John 15:20-21

15:20 Remember what ¹  I told you, ‘A slave ²  is not greater than his master.’ ³  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed ⁴  my word, they will obey ⁵  yours too. 15:21 But they will do all these things to you on account of ⁶  my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. ⁷ 

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¹ tn Grk “Remember the word that I said to you.”

² tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

³ sn A slave is not greater than his master. Jesus now recalled a statement he had made to the disciples before, in John 13:16. As the master has been treated, so will the slaves be treated also. If the world had persecuted Jesus, then it would also persecute the disciples. If the world had kept Jesus’ word, it would likewise keep the word of the disciples. In this statement there is the implication that the disciples would carry on the ministry of Jesus after his departure; they would in their preaching and teaching continue to spread the message which Jesus himself had taught while he was with them. And they would meet with the same response, by and large, that he encountered.

⁴ tn Or “if they kept.”

⁵ tn Or “they will keep.”

⁶ tn Or “because of.”

⁷ tn Jesus is referring to God as “the one who sent me.”