"They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause." -Psalm 109:3
Photo to Right: Daniel, who was conspired against by evil men and cast into the lion's den. Daniel was hated without a cause.
Jesus quoted Psalm 109:3 in John 15:25 concerning Himself... "But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause." Jesus was hated without a cause. Very few people are honest enough to admit that they simply hate someone. Most people who are hateful look for a reason, any reason, to justify their hatred.
In Matthew 12:10 we read, "And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him." The Pharisees were a hypocritical bunch I'll tell you. In Matthew 12:10 they were trying to find a reason to accuse Jesus. They hated Jesus' goodness, and therefore wanted to find fault in Him. The world is filled with such people today, who seek to justify their hatred of the righteous. We work beside them in the workplace. We meet them in public. We even find them in our churches. They hate without a cause!
The Pharisees and the lawyers of Jesus' time were no different than the same cut-throat type of people today. In Luke 7:33-34 Jesus said, "For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" No matter what we do as Christians, some people will hate us without cause, and will search diligently to find excuses to justify their hatred. We'll be damned if we do, and damned if we don't. The hypocrites of Jesus' day were always looking for reasons to discredit, attack, and embarrass Him.
This is the sinful nature of man. Again, in John 8:5-6 we read concerning the maliciousness of the scribes and Pharisees ... "Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him." Over and over in the Bible, we read about those who were hated without cause. In Genesis 37:5, we read concerning Joseph ... "And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more." Joseph did nothing wrong; yet he was hated fiercely by his jealous brothers.
We read also of the prophet Daniel, in Daniel 6:3-5, who was hated without a cause ... "Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God."
I know what it is like to be hated without a cause. I know what it's like for a small group of instigators to go out of their way to harass me on the job. I had complained at my job about employees bringing pornography into the workplace. I told management that it was offensive to me as a Christian. My co-workers were deliberately leaving porn centerfolds lying out in the break area to antagonize and disrespect me. So I complained about it. The employees were told not to bring anymore pornography to work. So the men started bringing in Maxim magazine instead, which is very close to Playboy. I also complained about that, and my boss argued with me whether it was "porn" or not.
I went over his head to his boss, and it became a sexual harassment issue. The Maxim magazines disappeared fast. As you can imagine, my co-workers had even more contempt for me after that (and they started the whole thing in the first place). As months went by, there was a big meeting with all the employees, the union president, my boss, and the big guy in charge. They basically roasted me in the meeting. I felt like Joseph being sold into slavery by his ten brothers. One guy said I needed a psychiatrist. The union president said I needed to "grow thicker skin." The top guy said there was something wrong with me. I kid you not. Another employee suggested that I "swallow my pride." It was a witch-hunt.
I had been the victim of repeated harassment by a few individuals over a period of a couple years, and management blindly took their side. I had perfect attendance for over 2-years. I had never been written-up or scolded for poor job performance. I did my job. I never messed with anybody. I was an excellent employ--but they hated me without a cause. They'd harass me in subtle ways, such that if I complained to management it made me look bad. Day after day, month after month, year after year ... being harassed. The truth behind their hatred came out in the big meeting, when one of the men pulled out 3 Gospel Chick Tracts he had found in the workplace and handed them over to management, saying ... "We were told we couldn't bring pornography into the workplace anymore; but these things offend me as much as pornography." Ironically, one of the Gospel tracts was "THIS WAS YOUR LIFE!" Jesus said in Luke 7:23, "And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Can you imagine that man's face on judgment day, when God shows him his past, on the day that he said a Gospel tract was as offensive to him as pornography? I wouldn't want to be in that man's shoes. I know what it means to be hated without a cause.
"The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth." -Psalm 37:12
"Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!" -Luke 17:1
