt anyone, and never turned away anyone who needed him. He lived as a servant to all, and resisted every attempt to promote him to be a king. He was wise and kind; he told people how to be successful in this life and the one to come. He never broke the Law of Moses, but he gave grace to others who were not as righteous as he was. He forgave sinners and guided them toward eternal life.

Jesus even tried to help his enemies. He rebuked the Pharisees, and asked them questions that were designed to help them see the danger their souls were in.

But he confronted their plans to kill him only once in Scripture:

“Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” (John 7:19)

When they didn’t respond to his rebuke he warned them about the danger they were in.

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” Matthew 23:33

The World’s Hatred

Jesus didn’t deserve to be hated, but he was, and his disciples needed to understand that following him meant they, too, would be hated.

“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. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:18-19

Even invoking the name of Jesus provoked hateful responses.

“Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” John 15:20-21

Mention the name of Siddhartha, Confucius, Zoroaster or the founder of almost any other world religion, and it doesn’t provoke much response, but say the name of Jesus and it divides the room. Why are people disturbed by the name of Jesus?

In John 7:7 Jesus said, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.”

The world hates to hear about sin, and the worst thing of all is calling someone a sinner. It’s “intolerant” and “judgmental” to mention sin and its consequences to a sinner. Nevertheless, the only way to escape sin’s penalty is to know what it is, confess it, repent from it, and be forgiven. Jesus confronted sin so he could help sinners.

People are Accountable for What They Know

Unfortunately for those who resisted what Jesus said about sin, once they heard it, they were accountable.

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their law: ‘They hated me without reason.’” John 15:22-24

The world was also going to hate Jesus’ followers without reason, so he told them to be prepared.

“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you about this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me.” John 16:1-5

Jesus took the heat of persecution during his time on earth and the disciples got to stand back and watch. But when Jesus returned to heaven, the disciples were moved to the battle front.

The Advocate

Jesus protected his friends from spiritual attacks as long as he was present. He was the devil’s primary target, although the devil also went after the disciples whenever he saw an opening. He got to Judas first, but he also tried to sift all of the disciples like wheat. Jesus stopped him by praying for them, but now that Jesus was leaving, where would their help come from?

“Very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7

The Holy Spirit was going to live in the disciples’ hearts after Jesus departed. He would take up the work with the disciples that Jesus couldn’t do because the disciples weren’t ready for it yet.

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” John 16:12-13

Jesus was going to connect his followers to the Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – where they would always have everything they needed.

The Trinity

Jesus described the oneness of relationship within the Trinity. God is One God, but he expresses himself in three persons. Jesus talked about how the work of the Spirit was inseparable from the work of Christ, and the work of Christ is inseparable from the will of the Father. The three Persons share one mind and will.

“[The Spirit] will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:14-15

Very soon the disciples would no longer see Jesus, but a little while later they would see him again. He may have been invisible for a while, but he was always present through the Holy Spirit, and someday he would return bodily and take them to be with him forever.

“‘Do you now believe?’ Jesus replied. ‘A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’” John 16:31-33

Jesus Prays for His Followers

Try using your imagination as you read John 17. Sit down beside Jesus and listen as he prays for you, because it is for you that your Savior prayed this prayer.

As he lived out his final hours, Jesus had the satisfaction of telling his Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4) His time was up and his work was done, just as his Father had asked him to do it.

He had gained souls for the Father.

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word . . . For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them . . . I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours . . . While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None have been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” John 17:6-12

Now Jesus was going to entrust the mission to his followers so that more souls would be gathered in.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21

Jesus’ Final Request

Jesus had one last request for his Father. He wanted to bring his friends home with him and have the joy of spending eternity with them. Jesus wanted his friends to see his house and meet his Father so they could understand where he came from and know how wonderful his home is. He wanted them to see it for themselves.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” John 17:24

How Jesus must have loved people to want them to come home with him, despite many disappointments and the many ways they hurt him. Jesus loved his Father and his Father loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believed in him would not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)