The verse emphasizes that the world's hatred isn't just a possibility, but a present reality, urging disciples to "know" (which can also be translated as "understand" or "realize") this truth. This hatred is not new; it was directed at Jesus first, establishing a shared experience and a profound connection with their Master.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is in His final hours, preparing His disciples for His departure and the challenges they will face. He’s just spoken of His deep love for them and their calling to bear fruit, and now He explains that their separation from the world means the world's opposition is inevitable, not a sign of failure but of their belonging to Him.
Ever felt like you're on the outside looking in, misunderstood or even disliked for who you are or what you believe? Jesus addresses this head-on.
Jesus tells his followers, 'If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.' This isn't a hypothetical; it's a statement of reality. The Greek word for 'know' can be taken as an instruction: Know this! It's meant to be a firm truth for disciples to grasp.
Think about it: the 'world' here refers to the system of values, beliefs, and practices that stands in opposition to God's ways. When you align yourself with Christ, you inevitably become a stark contrast to that system.
The verse emphasizes that this hatred isn't personal or arbitrary. The world hated Jesus first, and intensely. His purity, his teachings, his very presence exposed the darkness of the world. Your experience of hatred, therefore, is a shared experience with your Master. It's a sign that you're walking in His footsteps, setting yourself apart from the world's agenda.
What if the very thing that makes you feel rejected is actually proof you belong somewhere else, with someone greater?
Jesus connects the world's hatred directly to his disciples' distinct identity. He says in the verses that follow (though not in our focus verse), 'If you were of the world, the world would love you as one of its own; but because you are not of the world, and I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.'
This is a profound reframe! The world's hatred isn't a sign that you're failing as a follower of Jesus, but that you're succeeding. It's evidence that you have been 'chosen out of the world.' Your difference, which draws the world's ire, is precisely because Christ has set you apart.
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The world loves what is like itself. If you fit in perfectly with the world's values and behaviors, it would embrace you. But when you reflect Christ's light, you expose the world's darkness, and it reacts with hostility. This hatred, therefore, becomes a badge of honor – a confirmation that you belong not to the world, but to Christ.
Understand the original words
kosmos · Greek Noun
The system of human society, culture, and ideologies that is organized apart from God and is frequently characterized by opposition to His kingdom and values.
miseō · Greek Verb
An intense, settled hostility or aversion. Biblically, it describes the reaction of those who reject God toward those who reflect His righteousness.
doulos · Greek Noun
One who is in a state of bondage or service to another. Biblically, it describes the believer's humble, obedient relationship to Christ as their Master and Lord.
diōkō · Greek Verb
To harass, oppress, or mistreat someone due to their faith or allegiance to Christ. It is the predictable response of a fallen world to the presence of the truth.
Jesus spoke these words in the final hours before his crucifixion, knowing the intense hatred the world held for him. He was preparing his closest followers for the same rejection they would face, emphasizing that this opposition was a mark of their identity with him.
c. AD 27-30— this verse
Jesus' Ministry and Growing Opposition
During Jesus' public ministry, his teachings and actions increasingly drew the ire of religious and political authorities, leading to widespread rejection and hostility from segments of the Jewish population.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus' Crucifixion
Following his arrest and trial, Jesus was crucified by the Roman authorities under pressure from Jewish leaders, marking the culmination of the world's hatred toward him.
c. AD 30-33
The Early Church is Born
Following Jesus' resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit empowered his followers, forming the nascent Christian church.
c. AD 40-60
Spread of the Gospel and Persecution
The apostles and early Christians began to spread the message of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire, facing increasing opposition, arrest, and persecution from both Jewish communities and Roman authorities.
This passage directly parallels the idea that suffering and hatred from the world are to be expected, not as something strange, but as a fiery trial that is part of the Christian experience.
1 John 3:13This verse speaks to the reason *why* the world hates believers, linking it to their new nature in Christ, which is distinct from and opposed to the world's ways, just as Cain's murderous act stemmed from his being of the evil one.
Matthew 10:22Jesus himself warned his disciples that they would be hated by all for his name's sake, emphasizing that enduring this hatred is a direct consequence of following Him and a sign of their belonging to Him.
Galatians 1:10This passage highlights the tension between pleasing people and pleasing God, suggesting that the world's hatred is a likely outcome when one's primary allegiance and message are focused on God rather than human approval.
John 15:23This verse further explains the hatred of the world, stating that they hate Jesus because He revealed their sin; by extension, believers who carry His message will also face hatred for the same reason.
vincentJohn 15:18: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you."
If the world hate (εἱ μισεῖ)Literally, hates. The indicative mood with the conditional particle assumes the fact as existing: If the world hates you, as it does.Ye know (γινώσκετε)This may also be rendered as imperative: Know ye.It hated (μεμίσηκεν)The perfect tense, hath hated. The hatred continues to the present time.Before it hated you (πρῶτον ὑμῶν)Literally, first in regard of you. See on John 1:15.
cambridgeJohn 15:18: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you."
18 . ye know that it hated me ] Better, know that it hath hated me (comp. John 15:20 ). As in John 14:1 the principal verb may be either indicative or imperative, and the imperative is preferable: the second verb is the perfect indicative, of that which has been and still is the case. before it hated you ] ‘It hated’ is an insertion by our translators, and ‘before you’ is literally ‘first of you,’ like ‘before me…
The verse emphasizes that the world's hatred isn't just a possibility, but a present reality, urging disciples to "know" (which can also be translated as "understand" or "realize") this truth. This hatred is not new; it was directed at Jesus first, establishing a shared experience and a profound connection with their Master.
Jesus is in His final hours, preparing His disciples for His departure and the challenges they will face. He’s just spoken of His deep love for them and their calling to bear fruit, and now He explains that their separation from the world means the world's opposition is inevitable, not a sign of failure but of their belonging to Him.
Jesus is in His final hours, preparing His disciples for His departure and the challenges they will face. He’s just spoken of His deep love for them and their calling to bear fruit, and now He explains that their separation from the world means the world's opposition is inevitable, not a sign of failure but of their belonging to Him.
"“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. R…" — The verse emphasizes that the world's hatred isn't just a possibility, but a present reality, urging disciples to "know" (which can also be translated as "understand" or "realize") this truth. This h…
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Last reviewed October 2026
