Read: Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men. (v. 3)
Of all the pains life can hold, among the bitterest is the pain and hurt of rejection. Some of us have tasted that and the effects still linger. To be told that you’re not wanted, that you’re not good enough, that you don’t measure up, those are terrible things to hear. And that’s exactly what God experienced when he became a man.
“He was despised and rejected by men.” Those two things go together. To despise someone means to look down on him. We despise those whom we think are beneath us—physically, socially, racially, morally, economically, intellectually. Those whom we despise we also reject because we don’t think they are important enough for us to bother with. Isn’t it astonishing that God, when he became a man, so humbled himself, so lowered himself, that most of those who saw him thought he was beneath them! And because they despised him, they also rejected him.
People still do that today. Some reject Jesus because he’s too familiar. They know all the stories, they’ve heard it all before. Some reject Jesus because he’s too particular. The common assumption is that all religions are more or less true, that they’re just different paths leading to the same place. But Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6). Some reject him because Jesus is too demanding. “When Jesus calls a man, he bids him come and die,” wrote pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Jesus demands what we hesitate to surrender, which is everything. He offers nothing but himself. But what an offer!
As you pray, surrender yourself to Jesus.
About the Author
Rev. David Bast
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, includingWhy Doesn't God Act More Like God,Christ in the Psalms, andA Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
