John 15:22 (DBY)

Passage

If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

Nearby Context

John 15:20 Remember the word which I said unto you, The bondman is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my word, they will keep also yours.

John 15:21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they have not known him that sent me.

John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

John 15:23 He that hates me hates also my Father.

John 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which no other one has done, they had not had sin; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "come", "spoken", and "excuse". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "come" and "spoken", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "But they will do all these things..." into verse 23's "He that hates me hates also my...", so "come" and "spoken" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "come" and "spoken" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.