John 15:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

NIV: And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

NASB: and you are testifying as well, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

CSB: You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

NLT: And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

KJV: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

NKJV: And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Recent verses mostly focused on how the world will hate Christians, specifically because Christians follow the teachings of Jesus (John 15:18–20). That hatred reflects unbelief; it's one of many ways those who hate truth attempt to resist it (John 15:21–25). As Jesus continues, with the verses starting chapter 16, He will return to that theme in more specific detail (John 16:1–4). For now, though, His intent is to preview the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:5–14).

A major role of the Holy Spirit is to "bear witness" about Christ in the hearts and minds of believers (John 14:16; 15:26). The influence of the Spirit leads us towards the truth, which is Christ (John 14:6). This makes sense, since the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are both sent from God the Father (John 8:42; 14:26).

The reference to people being with Jesus "from the beginning" seems specifically aimed at the disciples. Their eyewitness accounts of Christ's teaching began at the very start of His public ministry. Those accounts would not merely inform the apostles as they spread the gospel. Those memories would also serve as the foundation of the written records we have preserved in the four Gospels and the book of Acts (Luke 1:2; Acts 1:21-22), as well as other writings of the New Testament (2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1).

Christians, themselves, also serve as reminders of the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Greek root verb here is martyr󠅍eō, and the noun form is martys. In the literal Greek, this is someone who serves as a witness, such as in a legal setting, or who provides evidence. Over time, the term became associated with those who "gave evidence" of their faith by enduring violence and death: the modern English term is martyr.

That is the theme Jesus introduces in the next verses, as He explains the extent to which God's enemies will assault God's people.

John 15:18–27 predicts that those who follow Christ faithfully will experience hatred and persecution from the world. The intensity of this experience has varied according to time and culture, but the non-believing world is generally hostile to authentic faith. Jesus reminds His followers this is due to sin and rejection of God by those unbelievers. Just as Christians are never "too good" to serve as Christ served, they are never "too good" to suffer as Christ suffered. In the following passage, Jesus emphasizes that this warning is meant to bolster faith when those hard times come.

This passage begins with a celebrated analogy from Christ: the vine and the branches. This includes the seventh and final "I Am" statement of the gospel of John. Jesus uses this metaphor to explain how our spiritual life, as born-again believers, is drawn from His life. God's intent for our lives is to progress from barrenness to fruitfulness, to spiritual abundance. Jesus also repeats His command for believers to love each other. In this context, He goes so far as to refer to those who follow His teachings as His "friends."

Jesus is in the middle of a long discourse given to the disciples, which began during the last supper. He presents the analogy of a vine and branches, then repeats His command for believers to love each other. Jesus also warns about how the unbelieving world will hate and persecute Christians. This leads into the teachings of chapter 16, which focus on perseverance in the face of trials.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.