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, “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” (Psalm 22:6-8)
As we have noted many times now, this psalm of David is ultimately pointing us to the Messiah, the Son of David. Therefore, many of the statements made should be considered as uttered by the Messiah, especially in regard to His suffering, at least in a prophetic sense. Some things David stated played out exactly as he described.
For example, David claimed that those who despise him shake their heads, shoot out their lip and say, “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” Matthew’s Gospel records that the priests, elders and even the thieves being crucified with Messiah, reviled Him with taunts and insults saying, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him.” (Matthew 27:42-43).
In other words throughout this prayer, David spoke not only of himself, not only of Israel’s suffering as a nation, but spoke ultimately of Israel’s King, the suffering Messiah. Prophets other than David also alluded to the suffering of King Messiah and the fact that He would be despised and ridiculed by many. In Jeremiah it is written, “For was not Israel (Messiah) a derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him, you shake your head in scorn” (Jeremiah 48:27). In Isaiah it is written, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3).
Amazingly, the One sent to redeem His people was looked upon with scorn and derision, and yet, He faithfully served the Father’s Will, even praying for those who sent Him to His death, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And so, the One born to be Israel’s King and save mankind was also born to die for mankind. Rather than receiving acclaim and glory, He was abused with ridicule and disdain.
Yet, as He hung upon the cross, slowly suffocating, He knew something that few others did — this was not the end. God had not forsaken Him; God would deliver Him and demonstrate to all that the Father above delights in the Son. In that vein of thought, I would like to imagine that, as the scoffers arrogantly mocked Him with the words, “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now,” He was thinking to Himself — “Just give me three days.”
As His followers, it is inevitable that we will, some times, be on the receiving end of the world’s ire and skepticism. But we should not despair. If we will be as Messiah, willing to be obedient even unto death if required, our trust in Him will not go unrewarded. He will rescue and deliver us in such a way that all will know that He loves us.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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