“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
The Wound
This verse names Christ himself as despised and rejected, acquainted with grief, worth holding as this whole book’s deepest companionship, not a distant God observing your own wound from outside it, but one who was, himself, genuinely despised, rejected, wounded, in the specific ways this verse names.
Notice we hid as it were our faces from him, this rejection including this specific isolation, others turning away, unwilling to genuinely look, worth holding alongside whatever isolation your own wound has produced, Christ himself having genuinely known this same particular experience.
This is worth holding as real comfort, not distant theological fact but genuine companionship, the actual Man of Sorrows this whole faith is built around having himself been despised, rejected, and grieved, in ways that genuinely, specifically resemble whatever your own wound has actually included.
Whatever despising, rejection, or grief your own wound has produced, bring it today to this specific companion, Christ himself, acquainted with grief, not merely sympathetic from a safe distance, but genuinely, actually familiar with this same particular territory your own wound currently occupies.
Choose Forgiveness
- Bring your own specific wound today to Christ as genuine companion, not distant observer.
- Notice the specific ways his own rejection resembles your own experience.
- Receive comfort today from his genuine acquaintance with grief, not merely his sympathy.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you were despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Let me bring my own wound to you today, trusting your genuine, specific companionship. Amen.
Carry this today
Christ is genuinely acquainted with grief, not a distant observer of your own wound.