The World Hated Me Before You

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18.  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19.  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20.  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21.  But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
22.  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
23.  He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24.  If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25.  But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26.  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27.  And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
John 15:1:-27

 John's Gospel is full of rich nuggets of truth that teach us about our most high father Yahuwah, his son Yahushua, salvation, eternal life, and the Holy Spirit.  This lesson helps us explore the dynamic relationship between being a faithful follower of Yahuwah, Yahushua and not be too disheartened by the inevitable persecution. 
Yahuwah's teaching on the vine and the branches isn't like most of the parables in the Synoptic Gospels, which are usually stories with one or more spiritual points.  In Yahushua's discourse on the Good Shepherd, we see an extended metaphor.  Yahushua draws our attention to a fruitful vine and then provides two primary applications for us to learn from, pruning the branches and abiding in the vine.  These verses aren't long but contain some of the most important and beloved passages in the Bible about the disciple's love relationship with Yahushua and his father Yahuwah.
The result of such fruit-bearing, of living in union with Yahuwah and sharing in his love, will be closely monitored by him.  Prayer in Yahushua's name is a prayer that is in union with him and in keeping with his character and his purposes.  Thus, while the disciples themselves must go and bear fruit or risk being cut off, they have the assurance that he has chosen and appointed them for this activity and that the Father will answer their prayers.  These assurances correspond to the fact that apart from Yahushua the disciples can do nothing.  

A person's sharing in the divine life begins and continues only by Yahuwah's gracious activity.  The grace of Yahuwah that has characterised Yahushua's life and ministry will continue to characterise the life and ministry of his disciples.
The reference to Yahushua's command picks up the reference both to Yahushua's words and to his command, thus tying the unit together.  Obedience to Yahushua's command is the evidence that we love him, and the content of his command turns out to be love.  This final reference to love for one another ties together this passage and provides a striking contrast to what immediately follows Yahushua's description of the world's hatred of the disciples.  Yahushua has been speaking of the enormous blessings of knowing and loving Yahuwah in a community of love.  However, Yahushua's followers are not to be an isolated hothouse, but a garden in the midst of the world.

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