The Passion: The Reproach and Broken Heart of Jesus

Study The Word

Psalm 69:16–21 
Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

There are prophecies in the Word of God that give us something so precious, so deeply intimate, that you cannot read them and remain the same. The messianic psalms give us a perspective that the eyewitness accounts alone cannot give. They take us inside. They take us into the heart and the mind of Jesus Christ while He was on the cross. And Psalm 69 is one of those messianic psalms. This is incredible! This psalm reveals to us what was going on inside of Jesus during the crucifixion — what He was praying, what He was feeling, what He was saying to God while He hung there in agony.

חרפה  cherpah  reproach  –  reproach, shame, scorn, disgrace, dishonor

Think about this: Jesus had lived such a glorious life. His fame had spread abroad throughout the land. People were coming from everywhere to see Him, to be healed by Him, to hear Him teach. Just a week before His crucifixion, the people were hailing Him as He entered Jerusalem on the donkey. They were crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!” They were clapping. They were celebrating. They were praising. And just a few days later — just a few days later — He was on the cross. The same people who praised Him were now mocking Him. The same voices that cried “Hosanna” were crying “Crucify Him!” How wicked is that?

And here in Psalm 69, Jesus is pouring out His heart to God. He says, “Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour.” The shame! The dishonor! This is the Son of God! This is the one through whom all things were created. And He’s hanging on a cross, being mocked, being spat upon, being ridiculed. And then He says something that should break every heart that reads it: “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness.” The reproach broke His heart. Hey! The shame, the dishonor, the humiliation — it broke the heart of Jesus.

αγάπη  agape  love  –  God-kind love, unconditional love, lovingkindness, benevolence

And then He says, “I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.” All of His disciples had forsaken Him and fled. He looked for somebody to have empathy, somebody to stand by Him, somebody to comfort Him, and He found none. Ayaa! Whatever you are going through, whatever pain that you think you’re going through, whatever shame or dishonor or reproach you think nobody understands — look at Jesus. The Bible says we have not a high priest who was not touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are. Jesus knows what you’re going through. He was touched with the feelings of your weakness. He was touched with the feeling of that reproach, of that shame, of that dishonor.

And yet, in the midst of all this pain, in the midst of the broken heart and the heaviness, what does Jesus do? He prays. He cries out to God. He says, “Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good.” Even with a broken heart, He looks to the lovingkindness of God. Even in the darkest hour, He trusts in the tender mercies of the Father. That is faith! That is the faith of the Son of God! And the prophecy was fulfilled when they gave Him vinegar to drink — exactly as it was written. Glory to God! Every detail, every moment, every emotion — God knew it all. God saw it all. And God used it all for your redemption and mine.

חסד  chesed  lovingkindness  –  goodness, faithfulness, mercy, lovingkindness, steadfast love

Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, I thank You that Jesus was touched with the feeling of my infirmities. I thank You that He endured the reproach, the shame, and the broken heart so that I would never have to carry those things alone. I take comfort today in knowing that my Savior understands every pain I have ever felt, and His lovingkindness toward me is good, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Speak The Word
I am not alone in my pain. Jesus Christ, my High Priest, was touched with the feeling of my infirmities. He bore the reproach, the shame, and the broken heart for me. I cast every care upon Him because He cares for me. His lovingkindness sustains me. His tender mercies are new every morning. I am comforted by the Savior who knows exactly what I am going through, in the name of Jesus Christ!