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Author: Stephen Weller
663 words, 4 minutes read time

Guilty Without Excuse

Scripture: John 15:22-25

In the previous lesson we looked at why the world hates us. In this lesson we will look at why the world is guilty of sin.

^{Jn 15:22} “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ Whoever hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

Jesus came from heaven to share the gospel and die as our substitute to provide for us salvation. He came and spoke to those who were dead in their sin, to provide them with the opportunity to believe in him. Jesus said that he spoke to them and as a result they are now guilty of sin. That does not imply that they were not guilty of any sin before he spoke to them, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). What it does point out is that they are now guilty of disobeying what Jesus is telling them and as a result they are growing in their hatred of him (verse 18). Jesus has taught with power and authority and provided evidence through signs and wonders of who he is, but they still reject him and remain in their sin.

The Jews claim to love God, but Jesus said, “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:23 ESV). It therefore follows that whoever hates Jesus hates the Father also. This hatred of theirs is also directed in the reverse direction of also hating those who follow Jesus. The world lives in sin and any form of righteousness reminds them of that sin and stimulates their desire to silence or to eliminate any form of reminder of their depravity and need.

Jesus points out to them that he did works before them, like feeding the 5000 plus women and children, that no one else has done, to validate his message and who he was. Their rejection of Jesus and his message make them guilty of the sin of rejecting him. If he had not come and spoken to them then they would not have been guilty of that particular sin. They have now heard and seen and have no excuse but instead have come to hate both he and thus his Father.

^{Jn 15:25} “But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

Jesus now draws their attention to what was written in the Old Testament about their hate for him. For example, “More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?” Psalm 69:4 ESV). In this psalm of David, we have a righteous person who is zealous for God but is persecuted by God’s enemies for no good reason. Jesus is pointing out that like David, he is being hated for no good reason.

Conclusion

“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV), is evidenced by the hatred displayed toward Jesus and towards those who stand firm in their faith. The world is in bondage to their sin and seek to live in darkness, but when those show up with the light of the gospel it inflicts pain in their lives like the bright light that hurts our eyes when we walk out of a dark room. It is the reminder of their sin that causes them to hate the righteous and rise up against them.