Our Lord Jesus was treated with shame by wicked men His entire ministry, the worst of which was the torture and mocking and shame of the Cross.
But Christ had nothing to be ashamed of. He was obedient, and sought the rescue of poor sinners, and was perfect in all His ways.
Indeed, the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus "despised the shame" of the cross. To despise means to count as nothing, to consider that shame a small price to pay for the joy set before Him.
What Joy He was promised! The rescue of His loved ones from eternal judgment unto Eternal Life in Glory! The finishing of the great plan of redemption! The exaltation that was promised Him at the Father's right hand of power!
Isaiah foretold Christ's promise of vindication after enduring the shame and suffering of Calvary.
Hebrews exhorts Jewish converts (and us all) to follow Jesus in embracing the shame of the cross. Jewish Christians were persecuted for that shame by unbelieving Jews, but the text gently rebukes them for thinking that their shame came anywhere near the Savior's shame! They are commanded to stay with the Sacrifice that truly saves, and embrace the reproach of it all for the Joy that will follow, just like Jesus did for us!
The real shame of Calvary to our Savior was the imputation of our sin upon Him. Jesus owned our sins himself personally, as though He were guilty of them as our substitute. Psalm 40 and 69 clearly teach this.
God treated Jesus as guilty and judged Him on the cross with all the wrath that we deserved. He bowed Himself under the burden of shame for our sin before His Father. God turned away from the shame of His Own Son as He hung there dying to save us.
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John Pittman Hey was born in 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi, to Godly parents who from the beginning raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With child-like faith he came to Christ on his fourth birthday at his mother's knee. He received his education at church...
