Study Guide
I am Despised of Men
1,192 words, about 6 min read
Luke 9:26
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. he very title of this chapter should make a son of God stop to examine whether it has any relevance to him. Consider the following scripture.
Isaiah 53:3
3 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 world and also the church are repulsed by Christ and the principles of godliness. Jesus is not the usual role model for a man. Isaiah is describing the disposition of those who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus. However, the Lord has spoken to me of this mindset existing in the world today. It is quite common for us to entertain the negative disposition of the world towards the principles of godliness.
The world has been very vocal and forthcoming of its contempt for Christ. It despises the concept of righteousness, and is appalled at any attempt of religion to deny it the right to indulge in its desired sensual pleasures. Unfortunately, the same is true of the Church. In far too many instances, members of the Body of Christ are offended by the commandments of the Lord.
This truth leads me to place the spotlight on the brethren of the Lord. It is the men within the Body, who are most offended with the image of Christ. The character and the mentality of Jesus Christ are appalling to the men of God in the Church today. He is not the man they dreamed of becoming. He is a wimp and a ‘yes’ man to His Father. They despise Him.
Now you might say I am being a bit melodramatic in my assessment of this matter. However, you might try explaining why it is so hard for the brethren of the Lord to walk in the character of their Master. Most men would rather die for what they believe in than to surrender themselves to be taken advantage of.
The Peter Syndrome
We all know the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane but I want to focus on the arrest of Christ:
When the soldiers of the Temple came for Him, Peter cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant in an attempt to spoil the arrest. However, Jesus intervened, telling Peter to put up his sword. Warning Peter that those who live by the sword would also die by the sword. Well, this kind of death was alright with Peter. At least he would die like a man, fighting for what he believed in. But to simply surrender and allow oneself to be taken advantage of is not the way of a real man.
This is the mindset of men in the Body of Christ today. Most of them have the ‘Peter Syndrome’. Their way of thinking is totally different from that of our Lord. The Father knew this would be an issue with men: therefore, he addressed it many years ago.
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Now this is a God, who from the beginning declares He is not like the natural man. He doesn’t think like a man, neither are His ways like that of mortal men. Nevertheless, He has begotten sons whom He proclaims are made in His image, His character and spiritual disposition (as he is, so are we).
John 17:22
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
According to the Word of God, he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit. This is the inheritance of the sons of God. They were made the righteousness of God. They have His emotions and His desires. Focus is on the contrast between the natural man and Jesus.
1 John 4:17
17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
1 Corinthians 6:17
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
The pride of life is the need to indulge in vainglory or confidence in one’s self: this is a trap for men. Manhood was destroyed with the death of the old man. “Knowing this that the old man is crucified, with the affections and lusts” (Romans 6:6).
1 John 2:16
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The old man lusted after status, earthly possessions, a good reputation. He had his own opinions, thoughts and feelings. This old man was put off at salvation, so that life henceforth should be in Christ. We are no longer snared by, nor indebted to the flesh and its desires. We have come into the freedom of having been redeemed from the shackles of sin and eternal death. We are now free to serve the true and living God and His people. We live in the Spirit. So now there's no opposition to the sons walking in the Spirit.
The scriptures have answers to all the questions pertaining to our walk in the Kingdom of God. Thereby, we see it is not manhood that is to be promoted in our salvation. Again that old man with his nature is dead. His ways and thoughts should remain dead. Here is the Lord’s reply to such a mindset, “whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” All things are new, and all things are of God.
Matthew 10:32-33
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
If you insist upon denying the Lord the right to live as a suffering servant through your flesh (because you looked back into the world and ‘re-membered’ the old things), then He will simply deny you the right to an incorruptible body waiting for you in heaven. He will deny you the right to enter the everlasting Kingdom, to live forever in the presence of our God. Matthew however, was careful to give us the alternative to this horrendous decision. Jesus:
Matthew 16:24
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.