0481. The Reproach of the Cross

The Reproach of the Cross

"But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

"All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head" (Psa_22:6-7).

Jesus Christ here proclaims the shame which befell Him. "His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." As we see Him hanging upon Calvary’s Cross, "there is no beauty that we should desire Him." He hangs despised and rejected of men. He is One from Whom men turn away their faces. He hangs despised and unesteemed. He says, I am a worm, and no man; I am a worm cast out trodden under foot; hated, scoffed at, and scorned. I am a reproach of men and despised of the people.

These words probably include both the attitude of Gentile and of Jew, for Christ was reproached by the world, and despised by His own people Israel.

"I am a worm." The word "worm" is not used, as you commonly think of it. It is the crimson coccus from which the scarlet dye was obtained. Consider for a moment how Jesus Christ, Who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, humbled Himself and came down to lowest earth. Not only did He become a man, but a servant, obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. Therefore the Psalmist wrote: "I am a worm, and no man."

"All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head." Around the Cross gathered the men who mocked the Lord; they knew no sympathy; they had no word of pity. They laughed; they shot out the lip; they mocked; they wagged their heads. What ignominy, what shame did they heap upon Him, the Son of God! Yet our Lord despised the shame and endured the Cross, all because He loved us so.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR