the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
law
νόμῳnomō
G3551
law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — dative singular masculine
They hated
ἐμίσησάνemisēsan
G3404
to detest (especially to persecute) · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
me
μεme
G3165
me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
without a cause
δωρεάν.¶dōrean
G1432
gratuitously (literally or figuratively) · adverb
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 109:3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
Psalms 69:4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are might…
Psalms 35:19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were w…
2 Corinthians 11:7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
Psalms 7:4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)
John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the worl…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 15:18-25
Here Christ discourses concerning hatred, which is the character and genius of the devil's kingdom, as love is of the kingdom of Christ. Observe here,
I. Who they are in whom this hatred is found - the world, the children of this world, as distinguished from the children of God; those who are in the interests of the god of this world, whose image they bear, and whose power they are subject to; all those, whether Jews or Gentiles, who would not come into the church of Christ, which he audibly called, and visibly separates from this evil world. The calling of these the world intimates, 1. Their number; there were a world of people that opposed Christ and Christianity. Lord, how were they incre…
that the word might be fulfilled . . . They hated me without a cause--quoted from the Messianic Psa 69:4, applied also in the same sense in Joh 2:17; Act 1:20; Rom 11:9-10; Rom 15:3.
Adam Clarke on John 15:25
Written in their law - See on Joh 10:34 (note). These words are taken from Psa 69:4. This psalm is applied to Christ, Joh 2:17; Joh 19:28; to the vengeance of God against Judea, Act 1:20. The psalm seems entirely prophetic of Christ. His deep abasement is referred to, Psa 69:2-5; his prayer for his disciples and followers, Psa 69:6; that for himself, in the garden of Gethsemane, Psa 69:15-19; his crucifixion, Psa 69:20-22; the vengeance of God against the Jews, from Psa 69:23-29; the glorious manner in which he gets out of all his sufferings, Psa 69:30; the abolition of the Mosaic rites and ceremonies, Psa 69:31, compared with Isa 66:3; and, finally, the establishment of the Gospel through t…
But this cometh to pass,.... This hatred against Christ, and which is pointed at his people for his sake, and reaches to the Father also on his account, is suffered to be, and therefore should be patiently borne:
that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law: either in Psalm 35:19, or rather in Psalm 69:4; which is a psalm of Christ, as appears by citations out of it in the New Testament, or references to it; see John 2:17. The whole Scripture is sometimes called the law, as here; for not the law of Moses is meant, or the five books of Moses, but the writings of the Old Testament; which the Jews had in their hands, to them being committed the oracles of God; and sometimes a…
The Church Fathers
[Jesus says], If I was not engaged in dialogue with them in deed and in word, they would have something to say. But now, since they do not accept my words, they are clearly condemned for their enmity toward me and the Father. Through the prophecy he also shows that their hatred of him was irrational.
(xv. de Trin. c. xvii) Under the name of the Law, the whole of the Old Testament is included: and therefore our Lord says here, That is written in their law; the passage being in the Psalms. (Tr. xci. 4) Their law, He says, not as made by them, but as given to them. A man hates without a cause, who seeks no advantage from his hatred. Thus the ungodly hate God; the righteous love Him, i. e. looking for no other good but Him: He is their all in all.
Here our Lord clearly shows that he is not unaware of the stubborn temper of the Jews but rather, he had foretold and knew in advance how they would respond. However, he still treated them with mildness and forgiveness as was befitting his divine nature. For he set before them the Word that called them to salvation even though they were ill disposed to receive it. And if any of them did have a good and suitable disposition, he even confirmed their faith by miracles. Here too he gives his disciples considerable benefit, with the goal that in a forgiving spirit they might extend the preaching of salvation even to those who offered them insults and might even in this be seen to walk in the path of excellence which was first revealed in Christ.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Church — Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., “the Lord’s house”), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia,…
Law — A rule of action. (1.) The Law of Nature is the will of God as to human conduct, founded on the moral difference of things, and discoverable by natural light (Rom. 1:20; 2:14, 15). This law binds all…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John 15:22-27
22. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23. He who hateth me hateth my Father also. 24. If I had not done among them the works which no other man did, they would not have had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. 25. But that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law. They have hated me without a cause. 26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, will testify of me: 27. And you also will bear testimony, (or, are witnesses) because from the beginning you are with me.
22. If I had no…
