John 15:18–16:15

PERSECUTIONS PREDICTED

¹⁸“If the world hates^m you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosenⁿ you out of it, the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’^o If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word,^p they will also keep yours. ²¹But they will do all these things to you on account of my name,^q because they don’t know^r the one who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.^s Now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³The one who hates me also hates my Father.^{t 24}If I had not done the works^u among them that no one else has done,^v they would not be guilty of sin.^w Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled:^x They hated me for no reason.^Ay

THE COUNSELOR’S MINISTRY

²⁶“When the Counselor^z comes, the one I will send to you from the Father^aa—the Spirit of truth^ab who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. ²⁷You also will testify,^ac because you have been with me from the beginning.

16“I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. ²They will ban you from the synagogues.^ad In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service^ae to God. ³They will do these things because they haven’t known^af the Father or me. ⁴But I have told you these things so that when their time^B comes you will remember^ag I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵But now I am going away^ah to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’^{ai 6}Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth.^aj It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.^{ak 8}When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: ⁹About sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰about righteousness, because I am going to the Father^al and you will no longer see me; ¹¹and about judgment,^am because the ruler of this world^an has been judged.^ao

¹²“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.^{ap 13}When the Spirit of truth^aq comes, he will guide you into all the truth.^ar For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵Everything the Father^as has is mine.^at This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.^au