John 15:25 (WEB)

Passage

But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’Psalms 35:19; 69:4

Nearby Context

John 15:23 He who hates me, hates my Father also.

John 15:24 If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now have they seen and also hated both me and my Father.

John 15:25 But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’Psalms 35:19; 69:4

John 15:26 “When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.

John 15:27 You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "happened", "word", "fulfilled", "written", "hated", "without", "cause", and "psalms". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "happened" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "If I hadn t done among them..." into verse 26's "When the Counselor has come whom I...", so "happened" and "word" 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 "happened" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.