²³ “He who hates Me hates My Father also.”

Jesus-phobia, Jesus-hate. There is coming a day when we will see this in our western world, where we have long enjoyed a Judeo-Christian culture and morality, infused with the influence of the Bible. Increasingly, it is getting more difficult to “work around” Jesus’ teachings, and to try making the problem out to be the hypocrisy, extremism and abuses the world sees and calls Christianity. Until now, the fault has been laid at the feet of Christians, not at the feet of Christ. “What would Jesus do?” has assumed the answer to be, “loving, non-judgmental, inclusive, celebrating diversity, meekness, non-threatening.”

Yet, the world will have to come to terms with Jesus’ righteousness, holiness and exclusivity. For example, it was Jesus who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). That is an extremely narrow view of the truth. He claimed for Himself to be the only way to God, not just one of many, taking His place among great religious prophets. He, as a man, accepted worship as God (John 20:8). He didn’t accept the promiscuous woman in John 8 as just having an alternative life-style, but said to her, “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11 NIV). He was about changing life-styles to line up with the holiness and righteousness of God.

Jesus unashamedly admired John the Baptist as the greatest of all prophets (Matthew 11:11), yet the Baptist railed against Herod’s immoral life-style (Matthew 14). Yes, Jesus was a social reformer, endorsing the judgment of God against a permissive culture, using the biblical standard of righteousness. He spoke of moral accountability and judgment by the moral Law-giver. He spoke of absolute truth, even claiming to be “The Truth” (John 14:6). None of these things go over well in our “emancipated,” post-modern world.

Once the world system figures out that Christians act the way they do because of the teachings of Jesus Christ Himself (however poorly we may represent Him), the world will turn on Christ! They did it when He was physically present with those well-versed in the OT prophecies. They will do it again when there is less common morality, other than tolerance. And then tolerance itself will give way to anarchy or totalitarianism. These things reign in the absence of a belief in the true God.

When people reject Jesus Christ, they reject God Himself. Jesus’ words fit well into the terminology of today’s culture. “Hate-speech,” which is normally thrown around at those who are seen as “intolerant,” will ironically and tragically be thrown against Christ and against God.

Lord, I am not ashamed to stand with You or afraid of rejection by the world.