The reason for the world’s hatred toward the followers of Jesus is that they do not belong to the world and the world only loves its own (John 17:14; 1 John 3:13). There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the world has always hated anyone who was different. When Jonas Hanway tried to introduce the umbrella into England by walking down the street under one, he was pelted with rocks and dirt. The world doesn’t like change and it doesn’t like anything unlike itself. Barclay says that “the basic demand on the Christian is the demand that he should have the courage to be different.”

John 17:14  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

1 John 3:13  Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

Another reason for the world’s hatred of Christians is that the world hates anyone whose life condemns their own. They killed Socrates because he was always making them think and examine themselves. They banished Aristides the Just from Athens and when asked why, one of the citizens responded, “Because I am tired of hearing him always called ‘the Just’.”

Robertson asks the question, “Does the world hate us? If not, why not? Has the world become more Christian or Christians more worldly?”

“chosen” = Notice again that the Christian is chosen by the Lord. He personally picked us out. He specifically wanted you. You are His choice.

Jesus uses the word “world” 5 times in this verse. Do you think that He did this because there were no Thesauruses available at that time? No. He is intentionally making the word “world” linger in the mind of the reader. Why?

Sometimes the hostility of the world toward the Christian is not highly visible or is not flagrantly hostile. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, Chrstians and those of the world share many common interests. They hold the same jobs, send their kids to the same schools, and attend the same ball games, so the difference between us and them is not always readily seen, but it is still there like a cracked wall that has been panelled over. Second, we both have, to an extent, a common code of morality, so even worldly men who don’t know Christ will often do good things. But the difference between the two and the hostility of the world towards the Christian is only barely hidden beneath the surface. Let an evangelist or a well-known Christian fall and note the response of the news networks or even your own fellow workers.

The fact is that the world stands in opposition to the Christian. A man is either of the world or of Christ; there is no middle ground. The world being what it is and the Christian being who he is makes it inevitable that the world will treat us exactly as it did Jesus. Why? Because, as Maclaren observes, “We and it stand in diametrical opposition of thought about God, about self, about duty, about life, about death, about the future; and that opposition goes right down to the bottom of things.” We need to remember this so that we will not be surprised when good but worldly men oppose the things of God.