John 17:14 · Bible study
John 17:14 Commentary: Given the Word, Hated by the World
Greek · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why receiving God's word makes believers foreigners in a hostile world, sharing Christ's own separation.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Jesus gives the Father's word to his disciples, which causes the world to hate them because they share Christ's otherworldly identity.
- Key words: dedōka (perfect tense, permanent gift); ek tou kosmou (origin/source: not from the world); misēsen (aorist, decisive hatred).
- Main debate: Whether “not of the world” denotes an ethical separation from worldly values, an ontological change from rebirth, or both.
- Theological theme: The consequence of sanctification, being set apart by the word inevitably brings opposition from those still in darkness.
- Best use: Teaching on the cost of discipleship, the nature of Christian distinctiveness, and the solidarity believers have with Christ in suffering.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
WEB World English Bible 2000
I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
KJV King James Version 1769
I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
I have given them thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
I have given to them Thy word, and the world did hate them, because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
I have given them thy word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them: because they are not of the world, as I also am not of the world.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Yo les he dado tu palabra; y el mundo los aborreció, porque no son del|strong="G1537, G3588" mundo, como tampoco yo soy del|strong="G1537, G3588" mundo.
Tua palavra lhes dei, e o mundo os odiou, porque não são do mundo, assim como eu não sou do mundo.
Je leur ai donné ta parole; et le monde les a haïs, parce qu’ ils ne sont pas du monde, comme moi je ne suis pas du monde.
Ich habe ihnen gegeben dein Wort, und die Welt haßte sie; denn sie sind nicht von der Welt, wie ich denn auch nicht von der Welt bin.
Ik heb hun Uw woord gegeven; en de wereld heeft ze gehaat, omdat zij van de wereld niet zijn, gelijk als Ik van de wereld niet ben.
Io ho dato loro la tua parola; e il mondo li ha odiati, perché non sono del mondo, come io non sono del mondo.
Jam im dał słowo twoje, a świat je miał w nienawiści; bo nie są z świata, jako i ja nie jestem z świata.
Я передал им слово Твое; и мир возненавидел их, потому что они не от мира, как и Я не от мира.
我 已將你 的道 賜 給他們。 世界 又恨 他們；因為 他們 不 屬 世界，正如 我 不 屬 世界一樣。
I have given your word to them; and they are hated by the world, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · John 17:14
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree on the core logic of this verse. Jesus has delivered the Father's revelation, what Adam Clarke calls "the science of salvation", to his disciples. That gift sets them apart, and the world responds with hatred. Calvin notes that embracing the word triggers the conflict because "the world cannot receive" it. The Cambridge Bible stresses the Greek verb tenses: Jesus has given (perfect tense, a permanent gift), while the world hated (aorist, a decisive rejection). As for being "not of the world," Gill explains that believers were once part of the world by nature but have been called out, regenerated, and made distinct in life and purpose. Their separation mirrors Christ's, though not in origin: he is from heaven, they are from earth but transformed. The hatred is therefore not accidental but structural, the world resists the word that exposes its evil.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Ethical separation: Believers are not of the world because they live by different values, rejecting worldly patterns. Supported by John 15:19 and Romans 12:2.
- Ontological separation: Believers are not of the world because they are born again from above, sharing Christ's nature. Supported by John 3:3-5, 8:23.
- Missional separation: Being not of the world enables believers to be sent into the world as ambassadors. Supported by John 17:18, where Jesus sends them into the world.
