a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:3
The Savior of all heavenly glory and beauty and worth was despised by men. Never was greater value counted at greater loss. This is the Savior who says he has been tempted as I have been. What rejection, what lack of esteem, what sorrow and grief could I experience greater than his? What rejection by men, what loneliness and abandonment could be so greatly undeserved and so violently expressed? Surely this great high priest can help me in every temptation of rejection that I face. Surely mothers and fathers rejected by their children, preachers by their congregation, evangelists by their hearers, workers by their colleagues, students by their professors, family members by their dear ones--all have experienced rejection that they deserved more than he did. Surely they can be helped by the ready grace and help of this One "despised and rejected by men."
