March 19, 2003 Psalm 22:4-8
4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."
When I was young, I used to watch a cartoon called the Superfriends. Occasionally they would have what they called the Wondertwins on it. One could take the shape of water, and the other could take the shape of an animal. If they needed strength, the wonder twin would become an elephant. If they needed to get someplace high, the wonder twin would become a bird.
I always thought that would be neat to be able to be any kind of an animal. If you could be one animal, what would it be? The lion would be a good choice, wouldn’t it? It’s known to be the king of the jungle. Or how about an eagle? You could majestically float across the mountain tops. Or how about a shark? You could see thing in the ocean that you’ve never seen before - safe from anybody coming and attacking you. Or how about a worm? A worm? I don’t think any of us would want to be a worm. Yet in today’s text, Jesus chose to be just that - not physically, but socially. Through inspiration of David, He said, “I am a worm and not a man.” It may not seem logical. But today we’ll see why -
Jesus Became a “Worm”
I. He didn’t pick it because he deserved it
There is a general rule in life that people get what they deserve, or as Paul put it, “a man reaps what he sows.” This used to be true when it came to respect. There used to be a time that sinful people reaped disrespect in society. But things have changed somewhat today - the respected are now the disrespected, and vice versa. If you look at today’s view of the elderly, police officers and government employees, they don’t have the respect they once had. Instead, people love to listen to sports athletes such as Dennis Rodman, seeking words of wisdom from a man who dresses like a woman and rebounds a round leather ball. When mass murderer and Satanist Richard Ramirez was finally put behind bars, swarms of groupies came in admiration of the man. But when Dan Quayle spoke out against premarital sex, he was treated like a psychopathic mad man. Sounds kind of backwards, doesn’t it? What am I getting at? People don’t always get the respect that they deserve.
As Christians, we realize that there are certain people on earth that deserve respect, just because of the position that they hold. God commands us in the Fourth Commandment - honor your father and mother. Whether you think they deserve it or not, God says to give them honor and respect just because of their position. That’s why we try to respect our parents, the elderly, police officers and others in authority as well.
There’s another person that deserves respect, just because of who He is as well. The First Commandment states, “we should fear, love, and trust God above all things.” God deserves our respect no matter what He does - just because of Who He is.
Which brings us to the main question for tonight, “what did Jesus deserve while He was on earth?” Jesus deserved the respect of the people. Why? Because He was God. Romans 9:5 says, “he is God over all!” Therefore, He deserved to be treated like a lion - like the king.
There were occasions where Jesus was treated like He deserved. For instance, when Jesus gave the disciples a miraculous catch of fish, Peter fell on his knees and said to him, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" When Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the Sunday before His crucifixion, the children sang “Hosanna to the Son of David!” And when Thomas saw Jesus after his resurrection, he called Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus never told them, “don’t bow before me,” or “don’t call me Lord or God.” Why not? Because He deserved that kind of treatment - he was God.
But the Jews didn’t want to treat Jesus that way since He didn’t do the miracles they wanted him to! Isaiah 9:7 predicted, Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. So they expected Jesus to take over the Romans and rule over an earthly kingdom on earth. They wanted their Messiah to give them earthly prestige and wealth. So even though Jesus was God, He wasn’t their god - the god that they were expecting. He didn’t give the Jews what they wanted from him.
Jesus wasn’t about to give the Jews what they wanted. He didn’t polish the Pharisees or Sadducees apples. When they turned His Father’s house into a marketplace, Jesus didn’t sweet talk them - he overturned their tables. He said it the way it was. But instead of giving Him respect for telling the truth - like the Father did, the spiritual leaders despised Jesus for it.
Why did Jesus do this? Sometimes people choose lowly positions in life because they feel guilty over past sins they have committed. For instance, a woman will marry an abusive man - and allow him to abuse her. Why does she do that? Because she feels terrible about herself - she feels that she deserves such treatment. So that is her way of punishing herself - by allowing herself to be beaten and despised. She puts herself in a lowly position because she feels she deserves it.
Jesus did not choose to be a “worm” because He felt that He deserved such a position. If that were so, why would vs. 4-5 be mentioned - In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.? Jesus is assuming that just as God took care of his physical forefathers and earned their respect, so Jesus deserved the same kind of help from God. If He delivered his sinful forefathers, then God should most certainly come to the rescue of Jesus before His accusers - for He was sinless.
This is an important lesson for us to remember during this Lenten season. Don’t get the idea that Jesus deserved to take on the role of a worm. He wasn’t reaping what He had sown. And He wasn’t just punishing Himself over something He did. He was God, and God only deserves praise. As the angels say in Revelation 7:12 “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
II. He picked it because he knew He would be treated like it
Notice what Jesus said about the worm - I am a worm and not a man. Jesus said that a worm was less than a man - not treated even like a man would be treated. If you think about it, a worm isn’t even treated like an animal, much less a man. Nobody stops their car and says, “oohhh, look at the worm!” I haven’t seen any animal rights activists out screaming for the rights of a worm - “let the worms live! Stop the cruelty to worms! They don’t deserve to be put on those hooks. They don’t deserve to be fed to the fish!” No, the worms don’t have any activists that I know of fighting for their rights. They are creatures that are stepped on and despised.