What is clear: Christians who receive God's word are no longer defined by the fallen world's system, and the world will hate them because of this difference.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of "the word" (ton logon) | All traditions agree Jesus refers to the full revelation of God given to the disciples, encompassing both the message of the gospel and the commandments of the Father. | Some commentators, like Adam Clarke, focus on doctrine or teaching; others like Gill emphasize the effectual call that makes the word dwell in believers' hearts. Both see it as God's revealed truth that transforms. |
| Cause of the world's hatred | The hatred is a direct result of believers receiving and embodying God's word, which the world rejects. This is not a personal failure but a necessary conflict. | Calvin sees the hatred as a reason for God's protective care. Cambridge Bible notes the aorist tense of 'hated' as expressing a definite, decisive act of rejection. Some traditions emphasize the world's responsibility, others the believer's calling to endure. |
| Being "not of the world" | Believers are no longer defined by the world's values, systems, or origin. They have been regenerated and belong to God's kingdom. | Gill argues this is a relational and ethical separation, they were once of the world but now are called out and different in conduct. Others, like the more ontological reading, stress a change in nature akin to Christ's heavenly origin. The difference is between a positional and a transformative view. |
| Application to modern believers | All agree that Christians today face the same dynamic: receiving the word leads to opposition from a world that does not know God. | How to 'be in the world but not of it' is debated between traditions that emphasize separation from culture and those that stress engagement with culture while maintaining distinct identity. Both sides draw on verse 15 which says believers are not taken out of the world. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This sentence belongs to Jesus' high priestly prayer, spoken on the night of his betrayal. John 17 is a farewell discourse, with Jesus preparing his disciples for the hostility they will face after his departure. The "world" in John's Gospel consistently refers to the fallen human system organized in rebellion against God, it is the sphere that “cannot hate you, but it hates me” (John 7:7, WEB). The “word” Jesus has given (logos) is the full revelation of the Father, not merely a set of teachings but the truth that creates a new identity. Jesus earlier told his opponents, “You are of this world. I am not of this world” (John 8:23, WEB). Now he extends that statement to his followers: they too are not of the world. That does not mean physical removal, in verse 15 he explicitly prays not to take them out of the world. It means a fundamental reorientation: having received the word, they belong to a different order. Early Christian readers heard in this verse Jesus' own pattern of rejection and the promise of God's protection for those who suffer for the truth. The surrounding verses (John 17:11, 19) frame this as a request for the Father to keep them in his name and sanctify them in truth, while they remain on mission in a hostile environment.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for John 17:14. The Greek text is stable across the major manuscript families. The only minor variation is the presence or absence of the conjunction kai ("and") at the beginning of the clause in some later witnesses, but it does not affect meaning.
Reception History
This verse has shaped Christian thinking on persecution and identity since the early church. Irenaeus and Tertullian cited it to explain why Christians faced hostility: they had received the word of truth and no longer conformed to the world. Augustine used it to contrast the earthly city with the heavenly one. During the Reformation, Calvin and Luther saw it as a comfort for those who suffered for the gospel, hatred from the world was a sign they were truly Christ's. In the Anabaptist tradition, the verse became a foundation for nonconformity and separation from worldly power. Modern missionary movements have drawn from it to prepare converts for the cost of discipleship. Across traditions, the verse has been sung in hymns about the church's pilgrim status, particularly in pieces like "The Church's One Foundation" (though that is a later hymn, not directly based on this verse alone). The underlying theme of a people set apart and opposed by the world remains a constant thread throughout church history.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Gift That Separates. Jesus gives the Father's word to believers. This is not just information but a transforming reality that reorients their identity. The gift is permanent (dedōka, perfect tense), and it establishes a new allegiance that the world cannot tolerate.
- The Hatred That Follows. Because the word exposes the world's evil and calls people out of it, the world responds with hate. This is not a personal flaw in believers but a necessary conflict between two incompatible systems. As Jamieson-Fausset-Brown note, Christ's disciples have been “transformed into the very opposite of the world.”
- The Pattern We Share. Being “not of the world” is not just a negative description. It is a participation in Christ's own situation. He was not of the world, and neither are his followers. The same rejection he faced will come to them, but it also ties them to him in solidarity and mission.
Five-point outline
- Initiation: Jesus gives the word (v.14a).
- Reaction: The world hates (v.14b).
- Reason: Because believers are not of the world (v.14c).
- Identification: Just as Christ is not of the world (v.14d).
- Implication: Hatred is a sign of belonging to Christ, not a cause for alarm.
Illustration hooks
- A teenager whose faith leads her classmates to mock her for not joining in gossip or cheating. The word she has received makes her different, and that difference costs her socially.
