Spit in my face you Jews... A Reflection

Spit in my face you Jews, and pierce my side,
Buffet, and scoff, scourge, and crucify me,
For I have sinned, and sinned, and only he
Who could do no iniquity hath died:
But by my death can not be satisfied
My sins, which pass the Jews' impiety:
They killed once an inglorious man, but I
Crucify him daily, being now glorified.
Oh let me, then, his strange love still admire:
Kings pardon, but he bore our punishment.
And Jacob came clothed in vile harsh attire
But to supplant, and with gainful intent:
God clothed himself in vile man's flesh, that so
He might be weak enough to suffer woe.


Before you even read this poem, you have to raise an eyebrow from the title. Spit in my face you Jews... What could he possibly have to write that involves Jews spitting in his face? Especially in the context of of being a "Holy Sonnet." It sounds degrading and Anti-Semitic from the get-go. Once you read it though, you realize he's not literally saying to spit on his face, but rather that he deserves it. Jesus died for man's sins without ever committing one himself. An example of this is the line, "For I have sinned, and sinned, and only he who could do no iniquity hath died..." He is saying that he has sinned over and over, but only Jesus paid for that sinning. This poem is Donne begging to pay for his sins in the manner Jesus did. He says that his sins surpass what the Jews did, and his continued sinning essentially makes the crucifixion happen every day, saying, "They killed once an inglorious man, but I crucify him daily, being now glorified." Essentially, this poem is a plea to people to remember that Jesus died for their sins, and continuing to repeat them is as bad of a crime as crucifying him from the start.

Picture from radicalx.org. No artist listed.