The Lord Jesus' persecution expresses
the love of God, and His being put to
death expresses the righteousness of
God.
If the earthly life of the Lord Jesus had
expressed only righteousness, there
would not have been so much
opposition. But since He received the
tax collectors and sinners, the Lord
Jesus expressed love also, not just
righteousness. This is why the
Pharisees criticized Him (Matt. 9:11).
When the Lord Jesus healed the sick
on the Sabbath, the Pharisees took
counsel to destroy Him (Matt.
12:10-14). The Lord Jesus answered
the disciples of John the Baptist,
saying, "Go, report to John the things
that you hear and see: the blind
receive their sight and the lame walk;
the lepers are cleansed and the deaf
hear; and the dead are raised and the
poor have the gospel announced to
them; and blessed is he who is not
stumbled because of Me" (Matt.
11:4-6). Everything that the Lord Jesus
has done here is grace. He said,
"Blessed is he who is not stumbled
because of Me" because He was afraid
that some would be stumbled
because of His abundant grace. The
Lord said, "There were many widows
in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the
sky was shut up for three years and
six months, when a great famine
came over all the land; and to none of
them was Elijah sent, except to the
city of Sarepta of Sidon, to a woman
who was a widow. And there were
many lepers in Israel during the time
of Elisha the prophet, and none of
them were cleansed, except Naaman
the Syrian" (Luke 4:25-27). This also
expressed love because a widow is a
most pitiful person, while Gentiles
were despised by the Jews. After the
Lord said these words, the people in
the synagogue were filled with rage.
They rose up to cast Him out of the
city, intending to throw Him over the
cliff. During His entire life, the Lord
was under persecution because
whatever He did expressed God's
love.
The Lord's death, however, shows
forth God's righteousness because He
bore man's sins on the cross. He was
judged by God and He fulfilled the
requirements of the law.
We thank the Lord that He first
becomes the Friend of sinners, and
then He becomes the Savior of
sinners. He first loves us and then
works so that we can believe and
receive the redemption He has
Accomplished on the Cross.