Contempt

Affixed upon the tree of shame, the Lamb
Of God was subject to insults so cruel
That came from hearts and minds distorted by
The chief priests and the elders who had sought
To bring Him down for they would not accept
Or recognise because of hearts of stone
Unwilling to be changed; beset were they
In letter of the Law so etched upon
Those same hearts now reflected in the minds
And hearts of those who passed by that same tree
Shaking their heads in disapproval of
The supposed weakness of the Lamb of God
To save Himself, yet ignorance held sway
Within those hearts of stone of prophecy
Spoken in ages past by Isaiah
Concerning the will of Yahweh to crush
His one and only Son so that the world
By His atoning sacrifice would be
Redeemed from tyranny of sin and death
And clothed with purity and righteousness
And be part of the kingdom eternal
Forever on the shores of Paradise.
They passed Him by with disapproving stares
Addressing one another then to Him
Who hung there gasping on the cross, they said:
“You would destroy the temple, then rebuild
It, in three days, save yourself! You cannot
Fulfil your own words, those same words which now
Have nailed you to the cross, due punishment
For prophecy worthy of ridicule.
How could a feat of architectural
Complexity and stature be complete
In time and manner deemed impossible
By human endeavour, what would it prove
To us concerning all that you have said
And done in our presence but which has led
You to this place, what say you unto this?”
O foolish hearts of stone, incapable
Of understanding spiritual words
Which spoke not of the temple that was built
By Solomon whose own heart chose wisdom
And understanding in his early days
Of kingship over Israel in the days
Of infant monarchy of David’s stock.
Before their very eyes, the rebuilding
As spoken by the Lamb of God was now
In motion on the cross, fulfilling Law
And Prophets as in transfiguration
Of Jesus when conversing with Moses
And Elijah on mountain high ablaze
Within the glory of Yahweh but which
To human hearts remained a mystery
Unrecognisable. So now the same
Mystical transformation had begun
Upon the hill of Calvary so that
Humankind would be restored and washed clean
In the blood of the Lamb so freely poured
Out for their sin and ours, new hearts of flesh
Where understanding and discernment are
True spiritual gifts freely bestowed
By Yahweh as in Solomon’s request
And where lasting riches and joy are found.
The taunts continued, the same ignorance
In matters spiritual raised its ugly head
As once again the people challenged Him
As did the serpent in the wilderness
Who cast doubt on the Sonship of the Lamb:
“If you are who you say you are, the Son
Of God, then come down from the cross so that
In truth we may see and believe in you.”
The serpent, even in the carnage of
The cross still sought to break the Lamb of God.
Incapable was he to see the light
That shone within the Lamb, despite the pain
And suffering endured. So spoke he through
The chief priests, elders, and those passing by
And once again they were unable to
Discern the reasons for the suffering.
Closed minds can only see what they would think
As supernatural conjuring to free
Oneself from bonds, sensationalising
Unworldly happenings to give their eyes
Sure evidence as proof of the claims of
The Lamb of God in His true righteous claims
That He was Son of God, the same foul tricks
To tempt and to refute those righteous claims
And rob the Lamb of God of Sonship true,
And being played upon His weakened state.
The coward of all cowards would stop at
Nothing to disown Jesus of the crown
Of sitting at the right hand of Yahweh.
Deluded was he, though he saw it not
To which the Lamb of God gave no reply
But righteous indignation surely welled
Up in His heart, despite the agonies
Which He had to endure, a few hours more
Which to eternity is nothing but
A spot for evermore invisible.
The chief priests to themselves did speak in tone
Of mockery and sneering against Him,
Defenceless in His suffering to cease
The comments barbed which from their tongues came forth:
“Others He saved, himself he cannot save!
The king of Israel is he, surely
His inability to be immune
From all that has been thrown at him now proves
To our minds erudite the falsehood which
We had discerned e’er since he preached what he
Beheld as truth, backed up by miracles
That he maintained was by the Spirit of
The Blessed One, now turned against him for
If he was Son of God he would transcend
The suffering which now holds him captive.
We will believe in him if he can come
Down from the cross, for in God does he trust!
We are but sure if God delights in him
That he will rescue him if God does want
Him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God!’”
The soldiers there with mockery did say
In echo of the chief priests cruel taunts:
“If you are the king of the Jews, then save
Yourself. Or is the notice that is placed
Above you true indictment of your crimes
Of blasphemy against Jewish belief
And treason against Herod and against
The Emperor Tiberius who sits
In Rome and who commands the homage that
Is due to him, not to some upstart who
Speaks of some kingdom in some other world
Which is beyond our eyes, or so you claim.
Come taste of wine so sweet as would befit
A royal personage at whose banquet
Flows freely without cost or limit, taste
The grapes that grow in this region that we
Do rule and govern, taste of this sweet cup!”
Bitter wine vinegar was offered up
To his lips, sour and sharp the nectar was
Now held up to him, he did turn away
His face from this bitter acidic cup.
The soldiers in their mockery gave vent
To laughter in their scoffing ridicule.
To them he was another victim of
Roman justice, another criminal
Worthy of crucifixion and who would
To them not be the last, passed they the time
In military cruelty so that
The passage of time would pass quickly by
And so remove the tedium of the day.
But for the Lamb of God, eternity
That fills the realm of Paradise was now
Replaced by endless agony and spite.
The nails still digging into his torn flesh
And ever open wounds made by the lash
Rubbing against the wooden frame to cause
A poisonous infection in the wounds,
Yet none so venomous as words that were
Spoken by serpent blasphemous into
The ears of him who for our sins did take
Upon himself the punishment for sin.
The serpent ever near began to hiss
A battery of lies to try and make
The Lamb of God in his defenceless state
Submit to him. A mental torture which
There seemed no end, and yet the physical
Torture would finally succumb to death
And with it mental agony. The Lamb
Trying to rally strength despite the odds
Against him stacked, knew that his sacrifice
Would be the final offering for sin.
Now prayed he to Yahweh for strength divine
To withstand all the wiles of Satan who
Summoned all cunning and deceitfulness
At his disposal, now waited he for
The time when blackness would descend into The mind of Jesus, Lamb of God through whose
Love perfect would cast out all human fear
And fill the void with faith and hope and love,
The fruits of salvation through Christ alone.