John 16:1-4·~1 min

Persecution Foretold

Jesus speaks these things so the disciples will not fall away, and he names the coming hostility: exclusion from synagogues and even killing done under the belief that God is being served.

“¹I have told you these things so that you will not fall away. ²They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.

He says these acts will come from people who do not know the Father or him, and he tells the disciples in advance so they will remember his words when the hour comes.

³They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me. ⁴But I have told you these things so that when their hour comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

Section summaryJesus warns the disciples that opposition will not only exclude them but also come dressed as devotion. He gives the warning now so they will not stumble when it arrives, and so they will remember that he had already spoken of it when the hour comes.

Role in the chapterThis opening movement prepares the disciples for rejection by naming its shape before it arrives, so memory can steady them when violence and exclusion begin.