- An employee who refuses to participate in dishonest business practices. Colleagues see her as a threat to the system, and she becomes the target of exclusion.
- A new Christian whose family dismisses his faith as a phase. The more he lives out the word, the more his family resents the change, hatred born from the very word that gave him life.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does living faithfully often create conflict with friends and family who don't share my faith?
- How do I know if I'm being hated for the right reasons, or just because I'm hard to get along with?
- What does it practically mean to be “not of the world” while still living in it, going to work, raising children, paying bills?
Leading a Discussion
This verse sits in the middle of Jesus' prayer for his disciples. He has given them the Father's word, and the world hates them because they no longer belong to its system. The same dynamic is at work in every generation. This session explores how God's word both sets us apart and invites opposition, and how we can live in that tension without losing hope.
Discussion questions
- Read verses 14 and 16 together. What does Jesus mean by “not of the world”? How does that differ from being removed from the world?
- What is the connection between receiving “your word” (the Father's word) and being hated by the world? Why does the gift of truth provoke hostility?
- The verse says the world hated them. In what specific ways have you experienced resistance or dislike because of your faith?
- Jesus says “even as I am not of the world.” How does it help to know that Christ shares this status with us? Does it make the hatred easier to bear?
- Look at John 15:18 (supplied cross-reference). How does Jesus' earlier teaching about the world's hatred prepare the disciples for what he prays here?
- Some Christians respond to opposition by withdrawing from the world entirely. Others try to blend in to avoid conflict. What does this passage say to both tendencies?
- What does this verse teach us about the nature of the “world” itself? Is it a place, a system, or a mindset?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 3:15 | I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” |
| Proverbs 29:27 | A dishonest man detests the righteous, and the upright in their ways detest the wicked. |
| Zechariah 11:8 | I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me. |
| Matthew 10:24 | “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. |
| Matthew 10:25 | It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! |
| John 7:7 | The world can’t hate you, but it hates me, because I testify about it, that its works are evil. |
| John 8:23 | He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. |
| John 15:18 | If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke emphasizes that "thy word" means the doctrine of salvation through Jesus as Messiah. The world's hatred arose because the disciples received this doctrine and taught it to others. He observes the tragic irony of human nature: people despise and try to destroy the very thing that could save them.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes draws a direct link between Jesus giving his words to the disciples and the world's hatred of them. The hatred arises because the disciples receive and hold fast to those words. Their suffering is not arbitrary; it flows from their allegiance to what Jesus revealed, and the world's hostility is a response to the truth they carry.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin argues that Christ's disciples are hated by the world precisely because they have received God's word, which the world cannot accept. This hatred itself becomes the ground for the Father's protection: those who suffer for the gospel can trust that God will never abandon them. The separation from the world is God's own work through regeneration, and a faithful Shepherd will not abandon his sheep to wolves.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator observes a deliberate Greek tense distinction: Christ's gift of God's word is a continuing possession, but the world's hatred is a single decisive act. This contrast highlights two inseparable results of discipleship: receiving divine revelation on one side, facing the world's hostility on the other.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes observe that the world’s hatred toward believers stems directly from their being set apart, not from the world—just as Christ himself is not of the world. The cause of persecution, then, is not accidental but flows from a fundamental difference in nature and allegiance.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill focuses on why the world hates believers: they are no longer part of it. This separation, however imperfect compared to Christ's own sinlessness, creates a likeness to him that provokes the world's enmity. The same hostility faced by the apostles recurs for faithful ministers and members in every age.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB emphasizes that Jesus prays for the disciples not as isolated individuals but as representatives of all future believers. His request "not for the world" highlights that they have been taken out of the world and transformed into its opposite, making the petitions suitable only for those no longer belonging to it.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the prayer as Christ's kingly and prophetic declaration, not merely a priestly petition. His distinctive emphasis is the "dynamical" principle: Christ's saving power works
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry highlights that Christ prays only for spiritual blessings—protection from sin, fitness for duty, and safe passage to heaven—not for worldly wealth or advancement. He also notes that Christ’s intercession is perfectly suited to each disciple’