Jesus Warns His Disciples — “The World Will Hate You If You Love Me”

In the fifteenth chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (v. 18). In his letter to the church in Smyrna, Jesus tells this struggling congregation that they will suffer great persecution, even to the point of death. The one responsible for this persecution is Jesus Christ’s ancient foe, the devil, who conducts his campaign against the church in Smyrna through the agency of the local synagogue and the local government. In Revelation 2:8-11, we see, in part, the historical outworking of that about which Jesus was warning his disciples in John 15, the inevitability of the persecution of God’s people at the hands of Satan. But Jesus Christ is the Lord of his church and even when persecuted unto death, his people triumph because he is their champion and the Risen Lord.

The Risen Lord Speaks to His Churches

The letters to the seven churches are part of a larger vision which began in Revelation 1:12 which opens with John’s description of the resurrected Christ. John describes seven golden lampstands which are symbolic of Christ’s presence with his church as well as the Holy Spirit’s empowerment of these congregations to serve as light to the unbelieving world which lives in darkness. These letters are part of a larger vision which begins with a description of Jesus Christ in all of his post-resurrection glory. It is Jesus who is the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and Last, that one who was dead but is now alive forevermore. Jesus holds in his hand the keys of death and Hades. It is this Jesus who walks among his churches. He knows the exact circumstances that each one of these congregations is facing. He knows their troubles and the nature of the evil they must confront. Jesus commends these churches for their faith and perseverance, but also confronts them with their sins.

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