Following Jesus in a World That Hates Him

by Bart Denny

Central Text: John 15:18-25

We've come to part five of our series, The Upper Room Way, where we've been listening in on Jesus' parting words to His original disciples, and seeking to understand how they call us to counter-cultural living today.

We all understand visible allegiance

Sometimes it is a wedding ring. Sometimes it is a team jersey. Sometimes it is a company badge, a logo on a hat, a sign in the yard, or a bumper sticker on the back of a vehicle. Those things communicate something before you ever open your mouth. People see them and immediately make an assumption: You belong over there. You are with them. That is your side.

Most of the time, that kind of allegiance doesn't cost you much.

But some allegiances get expensive.

Some loyalties change the room. Raise the temperature. 

Some loyalties make people pull back. 

Some loyalties make you stand out.

That's where many Christians feel the tension. It's one thing to be associated with Jesus when the conversation is about love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and serving others. It is another thing when loyalty to Jesus makes the room awkward. It is another thing when saying what He says, or refusing to bless what He forbids, changes how people see you. Suddenly, following Jesus doesn't make you look kind. It makes you look narrow. It doesn't make you seem loving. It makes you seem naïve. It doesn't make you look courageous. It makes you look troublesome.

That’s where the pull begins.

The pull to go quiet.

The pull to soften what Jesus said.

The pull to put just enough distance between yourself and the hard edges of discipleship that you can still feel accepted.

And that may be the hardest part of all. Many of us don't want to be faithful only. We want to be faithful and well-liked.

Jesus is too honest to let His disciples stay there. So He prepares them.

Jesus isn’t picking a fight. He’s preparing His people.

John 15 is not a pep talk for Christians with a persecution complex. Jesus is not trying to produce paranoia, resentment, or a victim mentality in His disciples. He is doing something far better. He is helping them read the situation rightly. He is teaching them to understand opposition before it comes, so that they will not lose heart, distort the truth, or become harsh and bitter.

That's important because how we interpret resistance will shape how we respond.

If we misread it, we will either panic or lash out.

If we read it through Jesus, we will remain steady.

So what does Jesus want His disciples, and us, to understand?

First, don’t be surprised when the world rejects you, because it rejected Jesus first.

Jesus says it plainly: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18) (NOTE 1). He adds, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20).

That is not Jesus telling His followers to be abrasive. It is Jesus preparing them.

And when Jesus uses the word world here, He is not talking about the physical planet. He is talking about humanity in rebellion against God, the moral and spiritual order that resists the Son and doesn't want His truth. If the Master was hated, the servants shouldn't expect applause.

This has been a theme throughout John’s Gospel. “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him” (John 1:10). Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in Him before the resurrection, and Jesus said the world hated Him because He testified that its works were evil. In other words, the world hated Jesus because He told the truth. He exposed what people wanted to keep hidden.

That means Christian opposition is not always a sign that something has gone wrong. Sometimes it is evidence that we belong to the One who was rejected first.

Now, a necessary caution is in order here. Not every inconvenience is persecution. Not every disagreement proves we are being faithful. Sometimes Christians are resisted because we have been foolish, proud, or combative. We should never confuse rudeness with holiness. But when we are resisted because we belong to Jesus and refuse to deny His truth, Scripture says it is painful, but not strange.

Think of an airline customer service agent after a string of canceled flights. That employee didn't cause the storm. They didn't break the airplane. They didn't write the airline's policy. But they are wearing the logo. They represent the airline, so angry passengers unload on the person in front of them. Why? Because when you bear the name, you share the response people have to the one you represent. 

Jesus is saying, in effect, Don't be shocked if the world responds to you the way it responded to Me. You carry My name.

Second, when the world pushes back, remember who you belong to.

Jesus goes deeper in John 15:19 and 21. “You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” Then He says, “They will treat you this way because of my name.”

That is identity language.

Not bragging language. Not superiority language. Grace language. Rescue language. Jesus is saying, You are Mine now.

And that matters, because opposition tends to hit identity first. When pressure comes, the questions come fast: Am I the problem? Do I need to tone this down? Would people accept me more if I sounded less like Jesus? That is why Jesus roots His disciples in belonging before He sends them into a hostile world. The world’s rejection does not cancel their identity. It reveals it.

John’s Gospel has already said that those who receive Jesus are given “the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Peter later says believers are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,” not so they can boast, but so they can declare His praises (1 Peter 2:9). Chosen, not for arrogance. Chosen for witness.

