“Everyone will hate you…”

16 Sep “Everyone will hate you…”

“…because you are my followers.” That’s Jesus in Luke 21:17… “…everyone will hate you because you are my followers.” Jesus is speaking about the persecution his followers will face after he is crucified, risen & ascended. He says more than that, but it struck me this week that that language from Jesus is recorded in all four gospels. Here…let me show you:

John 15:18-19 –  “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

Matthew 24:9 – “You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.”

Mark 13:13 – “…everyone will hate you because you are my followers.”

Now…Mathew, Mark & Luke all contain the assurance of Christ’s protection of his children & the call to endurance to the end as the path to eternal life with him. John includes the promise of the Holy Spirit dwelling in Christ’s followers as the power to persist in witness to the gospel against the hatred of the world. But when all four gospels tell you something…you need to know Jesus is serious & we better be paying close attention. The world hates you because you bear the name of Jesus…that’s a sobering reality that none of us should ignore…and maybe most of us had never considered except in theory. It’s time to get beyond theory because Jesus uses the word “hate” to literally mean a gut-level abiding “heat of 1000 suns” hatred.

This week an Australian Christian journalist (Kurt Mahlburg) made this observation: “Charlie Kirk was assassinated for the same opinions I hold.” He’s right…I hold those same convictions as well. Most Australians had no idea Charlie Kirk existed until he was assassinated this past week. He was a follower of Jesus, a father of two young children, & a faithful husband. He was 31 years old. He was a dedicated non-violent thinker, debater, speaker & writer. Not long before he was ruthlessly gunned down in front of his family Mr Kirk was asked why he went on University Campuses around the world & engaged in open honest debate with people who violently disagreed with his positions. He responded that it was important to discuss our disagreements respectfully because “when people stop talking, that’s when you get violence, that’s when civil war happens.”

A friend of mine noted, “They just killed the guy who wanted to talk. The guy who comes next might not be so peacefully inclined.”

I hope my friend is wrong, but it gives me pause to know that as a follower of Jesus, one who defends the Bible’s truth that each human life has value & worth & is worth protecting, especially those lives in the womb that others so casually disregard & destroy, some would want to destroy me. I uphold the Biblical truth that God created male & female, nothing in-between or outside those two sexes. I affirm that those two sexes have unique complementary roles & responsibilities in the sustaining & flourishing of God’s beautiful world, and that to suggest they are interchangeable or mutable from one to another is a gross wrong that only yields pain & sadness. As followers of Jesus we have a mandate to be compassionate & loving as we live & speak truthfully. As followers of Jesus we have a responsibility to the poor, marginalized, & oppressed. We must be a people of justice, but justice is never about simply overturning the systems that grant the most freedom, the greatest advancements in society, or the greatest hope & opportunity for all. I will always preach that we are granted eternal life & life in Christ now only by Christ’s death & resurrection…there are no other means of salvation. No one is embraced by the Father except through the outstretched arms of Christ & any who believe otherwise are in for a sad surprise. I don’t care how “devout” you are to some other belief system, outside of life in Christ is only death.

I suspect most of you agree with me…and those who don’t know we can talk & learn together. But there are those in our world, maybe even in our city, who would be happy if we were dead. That was proved this past week. We need to be honest about that…to live with greater fervour & faithfulness. Let me allow Jesus the last word here…because I know I don’t have answers other than to keep pointing to Jesus & God’s word & the love & support they provide among Christ’s family as the greatest hope for our sin-broken world…Luke 21:12-18

“Then Jesus said, ‘But before all this (the signs of the end) occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues & prisons, & you will stand trial before kings & governors because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you,  for I will give you the right words & such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, & friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you. And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But not a hair of your head will perish!”

Now…how do we prepare ourselves for that time of opportunity to give witness…?

1. Zoom Bible Study Catch-up
   Friday 19th September 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
   Join Zoom Meeting  —  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89674789066  —  Meeting ID: 896 7478 9066
2. LWF Prayer Morning – Saturday 20th September 10 a.m. @ our home. I’ll have the coffee pot on. We pray for about an hour about all manner of needs & people.
3. Sunday 21^st September – we kick off a new series for our worship & learning together: “Since You Asked…” We all have questions. Some are easy to answer. Some are more difficult. Sooner or later you ask the fundamental questions of existence…meaning…purpose…Why are we here? Is this life all there is? Why does bad stuff happen? When life hurts is there any help? Is my life important…at all? We’ll spend the next few weeks listening to the questions people ask the great internet search engines, & discovering what our response could be to some of the world’s most “searched” questions about, God, life, & Christian faith… What we say as God’s people when those around us are asking those questions matters? You don’t want to miss a single Sunday.
4. ADVANCE WARNING – Sunday 28th September is the annual Lake-to-Lake Run-n-Ride. We’re not doing the water station this year…too many of us away on the morning, BUT WE WILL HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER @ 12:00 midday in the Guide Hall & have our usual guided Bible Study around the texts for the day. Bring some food to share & we’ll have a great day together.

I’ll see some of you along the way this week & hopefully all of you in worship Sunday!

Peace & strength through Christ Jesus be with you all!

John