“But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.” | Psalm 22: 6

This verse is a miracle in language.

How could the Lord of glory be brought to such abasement as to be not only lower than the angels, but even lower than men? What a contrast between “I AM” and “I am a worm”!

Yet such a double nature was found in the person of our Lord Jesus when bleeding on the tree. He felt himself to be comparable to a helpless, powerless, downtrodden worm, passive while crushed, and unnoticed and despised by those who trod upon him.

He selects the weakest of creatures, which is all flesh; and becomes, when trodden upon, writhing & quivering flesh, utterly devoid of any might except strength to suffer. This was a true likeness of himself when his body and soul had become a mass of misery-the very essence of agony-in the dying pangs of crucifixion.

Man by nature is but a worm; but our Lord puts himself even beneath man, on account of the scorn which was heaped upon him and the weakness which he felt, and therefore he adds, “and no man.” The privileges and blessings which belonged to the fathers he could not obtain while deserted by God, and common acts of humanity were not allowed him, for he was rejected of men; he was outlawed from the society of earth, and shut out from the smile of heaven.

How utterly did the Saviour empty himself of all glory, and become of no reputation for our sakes! “A reproach of men” their common butt and jest; a byword and a proverb unto them: the sport of the rabble, and the scorn of the rulers. Oh the caustic power of reproach, to those who endure it with patience, yet smart under it most painfully!

“And despised: of thee people.” The very people who would once have crowned him then contemned him, and they who were benefited by his cures sneered at him in his woes. Sin is worthy of all reproach and contempt, and for this reason Jesus, the Sin bearer, was given up to be thus unworthily and shamefully entreated.

~ Charles Spurgeon

Click here to listen to the message “I Am A Worm”

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Lantana Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 15 April, 2018 | Previous post date: n/a | Crossville, Tennessee