Yet Jesus decided to become a worm. It wasn’t something that Jesus enjoyed. He knew that He deserved better, but He also knew that it was inevitable. The Lion would be treated like a worm whether He came and acted like a king or not. Why? For speaking the truth. When Jesus called the Pharisees and spiritual leaders a bunch of blind guides, sons of Satan, and hypocrites, he knew that they would scorn and despise him, just like a worm. Look at Matthew 26 for example, when Jesus was on trial before the high priest:
The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. . . . 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered. 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?"
What did Jesus do wrong in this instance? Nothing! He spoke the truth to them. But they didn’t want to hear the truth that Jesus was a lion - the King, so they treated him like a worm - stepping on him - not caring whether he lived or died. They then proceeded to take him to Golgotha and crucify him like a criminal.
The same thing happens today. When Jesus doesn’t act the way Americans expect him to they mock, flog, and crucify Him - not with their hands, but with their mouths. When grandpa dies of a heart attack, someone will say, “it’s God’s fault that grandpa died.” When they lose their job, they accuse Jesus of wrongdoing by saying, “how could a God of love do this to me?” So God offers them answers and God tells them the truth. “It is not God’s fault that people suffer in the world. It’s the devil’s fault - and it’s your fault - because you are a sinner. But God allows these things so that you will repent and come to faith.” People just don’t like to hear those things. And so, when they are told the truth, they turn off their ears, just like the high priest did. They tear their clothes in disgust of Jesus - and accuse Him and Christianity as being unloving and uncaring. They never give God a chance to explain that He has paid for their sins. They don’t listen when God tells them that he also loves them and wants to care for them. In anger, they don’t want to hear that Jesus came to die for those sins. They don’t want to hear about the happiness that Jesus has prepared for them in heaven. All they want to do is accuse and condemn Christ, because Jesus hasn’t done what they wanted Him to.
And maybe you do the same thing. When God asks for your firstfruits you may complain, I can’t afford it - you’ve given me too many hospital bills! When God asks for you to come to worship early on a Sunday morning you may say, “if you hadn’t given me such a difficult job, I could make it more regularly! If you hadn’t given me bad health, it wouldn’t be so hard for me to come!” When God tells you to thank Him you may say, “how can I be thankful when my back hurts and my kids are making me miserable.” Maybe, just possibly, you despise Jesus at times. Maybe I do too? Of course we do. Instead of treating Jesus like God, we don’t even treat him like a man. We treat him like a worm. Jesus knew this would happen.
Doesn’t it amaze you that Jesus knew this is what would happen when He became a man? He even predicted it in today’s text! All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." Just look at how exactly this prediction was fulfilled in Matthew 27 -
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, `I am the Son of God.’"
What amazes me, is that Jesus not only knew this would happen to him, but that He allowed it to happen to him! It reminds me of when I was living down in South Carolina. I was doing door to door canvassing, trying to get prospects for the church. That was when a little child ran up to me and stuck a fish net around my head and said some smart aleck statement to me. I wanted to take that child over my knee and teach him some respect. I was a lot bigger than him, and I certainly could have. If I had known that was going to happen, I would have skipped that house.
That’s what amazes me about what Jesus did here. He knew what was going to happen - yet not only did He go through with it - He also allowed it to happen. Jesus had all of the power in the world. He could have gotten down at any moment and crushed all of his oppressors for treating Him like a worm. And they were jeering him on to do it. That would have been too much for me to bear - to have these weak little humans - the know it all chief priests and teachers of the law mocking me to my face - I couldn’t have stayed up there. But Jesus did. He allowed these weaklings to taunt him and crucify him - to treat him like less than a man - like a worm.
Why would Jesus allow Himself to be treated like a worm? Think about the purpose of a worm. As far as I’m concerned, there is only one good use for a worm, and that’s to use it for fish bait. In a sense, that’s the only reason Jesus became a “worm” - to be a kind of bait. God needed to sink His teeth of anger into something - His appetite of holy wrath needed to be fed. But Jesus didn’t want Him to feed on us. So why did Jesus do it? Out of love, Jesus became a worm - and allowed God to punish Him on the cross instead of us - filling God’s appetite for our destruction. And so we can thank God that Jesus became that worm in our place.
If you could become any animal in the world, what would you be? A lion? A cobra? An eagle? It’s a question that’s already been answered - by God. Because Jesus became a worm, you can now sing through faith,
I am Jesus’ little lamb; Ever glad at heart I am,
For my shepherd gently guides me, Knows my needs and well provides me
Loves me ev’ry day the same, Even calls me by my name. Amen.
