If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.
John 15:23-25 He that hateth me hateth my Father also…
John 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
understand that it hated Me first
Jesus reminds His followers that the animosity they experience is not new; it was first directed at Him. This serves as a comfort and a call to perseverance. Jesus' own life was marked by rejection and hostility, culminating in His crucifixion. This phrase connects to prophecies such as Isaiah 53, which foretells the suffering of the Messiah. It also aligns with Jesus' earlier teachings in the Gospels, where He warned His disciples of coming persecution (Matthew 10:22). The hatred towards Jesus was due to His challenge to the religious and social norms of His time, His claim to divinity, and His call to repentance. Believers are called to follow in His footsteps, bearing the same reproach for the sake of the Gospel.
Jesus prepares His followers for the reality that devotion to Him can trigger hostility from the surrounding culture.
• “I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world” (John 17:14).
• “Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you” (1 John 3:13).
• “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).
These verses show the pattern: when Christ’s light exposes darkness, resentment follows. By stating the possibility in the form of “if,” Jesus neither guarantees constant persecution nor minimizes it; He simply tells the truth so no one will be caught off guard.
The command to “understand” (or “know”) is an invitation to steady, informed faith rather than panic.
• “I have told you these things so that you will not fall away” (John 16:1).
• “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you” (1 Peter 4:12).
• “Without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you” (Philippians 1:28).
Taking Jesus at His word anchors the heart:
– Hatred is not a sign of failure but of identification with Him.
– Opposition cannot rob believers of their standing or their mission.
– Clear expectations free us from bitterness and self-pity, empowering us to respond with grace.
The hostility believers encounter is a continuation of the world’s attitude toward Jesus Himself.
• “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil” (John 7:7).
• “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:10-11).
• “He was despised and rejected by men” (Isaiah 53:3).
• “He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone’” (Acts 4:11).
Knowing this:
– Places our sufferings within Christ’s larger story––we share His rejection and will share His glory (Romans 8:17).
– Reminds us that Jesus understands every sting of hatred and walks with us through it.
– Calls us to mirror His response: truth spoken in love, courage without retaliation, forgiveness extended to enemies.
John 15:18 assures disciples that hatred from the world is neither random nor pointless. It is the predictable reaction of a fallen system to the presence of Christ in His people. By recognizing the pattern, trusting the Lord who went before us, and adopting His posture of grace and endurance, believers can meet opposition with steady hearts and faithful lives.
(18) If the world hate you.--He has spoken of their close union with Himself, and of their love to each other. He proceeds in the remainder of the chapter to speak of their relation to the world. There is a striking contrast between the "love" in the last verse, and the "hatred" in this. There was the more need for them to be close bound to each other, and to their Lord, on account of the hatred which awaited them in the world.Ye know that it hated me before it hated you.--It is better to take the first word as an imperative, "Know that it hated . . ." The very hatred, then, is a bond of union with their Master, and this thought should supply strength to meet it, and joy even when suffering from it (John 15:11). (Comp. 1Peter 4:12-13.)
Verse 18. - You need net be surprised if the world hate you. "The world," κόσμος (five times used in strongly emphatic manner), is humanity apart from grace. This world will despise and hate your mutual love, will scorn your love to itself for my sake; will detest the higher and unworldly standard which you will set up. But here is some consolation. Know (γινώσκετε imperative, as μνημονεύετε in Ver. 20) that it has hated me before (it hated) you. "Me first, me most" (Lange). "The superlative contains the comparative" (Tholuck). "This hatred is a community of destiny with me" (Meyer). You know how it has hated me, and hunted me from Bethlehem to Egypt, from Nazareth to Capernaum, from Gergesa to Jerusalem. Be not surprised if it hate you.