Psalm 22:6-8
But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Here the words written in the Psalm are the very words Jesus spoke
on the cross. The whole of Psalm 22 contains prophecies relating to the time when the Lord
Jesus came, His crucifixion and resurrection. We take the prophecies so lightly and
don’t comprehend the weight of what was said. People have studied the prophecies and
the proofs that Jesus is the Messiah are so great that they are irrefutable. (read more here about the `Law of Probability')
In this text, the Lord Jesus calls Himself "a worm".
Every Christian’s heart should break at hearing such words. For us and our sins He
was degraded. It was our sins that made Him like a worm, a reproach of men and despised
amongst men.
In coming to earth Jesus was the Son of man and of God. Though, as
Son of God, He was the Creator of all things, the world rejected Him as John records in
the first chapter of his gospel (vs 10: "He was in the world, and the world was made
by Him, and the world knew Him not"). He was also rejected by His people as their
Messiah (vs 11). Hundreds of years before the event Isaiah (53: 3) prophesied, "He
was despised, and we esteemed him not."
He wasn't given any human dignity and our sins made him to be but
"a worm" - so depraved and corrupted are we. We were the "bulls, dogs and
lions that attacked him with our sins.
The title of the same psalm is “the hind of the dawn”.
It is an attractive and a mild creature; a complete contrast to a worm. He is full of
beauty and yet our sin dehumanized Him and reduced Him to a worm. `The hind of the dawn'
also indicates the hope of the resurrection.
He has accomplished the impossible as is seen in the miracle of
all the prophecies. He suffered beyond comprehension, even calling Himself a worm. If we
did not esteem Him in the past, let us do so right now and for the rest of our lives and
eternity.
(Special day of prayer
for Fano Sibisi)
