John 15:22-25 (NIV)
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, 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.’”
Jesus had spent more than three years among the people, teaching them about God’s kingdom and doing astounding miracles among them. These public miracles included healing the sick and casting out demons, as well as even more spectacular things like raising the dead and healing a man born blind.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law had been dogging Jesus’ steps nearly from the beginning, trying to figure out who or what He was. Their representatives were present in the crowds wherever Jesus went, and they had seen Jesus’ miracles first-hand, and had closely investigated those that they had not personally witnessed. They knew that Jesus was no phony, but that the miracles, even the most spectacular ones, were indeed real.
But despite that overwhelming evidence, these leaders rejected Jesus. This was partly due to jealously. Jesus drew larger and more passionate crowds than they could, and Jesus, whom they taught was wrong in many key areas, could do amazing miracles consistently, while they, who supposedly had it right, were powerless.
This might have been passed off by many as a mere difference of opinion, a case where both sides were responding faithfully to their worldview. But Jesus saw it differently. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law did not have a “live and let live” attitude. Instead, they were actively plotting to take Jesus out. Since they couldn’t best Him in power or in the arena of ideas, they were plotting to murder Him. And in less than 24 hours, they would succeed.
Jesus’ point was that these religious leaders were not acting out of ignorance. They had all the proof they needed of Jesus’ identity in the miracles they had seen Him doing; miracles that they had investigated and had to admit were genuine. Thus, their rejection of Jesus, and their consequent rejection of the God who had sent Him and whose power lay behind the miracles, was a grave sin, one that would cost not only them, but the whole Jewish nation that they led and were responsible for.
These leaders, by their hatred and plotting were also unconsciously fulfilling a prophecy from Psalm 35:19: “They hated me without reason.” Jesus had shown them the truth about God and about themselves, and they hated Him for it enough to kill Him.
Father, it is mind boggling to think about how someone could hear Jesus’ words and watch His miracles and be so hard-hearted that their response was hatred and jealousy instead of worship and surrender. But I guess that is the result of an impenetrably hard heart. Lord, help me to never allow my own heart to grow hard or cold toward You so that I end up betraying You and turning away from the truth. And help me to have the same winsomeness and gentleness as Jesus, even if those around me reject me and hate me for Your sake, so that I can reach those whose hearts are still soft with the good news of Your kingdom. Amen.
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