The act of hating people is condemned in the New Testament, but being hated because of your status as a follower of Jesus he says makes a person blessed.

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

Luke 6:22

The Greek word “blessed” (μακάριος , makarios) in our passage could be translated “to be congratulated”. The word is used to highlight one who is the subject of a happy circumstance.

So why are we to be congratulated when people hate us because of the Son of Man? Because we have an undeniable connection with him! Our affiliation is obvious to those around us. We have proved out Jesus’ life changing teachings through our words and actions.

So while we must not aspire to cause others to hate, we know that if we are being kind and saving others and doing good as Jesus did and we still get hate, we are to be congratulated.

Ethan Kirl