"They hated (him) without a cause" (John 15:25).No charge could be brought against his character. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. No charge could be leveled against his doctrine. He proved his teachings, irrefutably, by the Scriptures. It did not matter how perfectly he lived, how noble his influence was upon others, or how thoroughly biblical his doctrine was. The Son of God was hated by those people who most loudly claimed that they loved God.
"All these things will they do unto you" (John 15:21). This is the reason the history of God's church is a history written in blood. Only yesterday I read of the martyrdom of one of God's saints, MEHDI DIBAJ, on December 3, 1993, by the Iranian government. Why? Not because he had done evil, but simply because he honestly followed and confessed Christ as Lord. As it has been, so it is, and so it shall be until time shall be no more. We must never be surprised to find ourselves hated, maligned, slandered, and even persecuted by men who hate our God. Do not imagine that it is our weaknesses, infirmities, and faults that stir up the wrath of reprobate men. They rejoice to see those things. It is the purity of our doctrine, the sincerity of our faith, and the thoroughness of our obedience and consecration to Christ that provokes their malice (I John 3:12-13; John 3:19).