Friday, 13 October 2023

The Upper Room Discourse 41

Tweet

John 15:23-25 He who hates Me also hates My Father. If I had not done works among them that no one else did, they would have no sin. But now they have seen and have hated both Me and My Father. So is fulfilled the word written in their Scripture, 'They hated Me for no reason.'

There are some keys to a proper understanding of these verses. First of all, when Yeshua says "hate," He is not using the word as we usually do in modern English. For Him, "hate" is more than a strong dislike. The New Testament uses the word "hate" to indicate anything less than "first love." Yeshua is saying if we don't put Him first, we are not putting His Father first either. And not putting God first, is sin. Of course, we have to use the Scriptures to prove the Scriptures.

Luke 14:26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters - and yes, even his own life - he cannot be My disciple.

Yeshua is pro family. He commands us to love each other and that includes families. But if we put our family above God, that is an error called sin. Earlier, in Luke 9, Yeshua commanded a man traveling with Him on the road to follow Him. The man responded that he needed to wait until his father died before he would be free to follow Yeshua. Yeshua's answer might seem harsh to our ears.

Luke 9:60 But Yeshua said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Immediately, another man had a similar excuse, to which Yeshua responded.

Luke 9:62 But Yeshua said to him, "No one who has put his hand to the plow and looked back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Makes me want to ask myself the question, "Do I really understand what is at stake here?" Do you? Following Yeshua is life and death. He has to come first in our lives. Anything less than putting Him first is what He calls "hate." It's easily avoided, put Him first. After all, He is the best.