Deep seated hostility towards Jehovah's Servant

While it is true that men's natural instincts are against Christ and that because of the sinner's hardened heart they are full of enmity against the Saviour, it must be realised that these words are not dealing with that reality.

Rather these words are dealing specifically with the depth and the extent of the Jewish animosity against Jehovah's Servant.

This is evident from the wider context of the chapter and the book. We must also tie in Isa 49:7 with this chapter and these words. These words foretell of that rejection. Their fulfillment is highlighted in the recorded words of John's gospel: He came unto his own and his own received him not. John 1:11.

We want to dwell upon the extraordinary depths of this hostility. We want to delve into these expressions and seek to understand what is meant by them.
In doing so we want to become aware of what Jesus Christ endured in order to redeem His people. While they relate to the Jew in their immediate context we can see a n application to ourselves and our own natural thoughts towards Jesus Christ.

Would we endure this deep-seated hostility for the sake of someone who despised us with so much hostility in return? This is the cross that our Saviour carried and this is the shame that He despised in order to save our souls, Heb 12:2.