This is one of the great themes of The Upper Room Way. Jesus settles identity before He commands obedience. Earlier in the Upper Room, He loved His own to the end. He washed His disciples’ feet. He declared them clean. Their belonging came before their doing. Their identity was settled before their mission was clarified. That same pattern shows up here again. When the room changes, do not let the room tell you who you are. Jesus already has.

Think about an athlete playing an away game. The whole crowd is against him. Every time he touches the ball, the boos get louder. Nobody in that building is trying to make him feel at home. But the crowd does not decide whose team he is on. His jersey does. The noise may be real. The hostility may be real. The pressure may be real. But none of that changes where he belongs. That is what Jesus is doing for His disciples. He is saying, When the world pushes back, do not let the crowd define you. You belong to Me.

The crowd may be loud.

But it is not lord.

Jesus is.

Third, stand with Jesus when His truth exposes what the world wants to hide.

Jesus then presses even further. Why does the world hate Him like this?

Because His words and works expose sin.

In John 15:22–25, Jesus says that His coming, His teaching, and His works have revealed God so clearly that those who reject Him are left without excuse. He is not saying people would have been sinless if He had never come. He is saying His revelation of the Father is so bright, so clear, so undeniable, that rejecting Him exposes the guilt that was already there. He does not create their sin. He reveals it.

That is why this hostility is so serious. Jesus says that to hate Him is to hate the Father. In John’s Gospel, you cannot separate the Father from the Son. To reject the Son is not a small theological mistake. It is resistance to the God who sent Him.

This fits John 3:19–20 perfectly: “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." The issue isn't simply a lack of information. It's moral resistance. The world can tolerate a Jesus who inspires, comforts, and affirms. What it resists is a Jesus who tells the truth about sin and calls people to repent.

That means the real question in this passage is not only, Will you endure being disliked? It's, Will you stay with Jesus when His truth exposes what the world wants to keep hidden?

Again, a guardrail matters here. This doesn't give Christians permission to become harsh. It does not authorize cruelty. It does not turn faithfulness into an excuse for obnoxious behavior (I think the phrase "Thou shalt not be a jerk" is sound biblical theology). But it does mean we cannot redefine love as the refusal to say what Jesus says. It does mean we can't call darkness light in order to preserve social approval.

A cluttered room may feel manageable in the dark. But when the light comes on, the mess becomes obvious. The light did not create the mess. It exposed it. That is what Jesus does. And people respond in one of two ways. Some step into the light and get honest. Others resent the light because they would rather keep the mess covered.

That is why faithfulness to Jesus can create friction. His truth reveals what many people would prefer not to face.

So how should Christians live in a world that hates Jesus?

We should not build our lives around being liked by the world.

And we should not respond to the world’s hostility with hostility of our own. That isn't the Upper Room way. Jesus washed feet in that room. Jesus loved in that room. Jesus told the truth in that room. So the call isn't to choose between truth and love. The call is to hold them together.

We don't back down from what Jesus says.

And we don't lash out at the people who resist it.

We stay clear. We stay humble. We stay loving. We stay faithful.

That kind of steadiness does not come from personality. It comes from belonging. If your identity is anchored in approval, opposition will unravel you. But if your identity is anchored in Christ, you can remain steady when faithfulness costs you.

A few closing questions:

So what does this mean in real life?

It means that when following Jesus costs you something this week, you do not need to panic. If the room changes because you belong to Him, do not assume something has gone wrong.

It means you remember who you belong to. Before you ask, What do people think of me? ask, Am I being faithful to Christ?

It means you tell the truth without losing love. No compromise. No cruelty. Just steady, Christlike faithfulness.

So where will that matter for you?

At work?

At school?

In your family?

In a friendship?

Online?

When that moment comes, do not shrink back. Do not strike back. Stay with Jesus.

Because if the world hated Him first, our calling is not to make sure everybody welcomes us.

Our calling is to follow Him faithfully anyway.

NOTE 1: Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version (Zondervan, 2011).

Sermon note:
This post is adapted from a sermon preached by Dr. Bart Denny at Pathway - A Wesleyan Church on Sunday, March 22, 2026. The full service, including the sermon in its entirety, can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBUMFcnf2NI

About the author:

Dr. Bart L. Denny, Ph.D., is the lead pastor of Pathway - A Wesleyan Church in Saranac, Michigan. He is also an adjunct seminary instructor, teaching Christian leadership and ministry, a retired naval officer, and a longtime ministry leader with a passion for faithful biblical preaching, servant leadership, church renewal, and Christ-centered discipleship. Through his preaching and writing, he seeks to help people follow Jesus with courage, clarity, and hope.