23 He who hates Me [emphatic] hates My Father [emphatic] also.
23 He who hates Me hates My Father also.
The connection between Jesus and the Father is so absolute that to reject one is to reject the other. “Hates” is a strong term that implies outright rejection of Jesus as the Messiah.
PRINCIPLE:
Anyone who rejects the Son necessarily rejects the Father.
APPLICATION:
There is a close identification between the Father and the Son. To hate Jesus is to hate the Father. It is not possible to separate our attitude toward Jesus and the Father. There is no alternative for believing in the Father and Son and their purposes.
Refusal to accept Jesus’ revelation of the Father is a dynamic of hatred toward God Himself. The world hates Jesus because of His oneness with the Father. There is a great divide between God’s values and those of the world.
