Reflection on Jn 15:18-19

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Jesus speaks about hatred on the part of the world. By the world here is not meant beautiful nature but the thinking that defies the truth and places vanity and the pride of life at the centre. Why? Because the prince of this world, as Jesus calls him, is the spirit of lies and death. With the first sin disharmony entered not only the human heart but also the material world. The Word of God says that the world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1Jn 5:19) and hates God (Jn 15:18). This world is the opposite of everything that comes from the will and wisdom of God (1Cor 1:20-27; 3:19; Jn 14:17; 15:19). The answer to the question of how the form of this world can be compared with the Bible’s account of God creating a good world (Gen 1:31) is given in Romans 5:12, where the Apostle Paul states that through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin. However, it did not happen according to the necessity of fate, but through an act of human will, disobedience and obstinacy. What is even more serious is that the world – that is, people conformed to worldly thinking – did not recognize the One who came to His own. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him (Jn 1:10-11). Here, then, the concept of the world does not refer to a mere impersonal, natural reality, but in essence to the human world, to man with his typical actions and direction. Specifically, it refers to disobedient man ignorant of God, trusting in himself instead of in true God, deprived of the light of truth and life, and immersed in the darkness of sin and death (Rom 5:12). The world in this sense is not only characterized but literally established by human action, such as egocentric concerns arising from unbelief (1Cor 7:31). The Bible speaks of the world instead of simply sinfulness. That means that the sin is not just an accidental and instantaneous slip, but a basic and false direction of life. Through his disobedience, man moves beyond limits of his personal identity and thus into a power of evil. The world is mankind in its sinful unity rebelling against God. A human sin encompasses the entire creation, it subdues it to its destruction (comp. Rom 8:20) and makes it a tool of the power of evil. The same is expressed in a sentence related to sin and death (Rom 6:23). Thus to be in the world means to be constantly in temptation and yes, under the power, which prevents a person from fulfilling their true destiny. Those two sides – personal human fault and transpersonal power of evil, which tempts and shackles a person – are essential for this facet of the concept of the world.

The nature of the world is revealed most clearly at a point, where the world meets Jesus and His gospel. Jesus came into the world as Light of the world (Jn 8:12), but the world did not recognize the Light, on the contrary, it loved the darkness (Jn 3:19). What happens when one encounters Jesus – it is a moment of sorting out of minds, decision making and division among people. Those who reject Jesus reflect the world in a very distinct way and as such they already condemn themselves (Jn 3:19).

The word of life that we are going to reflect on for the next two weeks is the words of Jesus, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you” – the world or the system of the world saturated with lies and sin, and the spirit of lies behind it, the prince of this world, hated Christ. Today the most powerful weapon of the world is a lie which leads through Covid ideology to autogenocide of the individual and mankind. It has exposed literally a striking blindness originating from sin. People no longer distinguish between good and evil, and are not even willing to know the truth. When they are told the truth, they hate it, sometimes to the point of fury. They are literally breathing the spirit of this world. Therefore many of them do not want to be converted, and are on the broad path that leads to eternal destruction. They do not want to think of the end, they do not want to be wise, they do not want to be mindful of the reality of death, God’s judgment and eternity. They believe in self-deception and in liars. The world is in bondage to the spirit of lies and death. Surely, Jesus has overcome the world and also says, “This is what has overcome the world – your faith.” But here Jesus reminds us that we cannot form a unity with the world, because the world refuses to love the truth. Because we hold to the truth, the spirit of lies and the system of the world hate us, and we must reckon with that. But to those who love God and keep His commandments, all things work together for good. Even the suffering that we endure when encountering the hatred of the world leads to inner purification and merits for eternity.

Download: Reflection on Jn 15:18-19