Then he traveled through the wilderness for a day. He sat down under a broom plant and wanted to die. “I’ve had enough now, Lord,” he said. “Take my life! I’m no better than my ancestors.”
From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head there is no healthy spot left on your ⌞body⌟— only bruises, sores, and fresh wounds. They haven’t been cleansed, bandaged, or soothed with oil.
Listen to me, you people who know righteousness, you people who have my teachings in your hearts. Don’t be afraid of being insulted by people. Don’t be discouraged by their ridicule.
I’m so miserable! Why did my mother give birth to me? I am a man who argues and quarrels with the whole earth. I have never lent or borrowed anything. Yet, everyone curses me.
We must lie down in our shame and be covered by our disgrace. Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned against the Lord our God. We haven’t obeyed the Lord our God.
“Doesn’t this affect all of you who pass by? Look and see if there’s any pain like the pain that the Lord has caused me, like the pain that he has made me suffer on the day of his fierce anger.
For this reason I suffer as I do. However, I’m not ashamed. I know whom I trust. I’m convinced that he is able to protect what he had entrusted to me until that day.
We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Now he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.