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When Jesus was on the cross, He cried out:

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

(Psalm 22:1)

Most people hear that and assume despair. But every Jewish listener standing there would have known exactly what He was doing. Jesus wasn’t just crying out in pain;

He was quoting an entire psalm.

Psalm 22 is a prophetic psalm written centuries before crucifixion even existed. It describes pierced hands and feet, mocked suffering, garments divided by casting lots…the details of this prophetic psalm are truly powerful.

But buried inside that psalm is a line that GRIPS me:

“But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.”

(Psalm 22:6)

At first glance, it feels humiliating and almost offensive.

Why would the Messiah…the SON OF GOD, describe Himself as a worm?

LET’S FIND OUT!

The Hebrew word used for “worm” here is tôlāʿ. This is not just any worm. It refers to a crimson worm, used in the ancient world to produce red dye. And the life cycle of this worm is where the gospel comes alive.

The Crimson Worm

When the female crimson worm is ready to give birth, she climbs onto a tree or a piece of wood and attaches herself permanently.

She lays her eggs beneath her body.

Then something astonishing happens:

  • Her body becomes a covering for her children
  • She sacrifices herself so they can live
  • As she dies, her body releases a crimson stain that dyes the wood beneath her
  • The stain provides nourishment and protection for the offspring

And guess what happens after three days…

  • Her body turns white
  • Falls away
  • And what remains is a white, wax-like residue

Brothers and sisters, you cannot make this stuff up.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow.”

(Isaiah 1:18)

Jesus knew exactly what He was saying

When Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

He was not quoting Psalm 22 by accident.

And when Psalm 22 says, “I am a worm and not a man,”

It wasn’t poetic exaggeration...

IT WAS PROPHECY!

Jesus was saying:

I have attached Myself to the tree.

I am pouring out My life so others may live.

My blood will stain the wood beneath Me.

And through My death, many sons and daughters will be born.

He became the crimson worm…FOR US!!!!

HE COVERED US.

HE FED US.

HE PROTECTED US.

AND HE GAVE HIS LIFE SO THAT WE CAN LIVE!

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it 1000 times, “A man being nailed to a cross isn’t strength, it’s weakness.”

To that I say, “you don’t know what true strength is.”

The cross wasn’t Jesus losing His dignity.

It was Him laying it down.

He didn’t become less than God…

He showed us the full extent of God’s love.

“For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.”

(Hebrews 12:2)

The joy was you.

Brothers and sisters,

The cross was not abandonment.

It was the moment heaven revealed how far love is willing to go.