Handling the World’s Hatred

Years ago, at the time of the opening up of inland Africa by missionaries, the wife of an African chief happened to visit a mission station. The missionary had a little mirror hung up on a tree outside his home, and the woman happened to glance into it. She had come straight out of her pagan environment and had never seen the hideous paintings on her face, or her hardened features. Now, gazing at her own face, she was startled. She asked the missionary, “Who is that horrible-looking person inside the tree?”

She could not believe it until she was holding the mirror in her hand. When she had understood she said to the missionary, “I must have the glass. How much will you sell it for?”

The missionary did not want to sell his mirror. But she insisted so strongly that in the end he thought it would be better to sell it to her and thus avoid trouble. A price was set, and she took the glass. Fiercely she said, “I will never have it making faces at me again.” She threw it down and broke it to pieces. (Quoted in Boice, John, 1192–93)

“It is not the tree,” said the missionary. “The glass is reflecting your own face.”

The hatred of the world for Christians is the woman breaking the mirror that shows her true reflection. The world feebly lashes out at Christians due to a guilty conscience. The righteousness of Christ and the presence of his followers remind them of their guilt and shame. Instead of anger Christians have regularly expressed sympathy for their tormentors. We say with Jesus, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). They don’t understand that their hatred hides the guilty screams of their tormented consciences. We understand, so we respond with mercy, not anger.

John 15:26–16:4

Jesus promises to send his Spirit to tell people about him; then he says his disciples will tell people about him (vv. 26-27). We understand these two promises as one promise—the promise his Spirit will empower his disciples to witness about him. The Holy Spirit is called the Counselor and the Spirit of truth (v. 26). He will help the disciples speak the truth about Jesus. The disciples aren’t left with this monumental task to accomplish on their own. Jesus promises divine reinforcements. The Spirit of God will be sent from the throne of God to empower the people of God to witness about the Son of God.

The Spirit of God empowers us to tell the truth. To tell the truth, we need to be honest about sin. We face the temptation to minimize sin in order to downplay the difference between Christians and the world. Again this stems from our desire to be loved instead of hated. However, if we’re not honest about sin, then we cannot impress upon people the need for a Savior. But honesty about sin begins by being honest about our own sins. It’s not always difficult to tell the truth about someone else’s sin, but it’s far more difficult to be truthful about our own. The Holy Spirit can help witness about our own need of salvation. We must not act as if we have it all together and we’ve got it figured out. Instead, we must be honest about our own brokenness, weakness, and failure. Then we can talk honestly about our desperate need for Christ, bearing witness about his grace at work in us. If we approach people while unwilling to open up about our need for salvation, then our words will seem like nothing more than arrogant, hypocritical condemnation.

There’s a danger of redefining sin in order to make the good news easier to hear, but love compels us to be honest: whatever God calls sin, we call sin. We have no authority to call clean what God calls unclean. The Holy Spirit helps us share this truth—difficult truth about sin and judgment—with a humble kindness that is compelling to others. We need to ask God to give us honest words wrapped in warm hospitality. One of the reasons we should try so hard to show hospitality is because we know the message of the gospel is offensive. To present the gospel honestly, we must tell a person that he or she is a sinner who stands guilty before God. But the offense of the gospel is part of a greater message of God’s plan to welcome sinners into his family because of the sacrifice of his Son. Hospitality demonstrates the gospel and puts the offense of the gospel in the greater context of God’s invitation to be reconciled through Jesus.

To testify about Jesus (v. 27) requires honesty about sin and a willingness to be rejected. No one enjoys rejection. We guard our feelings and friendships to prevent rejection. We’ll often cut off a relationship if it seems headed for rejection. When it comes to witnessing about Jesus, we must embrace rejection. In rejection we find fellowship with Jesus. Jesus was rejected, and when his people are rejected on his account, we find unique fellowship and identification with him (Heb 13:12-13). When we fear rejection by the world, we refuse to be identified with Jesus. Rejection by the world means we’ve joined Jesus outside the camp—where the criminals go, where the despised are sent, where the scum go to die. Whom do we want to be accepted by? Those inside the camp will accept us as long as we’re willing to stay silent about Jesus. Or we can speak up, face rejection, and choose to go where Jesus is—outside the wall, outside the circle, outside the city limits. The fear of being hated and rejected by the world often keeps us from speaking about Jesus. Don’t stop witnessing. If you’ve been silent, start speaking now. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help you share the truth about him.

Jesus doesn’t minimize the severity of persecution (16:1-4). He tells the truth, and the truth protects his disciples from becoming disillusioned. They won’t look back and say, “Jesus never told us it would be difficult. He said it would be easy.” No, he was honest about the cost of following him. He said they would be cast out of the synagogue and some would be killed (v. 2). To be cast out of the synagogue was a big deal. It meant more than losing your church. It meant being kicked out of your community. Your identity would be erased. Your future plans all shattered. You could not marry a girl from the community. Any children you had would be outcasts. Your family would consider you dead. They would throw a funeral for you and mourn over you. You would be a man without a family or a country. For a Jew, being kicked out of the synagogue would be a fate worse than death. Many would choose death over this dishonor.

It’s a far cry from the false promises of the prosperity gospel preached in so many places today. Following Jesus is worth it, and the benefits far outweigh the cost, but there is a cost. Any preacher who tells you following Jesus is the way to good health, riches, or luxury is not following Jesus; he’s selling you something.

Following Jesus leads to suffering and persecution. The persecutors will often be driven by religious fervor; they will persecute you as an act of worship to their false God (v. 2). They are misguided but sincere. The reality of persecution should not surprise us. In fact, the lack of persecution we face as American Christians is historically abnormal. The history of Christianity is filled with martyrs. As Tertullian famously said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Our family tree is filled with executions.

There is a price for following Jesus, and Christians through the centuries have been willing to pay the price. Why? The prize is worth the price. Knowing Jesus is worth the cross. In the face of intense persecution, we need to hold on to the truth and cling tightly to Jesus. When living for Jesus and speaking about Jesus brings persecution, don’t fall away. Instead, rejoice because God’s Spirit will be with you in a unique way as you share in the sufferings of Jesus (cf. 1 Pet 4:12-14).

What’s the greatest danger we face in times of persecution? Is it injury? Is it death? No. It’s falling away. The greatest danger in persecution is being convinced this temporary life is more valuable than Jesus. Persecution has a way of sifting the true disciples from the false. Persecution exposes spiritual scavengers—those who circle Christianity, hoping only to get something for themselves. Living for Jesus and telling others about Jesus might cause someone to hate you (cf. Luke 6:22). It may mean you’re excluded from someone’s circle of friends. You might experience mockery and insults. But don’t stop witnessing, and don’t stop walking after Jesus. Jesus says in effect, “In the face of persecution, don’t fall. Keep walking. Keep trusting. Cling to me.”

John Paton was a missionary to the cannibals on the New Hebrides islands in the mid-1800s. He suffered greatly and faced death many times. He described one time when a native tried to kill him with an axe and another man stepped in and saved his life. He wrote,

Life in such circumstances led me to cling very near to the Lord Jesus; I knew not, for one brief hour, when or how attack might be made; and yet, with my trembling hand clasped in the hand once nailed on Calvary, and now swaying the scepter of the universe, calmness and peace and resignation abode in my soul. (Quoted in Piper, Filling Up, 64)

When you face persecution for following Jesus, whether it comes from a native swinging an axe or a neighbor spreading a lie, cling to the hand once nailed to Calvary and now wielding the scepter of the universe.