Despised

Despised

Isaiah 53:3

“He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

Being despised is a horrible thing. It is not to simply be disliked by someone, but absolutely abhorred by them, that person or persons feeling deep repugnance towards you; they hate, detest, loathe and abhor you. This is a position that none of us, I suppose, want another to feel towards us. Yet, when the Creator of this world took on flesh and dwelt among us, we, His creation, despised Him. How much did sinful man hate their Creator? Just look at the cross.

God in His wisdom is so profound! He came into the world and did everything completely backwards from the way the world operates. The world says to have the very best, to pursue riches and fame, so Jesus was literally born in a barn; the world says to be full of pride in our own greatness, but Jesus came in humility, coming from Nazareth and working as a carpenter; the world says you must be successful, but Jesus chose fishermen, tax collectors and prostitutes to be His disciples. Jesus was totally despised by the religious leaders of that day, who constantly tried to trip Him in His words, plotting to kill Him 10 times in the gospels. In the end, they nailed Him to a tree. This depravity is at the core of every human heart, and must be crucified itself so we can be made new.

Jesus willfully endured the very thing that we all fear: rejection. As the world is seeking honor and acceptance from one another, Jesus chose the path that would lead Him to be rejected. While millions around the world strive at any cost to be men pleasers, Jesus chose to be detested by men so He could please the Father. Jesus came to His own, but His own did not receive Him (John 1:10, 11), but on the contrary, we hid our faces from Him and esteemed Him not. In His unfathomable love He endured it all; for our sake, and for the sake of His great name.

The love of God is past description, past words, and without condition. The depths that the Almighty went to so He could redeem sinful humanity are mind blowing; but most of the world doesn’t give it a second thought. We will give hours of devotion to created things, to smart phones and TV screens, to money making and beautiful cars, to chasing girls and admiring our own wonderfulness, but never give an hour’s thought over the blood that was shed on Calvary. What a crime; what a great felony against the Judge of the Universe. Let us fall on our knees today and repent of our vanity, giving God the affection due Him. His love awaits all those who receive Him with a humble heart.

In love, Jonathan Ball

John 1:11, 12 “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name”

Web: www.jonnyfivealive.wix.com/pyroounderground

Home Church: www.goodfight.org