I hope it’s been a blessing to you to study some of the psalms this Lenten season. We’ve learned that the psalms are songs for our hearts. There is a psalm for every occasion: For hearts that are weighed down with the guilt of sin. For hearts that have been betrayed by friends. For hearts that feel the accusations of other people. For hearts that are downcast and depressed. For hearts that are frustrated with life. No matter what you’re facing, there’s a song for that! After Lent is over, I hope you go back to the psalms again and again to find comfort for whatever your heart faces.
Now it’s almost time to celebrate Holy Week. Next Friday, we’ll remember how Jesus was crucified to save us from our sins. And there’s a psalm for that too. Our psalm tonight is one of the most amazing sections of the Bible. It was written by King David. Remember when King David lived? 1000 B.C. In it, David describes the agony of facing death. But as we read it, we’ll realize that David can’t possibly be talking about himself. There’s more: He’s prophesying about his great future descendent: Jesus. This psalm is quoted in the New Testament more than any other psalm. It gives us an intimate window into what it was like for Jesus on the cross.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. (Psalm 22:1-2 NIV)
How do we know that King David is telling us about Jesus? What did Jesus cry out on the cross? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). When Jesus was suffering and dying on the cross, this psalm was what Jesus had on his mind. It’s true that all of us have moments in life in which we feel like God has abandoned us. I’m sure King David had moments like that too. But every time we feel like God’s abandoned us, is that feeling true? No way! Because of Jesus, God has promised to never leave us or forsake us! No matter what we face in life, you and I can never truly cry out to God, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
But Jesus could. Do you know why? On the cross, God actually forsook Jesus. God really did abandon Jesus. How is that possible? Well, answer this: “Why was Jesus on the cross?” He was suffering what we deserve for our sins. What do we deserve for our sins? We deserve to have God completely and fully abandon us. So what did God the Father do to Jesus on the cross? He abandoned him. Can you imagine that anguish? “I cry out by day, but you do not answer.” That would be horrible! But it will never happen to you. Because Jesus already did it for you! As he hung on the cross, Jesus suffered the anguish of being completely abandoned by God his Father.
But he didn’t give up his faith in God:
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. (Psalm 22:3-4 NIV)
When you see that word “yet” in the Bible, it often means something really good. Even though this bad thing is happening, “yet…” As Jesus hung on the cross, as he suffered the wrath of God, did he curse God? Did he say, “What are you doing? This is so unfair. Stop it right now!” No. Jesus trusted in God. He trusted perfectly in his Father. Why? Because God saves. God delivers. Remember what Jesus had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus had perfect trust in God even in the face of death. But that didn’t mean it was easy…
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” (Psalm 22:6-8)
How highly do you think of worms? When you see dried-up worms on the sidewalk, does your heart go out to them? No! They are worms! There are plenty of them. They are all over the place. They are dirty. You can pull them in two and they keep moving! They get stepped on and squashed and fed to fish, and nobody cares. Just like Jesus. “I am a worm and not a man.” If you’ve seen the movie “The Passion of the Christ,” can you remember the broken, beaten, bloody body of Jesus? We treated him like a worm, and not at all like a human being.
But nobody cared. Nobody took pity on him. Instead, they mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!… He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now!” (Matthew 27:42-43). Isn’t that the most ironic thing people could have said to Jesus? Did Jesus have power to save himself? Of course he did! Why didn’t he? Because he loved us too much. He gave himself for us. Did God have the power to rescue him? Of course he did! Why didn’t he? Because God was willing to give up his own Son, so that all who believe in him can have eternal life. Yet…
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. (Psalm 22:9-11)
Back-and-forth. “God, it’s awful.” “God, I trust in you.” “God, it’s awful.” “God, you are my God.” I think it’s so good for us to see that as Jesus faced death, like you and me, he bounced back-and-forth from the awfulness of death to the promises of God to the awfulness of death to the promises of God. Isn’t that how it works for you? For me? For Jesus too. We almost expect the Bible to say, “For Jesus, it was easy. No problem at all. He died, and it was no big deal.” But it doesn’t. What was death like for Jesus? Hard. So hard. Like it is for us. It gets worse:
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. (Psalm 22:12-18 NIV)
When I said that King David can’t be talking about himself in this psalm, can you see why? Can’t you picture Jesus on the cross? “Roaring lions … open their mouths wide against me.” “All my bones are out of joint.” “My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.” “You lay me in the dust of death.” “A pack of villains encircles me.” “They pierce my hands and my feet.” “All my bones are on display.” “People stare and gloat over me.” “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” This is Jesus on the cross!
Don’t miss one big thing: If David wrote these words in 1000 B.C., Jesus knew it. He knew it all. He knew exactly how his suffering and death were going to happen. He knew all that from forever as God. But even as a human being, he knew it because it was written down in the Word of God. Jesus knew what it was all going to be like. David had told him! And yet, what did Jesus do? He did it. He did it all. For you and me. That’s why we call that day “good”—Good Friday. Because this is how God showed his love among us: Jesus died on the cross for us!
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. 21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. (Psalm 22:19-21 NIV)
Remember Jesus’ last words from the cross? “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Even in death, what did Jesus do? He put himself into the hands of God. Even as his life ended, what did he trust? That God can deliver our lives, not just before death, but after death too. Death is not an unsurmountable barrier that God’s power can’t cross. Instead, God is our deliverer in life and in death. A dying heart says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
And God does. As amazing as it is to see Jesus’ crucifixion so graphically portrayed a thousand years before it happened, there’s something even more amazing. King David knew that he would rise too! He doesn’t just describe Jesus’ death. He describes his resurrection. Listen how it ends:
22 I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it! (Psalm 22:22-31 NIV)
How does it all end? In a big party! God “has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” Even David knew about Easter. After being abandoned by God and treated as a worm and having his hands and feet pierced and being laid in the dust of death, it wasn’t the end. Jesus would praise God again. The resurrection of Jesus was prophesied a thousand years before it happened. When Jesus faced death, he could have this song for his heart facing death: He would rise.
And the whole world know it! “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD.” “Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the LORD. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn.” Sound like overkill? Will it really be such a big deal? Will people really worship Jesus all over the whole world? Absolutely! This next week, all over the world, from Asia to Jerusalem to Cairo to Paris to New York to Buenos Aires, there will be Christians celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus. All nations, teaching future generations. What’s going to be the message? “He has done it!” “He has done it!”
Of course he has. After it all happened, when Jesus talked to his amazed disciples on Easter evening, remember what he said to them? “Surprise!” No. Not at all. He said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26). In other words, “Guys, it’s all there. It’s all written down in the Word of God. Even before it happened it was as good as true. Don’t be slow to believe. Hear the word of God and know it’s all true.” Jesus has done it!
You see, the outcome of Holy Week isn’t a surprise. There isn’t any suspense. Not just because Jesus died and rose 2000 years ago. Even in Jesus’ day, there wasn’t meant to be any suspense. David had written it all down 1000 years in advance. And the moment God’s Word is written, it’s as good as true. There was a song for Jesus’ heart facing death: “He has done it!” And that means there’s a song for your heart too. The end of your life isn’t a surprise either. It’s written in God’s Word. Even when you face death: He has done it! Even when your loved ones pass away: He has done it! Don’t be slow to believe. Commit your life into Jesus’ hands. He has done it!
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