Hated

View daily reading plan: John 15.17-25; Psalm 69.4

After speaking to His disciples in the upper room about how necessary it was to love one another, the Lord Jesus quoted from Psalm 69: “They hated me without a cause”.

Many people earn the hatred of others because of their attitudes, words, or actions. That is not surprising. Others who are kind, caring, and generous can expect to be respected and admired. So what about the One who was supremely kind and caring and benevolent, even to those who did not deserve any of it?

The most loving and lovable person who ever lived was “hated without a cause”. The friend of the outcast and the lonely was criticised and ostracised. The healer of the diseased was disfigured and vilified. The One who spoke the most gracious of words was railed upon most wickedly.

Their hatred for Him was evidence of their hatred for His Father, He said, and it would result in a similar hatred for His followers. “The servant is not greater than his lord,” He told them (v.20). It was not going to be easy to be a true follower of the rejected Christ, neither right then, nor later, nor nowadays. But He was hated first (v.18).

Saturday, 23 March, 2024