Hail, Thou once despised Jesus

2. Despised and Forsaken of Men,

a Man of Sorrows and Acquainted with Grief

“He was despised and forsaken of men, / A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; / And like one from whom men hide their faces, / He was despised; and we did not esteem Him” (v. 3). The Hebrew word translated sorrows in verses 3 and 4 literally means pains, either physical or mental. According to Keil and Delitzsch, Christ was a “man whose chief distinction was, that His life was one of constant painful endurance. ” He, as a man of sorrows, was a despised person.

Life-study of Isaiah
Message 27 (LSM)
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c. Having Been Despised and Forsaken of Men,
a Man of Sorrows and Acquainted with Grief

Verse 3 says, “He was despised and forsaken of men, / A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; / And like one from whom men hide their faces, / He was despised; and we did not esteem Him. ” According to the account in the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus was continually despised, was forsaken of men, and was a man of sorrows who knew nothing but grief. Furthermore, He was like one from whom men hide their faces. Men did not like to see Him, and they did not esteem or regard Him (Matt. 13:54-57). Based on this account we would not consider such a One as a great man, nor would we consider ourselves inferior to such a One.

Life-study of Isaiah
Message 49 (LSM)
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THE MAJESTIC GOD AND THE LOWLY MAN

The Gospel of John shows that the Lord Jesus is the glorious and majestic God and that He is the lowliest and humblest man. Among the four Gospels, only John says that the Lord Jesus, as God who became a man, washed man’s feet (013:3-14). The Gospel of John shows Him as the Creator of all things, who can change water into wine (2:1-11) and feed five thousand with five loaves and two fish (6:9-13); and it shows Him asking a lowly Samaritan woman to give Him water to drink (4:6-9). In many portions the Gospel of John presents the contrast between the Lord’s two natures. He is the almighty God who can walk on water (6:19), but in His flesh He sometimes showed weariness (4:6). He could raise the dead, but in chapter 11 this majestic, glorious God who had never known difficulty wept (v. 35). These are contrasts between the two natures of the Lord Jesus. Chapter 7 shows the background of human life and the Lord as One who came into human life.

The Lord is God, but He became lowly to the extent that He was despised and forsaken of men. He had no attracting form nor beautiful appearance that people should esteem Him. In his Epistles Paul reminds us not to know Christ according to the flesh. He says, “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him so no longer” (2 Cor. 5:16). The Corinthians judged people according to the flesh and considered the apostle Paul to be weak and his speech to be contemptible (10:10). Paul’s words had spiritual weight. His weight was not in his outward appearance but in his strong and released spirit. This is a spiritual principle that is abandoned by today’s Christianity. In today’s Christianity those who hold evangelistic meetings advertise extensively in newspapers to promote themselves as famous evangelists with doctorate degrees and all kinds of titles.

God does not like us to make an outward display of ourselves. Those who like to make a display of themselves are not genuine. Our knowledge of the saints should not be merely according to their outward appearance but according to the Christ within them. We cannot measure them according to their knowledge, eloquence, ability, and vigor. People in the world rely on such things, but we must weigh the spiritual value of a person before God by his spirit and by the measure of Christ within him. The Jewish religionists violated this principle. They knew that the Lord Jesus came out of Galilee, but they did not see that hidden within this Galilean was the glorious God. It is a great mistake to know Christ according to outward appearance.

Revelations in John:

Seeing the Essential Significance
of Life and Building
Chapter 11 CWWL, 1959, vol. 1 (LSM)

John Bakewell - (Methodist)

This noble man was one of the earliest of Wesley’s “lay preachers”. He was born at Brailsford, Derbyshire, England in 1721.

When Bakewell was about 18 years old, he was deeply touched by a book he read and turned his thoughts to the Lord. By the time he was 23, he was preaching the gospel in his own neighborhood. Later he became associated with the Wesley’s and their work in London.

From 1749 he preached at the “Greenwich Royal Park Academy”. He not only preached the word but wrote several hymns as well. Bakewell was close friends with Wesley, Madan, Toplady and other servants of the Lord.

On his tombstone, in City Road Chapel ( buried near to John Wesley) appears the following inscription

“Sacred to the memory of JOHN BAKEWELL, late of Greenwich, who departed this life March 18, 1819, aged ninety-eight. He adorned the Doctrine of God, Our Savior, eighty years, and preached His glorious gospel about about 70 years.

“Hail Jesus enthroned in glory
There forever to abide;
All the heavenly hosts adore Thee,
Seated at Thy Father’s side;
Worship, honor, power, and blessing,
Thou art worthy to receive;
Loudest praises without ceasing,
Meet is for us to give. ”
This hymn was written in 1757.
The Little Flock Hymn Book

Born in Derbyshire, England, Bakewell turned to the Lord at the age of 18 and became an ardent evangelist. He was aquainted with the Wesleys, Toplady, and other evangelical men. He eventually spent much of his time preaching at different places with the Wesleyans. - Songs of the Spirit by Martin