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“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.” —John 15:18

John 15 — When Following Jesus Comes at a Cost

Jesus has just spoken tenderly to His disciples about loving one another, staying connected to Him as the true vine, and bearing fruit that reflects His heart. But now He turns to a sobering reality: living this way will not always be welcomed. In fact, it will often provoke hostility.

He wants His followers to understand that obedience, love, and fruitfulness come with a cost. The world will not always applaud Christlikeness. Sometimes it will oppose it. Sometimes it will hate it.

And Jesus doesn’t soften the truth. There is no safe, neutral path for His disciples. It’s not a matter of if the world will hate us, but when. So He calls us not to fear it, but to prepare for it.

Of course, that’s easier to say than to live. “Hate” is a strong word. It’s one thing to say you hate cauliflower or mosquitoes. But when someone says they hate you, it cuts deep. It unsettles. It wounds. And when that hatred is directed at you because of your faith, it can feel especially painful.

But Jesus reminds us that our relationship with Him is infinitely more important than the world’s approval. If hatred is the price of following Him, it is a small price compared to what He sacrificed for us.

The world’s hostility can take many forms. Perhaps you’ve been mocked for choosing a different way of life. Perhaps you’ve been criticised online for holding to biblical convictions. Perhaps your job or reputation has been threatened because you refused to compromise.

The goal of such hostility is often the same: to silence us, to shame us, to push us to the margins, to pressure us into compromise.

But Jesus calls us to remain distinct. “You are the salt of the earth,” He says. Salt that loses its flavour is useless. Disciples who lose their distinctiveness are too.

Ultimately, the world does not hate Christians because of political views or social positions. It hates us because we belong to Christ — and it hates Him. So strangely, there is something to celebrate in being hated. It means people recognise Christ in us. It means our lives are bearing the kind of fruit that cannot be ignored.

But Jesus does more than warn us. He promises help.

The Holy Spirit — our Advocate, our Comforter, the Spirit of truth — stands with us in the face of hatred. He strengthens us when we feel weak. He reminds us of who we are and whose we are. He exposes the lies of the world and anchors us in the truth of Christ.

And He whispers a vital reminder: the alternative to being hated by the world is far worse. The alternative is compromising our faith, diluting our witness, or abandoning Christ altogether.

Persevering through hostility is not easy, but it is worth it. And strangely, the world’s hatred becomes a kind of spiritual barometer — a reminder that our lives are aligned with Jesus, that our witness is visible, and that our faith is real.