Love brought Christ down and righteousness raised Him up. The term "the righteousness of God" means that God is just in justifying by the faith of Christ. It has no reference to what He was under law here below. Christ suffered once, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. One part, consequently, of divine righteousness is that Christ is raised up from the dead. Another part is that we who believe become the righteousness of God in Him. The "righteousness of God" is the obligation, as it were, to bless me in Christ if I look to Him for salvation. Doubtless, Christ did fulfill all righteousness. It was indeed what He owed to God as an obedient, faithful man on the earth, but the "righteousness of God" is what He owed to Christ.
When the idolatrous Gentiles were ready to acquit the Messiah, the Jews cried out so much the more, "Crucify Him, crucify Him," and so both joined together in the fatal deed. It was the end of the trial of man. After all were proved ungodly and unrighteous, a new kind of righteousness—even the righteousness of God who justifies freely of His grace without law—is manifested. He raises Christ up from the grave, after redemption. He does not set Him on the throne of David (that would be far too low an estimate of His work), but He sets Him as the glorified Man on His own right hand in the heavenly places. Then He communicates to the joint-heirs the knowledge, not only of free and full pardon through His atoning work, but of their acceptance in the Beloved according to the power of His resurrection.