John 15:23

He that hateth me hateth my Father also. HE THAT HATETH ME HATETH MY FATHER ALSO - so brightly revealed in the incarnate Son that the hatred of the One was just naked enmity to the other....

23._He who hateth me hateth my Father also. _This is a remarkable passage, which teaches us that no man can hate the doctrine of the Gospel without manifesting his impiety against God. There are many, indeed, who profess differently in words; for, though they abhor the Gospel, still they wish to be thought very good servants of God; but it is false, for a contempt of God is concealed within. In this manner Christ discovers the hypocrisy of many by the light of his doctrine; and on this subject we have spoken more largely under that passage, Whosoever doeth what is evil hateth the light (89) (John 3:20,) and under that passage, He who honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father, (90) (John

18-25 How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake. The world's ignorance is the true cause of its hatred to the disciples of Jesus. The clearer and fuller the discoveries of the grace and truth of Christ, the greater is our sin if we do not love him and believe in him....

HE THAT HATETH ME ... - To show them that this was no slight crime, he reminds them that a rejection of himself is also a rejection of God. Such is the union between them, that no one can hate the one without also hating the other. See John 5:19; John 14:7, John 14:9....

EXPOSITION JOHN 15:1 (7) _The parable of the vine and its branches_._ Incorporation of the disciples into one personality with himself_._ _The image of the vine may have been suggested by some visible object. Either of the hypotheses of place would furnish a reminder of the nature and culture of the vine. Thus around the windows of the guest-chamber the vine may have thrown its tendrils, or on the slopes of Olivet the vineyards may have been prominent objects, or the burning heaps of vine-prunings may have suggested the idea. Again, if they were pausing in some apartments of the temple-court, the golden vine, the image of Israel, upon the gates may have supplied the point of departure. But our Lord needed no such help to his imagination, and it is by no means necessary to find an occasion for his imagery. The fact that

HE THAT HATETH ME, HATETH MY FATHER ALSO. The hatred the world bears to the followers of Christ, is interpretatively hatred to Christ himself; and hatred to Christ himself, is no other than hatred to his Father; and indeed, all the hatred that is shown by the men of the world to Christ, to his Gospel, and to his faithful ministers and followers, originally arises from that enmity, that is naturally in the heart of every unregenerate man against God: now since not only Christ, but the Father also, is hated by the world, the children of God and disciples of Christ may sit easier under all the resentment, frowns, and malice of the world....

John 15:1. _I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman._ Not only the Mosaic law, but the whole creation is full of types of Christ. All the vines that we see in this world are only as it were typical; but Christ is the substance,-the substance of nature as well as of grace: «I am the true vine,» and the real Husbandman, who watches over everything, who has the whole Church, yea, the whole universe, under his care, is the great Father: «My Father is the husbandman.» John 15:2. _Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:_ It has no right to be there, for it is not there by a vital union; it will only harbor mischief if it is allowed to remain, therefore let it be taken away; and taken away it certainly will be by the Husbandman who makes no mistakes....

CHAPTER 15 1. The Vine and the Branch. (John 15:1 .) 2. Communion with Him and its Conditions.(John 15:9 .) 3. Love One Another! and the Hatred of the World. (John 15:17 .) Israel is called a vine in the Old Testament (Psalms 80:8; Isaiah 5:1; Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1) and Christ here in this parable takes the place of Israel and is the true vine. His disciples are the branches. Is

JOHN 15. THE VINE. The relation of the following Chapter s to 14 has been discussed. The Parœ mia, or parable-like discourse, reminds us of the parable or metaphor of the Good Shepherd in ch. 10. Two thoughts are prominent here, the pruning needed to get rid of useless branches and to ensure the fruitfulness of the rest, and the intimate union between Christ and His disciples, symbolised by the relation of the branches to the vine. We must compare the OT teaching which represents Israel as the Vine. Christ is in the spiritual sphere what the vine stands for in nature, in respect of human necessity. He is the source of spiritual strength which satisfies men's needs. As always, He is subordinate to the Father. The vinedresser cuts out useless branches, pruning the rest to make them bear more fruit. So the Father has glorified the Son by cutting out the traitor. Christ's teaching, which is...

HE THAT HATETH ME HATETH MY FATHER ALSO. This follows from the fact that Christ is Immanuel, God with us, the manifestation of the Father. As Christ is revealed to us, so is the Father. Every one who hates God in Christ, hates the Father who sent him. The Jews thought they did not, but they did. They knew not God, but worshiped another god whom their own imaginations had created. Christ was the manifestation of the God of their Fathers, but when they saw him they hated him....