Hated Without Cause

“All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.” (Psalm 119:86)

These words of the psalmist are prophetic of our LORD Jesus in His earthly humiliation as the God-Man. He came to satisfy the law and justice of the Father on behalf of those sinners whom His Father purposed to save and gave Him from eternity, “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” (John 17:2)And, the Scriptures rightly declare that He died the Just for the unjust, 1 Peter 3:18.

Those who persecuted Him wrongfully did so as the representatives of each one for whom He came to pay their sin debt. Had we been there in that time, we would have done the same, not knowing that His righteousness alone could satisfy the Holy God. When they cried, ‘Crucify Him,’ they were the elect sinner’s representative. When those wicked hands nailed Him to the cross, it was on behalf of all of God’s elect sinners that those nails were driven, and His side pierced, “Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.“ (Matthew 27:22-25)

So while we merit God’s condemnation, the LORD Jesus bore it in the stead of depraved, wretched sinners for whom He came to satisfy God’s justice. God’s law and justice required Him being faithful in every aspect of God’s commandments, not just the letter of the law but the very Spirit of it. Not just in word and deed but thought also. And this was in order that sinful wretches such as we are would be saved when He finished the work, laid down His life, and cried, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)