In Psalm 22, a messianic prophecy Jesus quoted from the cross, we read these haunting words:
“I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.”
Psalm 22:6
The Hebrew word for worm is tola’ath—a term associated with the scarlet worm in ancient imagery.
The picture is powerful.
The female attaches herself to wood as she brings forth life. In the process, her body is crushed, and the wood is stained crimson. Her offspring are covered by what comes from her, marked by it, protected by it, sustained because of it. Then she dies. And in time, what remains turns white.
Then Isaiah gives us words that seem to echo that very mystery:
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
Isaiah 1:18
This is the Gospel in shadow form.
Jesus was lifted up on wood.
His body was broken.
His blood was poured out.
And by His death, life was given to those covered by His sacrifice.
What was scarlet with sin is made white through Him.
This is why the cross was never an accident.
And this is why Scripture is unlike any other book.
Long before Calvary, God was already preaching Christ.
The worm was not random.
The image was not accidental.
Creation itself was whispering the Gospel before the nails were ever driven.
