John 15:17-16:4
The Voice
17 This is My command to you: love one another.
18 If you find that the world despises you, remember that before it despised you, it first despised Me. 19 If you were a product of the world order, then it would love you. But you are not a product of the world because I have taken you out of it, and it despises you for that very reason. 20 Don’t forget what I have spoken to you: “a servant is not greater than the master.” If I was mistreated, you should expect nothing less. If they accepted what I have spoken, they will also hear you. 21 Everything they do to you they will do on My account because they do not know the One who has sent Me. 22 If I had not spoken within their hearing, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for ignoring My voice.
23 If someone despises Me, he also despises My Father. 24 If I had not demonstrated things for them that have never been done, they would not be guilty of sin. But the reality is they have stared Me in the face, and they have despised Me and the Father nonetheless. 25 Yet their law, which says, “They despised Me without any cause,”[a] has again been proven true.
26 I will send a great Helper to you from the Father, one known as the Spirit of truth. He comes from the Father and will point to the truth as it concerns Me. 27 But you will also point others to the truth about My identity, because you have journeyed with Me since this all began.
As Jesus warns of the mistreatment His followers can expect, He disarms fears by noting the most important things. If the Spirit is within, there is no reason to fear. In fact, the church will thrive under persecution. Yet humans are obsessed with power and political prominence as a means to influence the culture. Christian citizens have an obligation to strive for justice and freedom through the transforming power of the Spirit in people’s lives. Rather than exerting temporal power, the real work of the Kingdom often thrives under fierce attack and opposition. Jesus announces this coming persecution to His followers, believing this will lead to their finest hour.
16 Jesus: I am telling you all of this so that you may avoid the offenses that are coming. 2 The time will come when they will kick you out of the synagogue because some believe God desires them to execute you as an act of faithful service. 3 They will do this because they don’t know the Father, or else they would know Me. 4 I’m telling you all this so that when it comes to pass you will remember what you have heard. It was not important for Me to give you this information in the beginning when I was with you.
Footnotes
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
