One of the strange facts of history is the consistently good reputation Jesus of Nazareth enjoys even with unbelievers. It is rare for an unbeliever to speak unkindly of Jesus. People who are openly hostile to the church and who hold Christians in contempt are often unsparing in their praise for Jesus...
We might argue that the Pharisees hated Jesus because He was so critical of them. No one likes being criticized, especially people who are accustomed to praise. But the venom of the Pharisees went deeper than that. It is safe to assume that had Jesus said nothing to them, they still would have despised Him. His mere presence was enough to cause them to recoil from Him. --R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God.
Sproul is exactly right. Myriads of people, who do not follow Christ, sing His praises--from a distance. They will talk about how great a teacher He was, and how it would be nice to have such a sage in our day. But they do not understand that if He were around today, they would absolutely abhor Him. His holiness would make them feel so defiled that they would feel that they would have to execute Him--just like they did 2000 years ago.
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