As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
Have you ever had a good reason to hate someone? I mean a really good reason? Hate is an interesting emotion. In an abstract sense, it is the opposite of love. Jesus is all about love, but when he comes to earth to visit his creation he is greeted by hate. Why?
Hate goes to a level inside a person that is grounded in who the person is. Not everyone hates. Some people seem to swim in hate. One doesn’t hate another person because they accidentally stepped on their toe. If they do lash out in hate, then stepping on the toe was an excuse, not the cause of the hate.
The people who hated Jesus hated him “without reason.” Oh sure, we know that they will make up a reason. In John 11:50 Caiaphas says, “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” The excuse was that if Jesus is not killed the whole nation of Israel would perish. Jesus is right in saying that this is not a reason because Caiaphas is not God. He cannot predict the future any more than you or I can. He is making his fears into a prediction so that they can be used as a faux reason.
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This was a timely post for me, some people hurt a good friend of mine back home and it is really hard not to hate them at the moment.
I often find hate is rooted in selfishness. We want something – money, possessions, revenge, power, vindication, prestige, to be right, to be successful…etc. and we become embittered/angry to the point of hate. It seems very rare that we humans hate sin or from a stance of justice without corrupting it with our own selfishness.
Jesus highlights the importance of forgiveness, “But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will the Father forgive your trespasses.” If God who hates sin can forgive then we have even more reason to extend grace. It can be hard to live this at times.
Nathan,
I am sorry to hear about your friend being hurt. You make a good point about hate being rooted in selfishness. We don’t like to admit that, but I think you are spot on. We look at life through the lens of our own perspective instead of through the perspective of our Creator, God. Trusting in God means also trusting in His justice. When we do that we are freed from the burden of trying to achieve justice on our own terms.
I don’t have anything to add but this is good and allows me to meditate/reflect on these things. Thanks for posting Jeff and sorry about your friend Nathan.
Thank you, NMOP3PISdn!