The world will not be honest about its own sin (15:22-24; 16:1-4). Once again, Jesus emphasized His words and His works. We have seen this emphasis throughout the gospel of John (3:2; 5:36-38; 10:24-27; 14:10-11). The people had no excuse (“cloak”) for their sin. They had seen His works and heard His word, but they would not admit the truth. All of the evidence had been presented, but they were not honest enough to receive it and act on it.
This statement is parallel to what Jesus told the Pharisees after He had healed the blind man (John 9:39-41). They had to admit that Jesus had healed the man born blind, but they would not follow the evidence to its logical conclusion and put their trust in Him. Jesus told them that they were the ones who were blind! But since they admitted that they had seen a miracle, this made their sin even worse. They were not sinning in ignorance; they were sinning against a flood of light. Why? Because that light revealed their own sin, and they did not want to face their sin honestly. Their attitude was similar to that described in 2 Peter 3:5–“For this they willingly are ignorant.”
How does the Holy Spirit encourage believers when they are experiencing the hatred and opposition of the world? It is primarily through the Word of God. For one thing, the Spirit reminds us that this opposition is clearly expressed by various writers in the Scriptures. In John 15:25, Jesus quoted Psalms 35:19 and 69:4. The Word assured Him that the hatred of the world was not because of anything He had done to deliberately incite such opposition. We today can turn to passages like Philippians 1:28-30; 2 Timothy 2:9-12; Hebrews 12:3-4; and 1 Peter 4:12ff. We also have the encouraging words of our Lord found in the Gospels.
The Spirit also witnesses to us and through us during times of persecution (John 15:26-27). He reminds us that what we are experiencing is “the fellowship of his [Christ’s] sufferings” (Phil. 3:10) and that it is a privilege to bear reproach for His name. (Read carefully 1 Peter 4:12-19.)
Times of persecution have always been times of proclamation and witness for the church. We must be “ready always to give an answer” when unsaved people attack us (1 Peter 3:15). The Spirit witnesses to us so that we can witness to the world (Mark 13:11). Apart from the power of the Spirit of God, we cannot give a clear witness for Christ (Acts 1:8).
There is no reason for the believer to stumble (“be offended,” John 16:1) when the world stokes up the furnace of persecution. He should expect persecution, if only because his Lord told him it was coming. (Note especially John 13:19 and 14:29, where the Lord warned His disciples in advance.) Furthermore, he must not stumble when this persecution comes from religious people who actually think they are serving God. The word translated “service” in John 16:2 means “priestly service.” This statement is certainly a description of Saul of Tarsus, who thought he was serving God by destroying the church (see Acts 7:57–8:3; 22:3-4; 26:9-12).
It is tragic when “religious” people persecute and murder in the name of God. While it is true that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” (Tertullian), it is also true that their blood is the stain on the pages of history.