“But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’”
– Psalm 22:6-8
As we enter into Holy Week, Psalm 22 vividly reminds us that what took place in Jerusalem that week was God’s eternal will to redeem us from our sins. What happened on the cross as Jesus of Nazareth suffered in agony for hour after hour until His death had been promised and described a thousand years earlier.
The eternal Son of God, through Whom everything was created, was betrayed, arrested, stripped, whipped, spit on, mocked, humiliated, and nailed to a cross. Jesus was tortured beyond recognition for the sake of your sins. Jesus was hated by the very people whose lives He held together by his divine will while nailed to that cross. He was mocked by passersby who thought His death proved Jesus wasn’t Who He actually was.
How wrong they were! How wrong we’ve all been at times in our life. At the cross, Jesus took the death penalty for our sins. At the cross, Jesus endured the righteous wrath of God for what we’ve done. At the cross, Jesus proved He was exactly Who He said He was as He fulfilled prophecy, died, was buried, and rose from the dead, victorious over sin and death.
Of course, you probably know all that. So perhaps the best thing to do today is to simply try and feel what these verses describe. Try to imagine and feel the scorn, humiliation, and hatred your Savior endured to redeem you from your sins. Feel it and #FollowJesus