Passage
If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 15:19 (WEB)
Nearby Context
John 15:17 “I command these things to you, that you may love one another.
John 15:18 If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.
John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’John 13:16 If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
John 15:21 But all these things will they do to you for my name’s sake, because they don’t know him who sent me.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "world", "love", "since", "chose", and "therefore". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "love", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 18's "If the world hates you you know..." into verse 20's "Remember the word that I said to...", so "world" and "love" 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 "world" and "love" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.