Intro:Today we get to peak behind the veil. There are many things that are dark to us. There are things that God sees and knows that we will never know. We can argue about election vs. free will but only God really knows how those work together.
Today we get to peak behind the veil of Jesus suffering on the cross. We get to hear what he said and feel what he felt. If you have never experienced Psalm 22 you are in for a treat.
Read prayerfully!
Read: Psalm 22:1-24
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."
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 upon 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.
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions tearing 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 away within me.
15 My strength 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 have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life 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.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation 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 disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
Think:
Psalm 22 is a Messianic Psalm. Those fancy words simple mean that this is a song about the Messiah! Through the history of Israel certain passages got associated with the coming Messiah. Daniel wrote of the “Son of Man”. David wrote of “The Lord”. Gideon spends time with “the Angel of the Lord” (a reference to Jesus).
In other words, there are many places in the OT that clearly point to Jesus. The bible is a book about Jesus.
Psalm 22 is especially compelling in that it details what Jesus felt on the cross. This psalm quotes Jesus 1000 years before he spoke. God the Holy Spirit moved David to speak words that described how he felt but were actual things Jesus would say and do.
Please go get your bible for this section. If this is too much then do half on Saturday and half on Sunday:
*Verse 1 is spoken by Jesus on the cross in Matthew 27:46
*Verse 8 is spoken by Jesus in Mathew 27:43
*Verse 13 is Matthew 27:29-30
*Verse 15 is John 19:28
*Verse 16 is Matthew 27:35
*Verse 18 John 19:23
Sobering to think not only what Jesus endured on the cross but more so that he knew what was coming before and came anyway! Wow, that is love!
This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down his life for us – 1 John
God demonstrated his own love for us in this that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us – Romans 5
Do:
Be encouraged, that is God dying for you! It is sobering to think what my sin caused Jesus to willingly go through. He died for you and me.
Have you accepted the free gift of God? Have you accepted the salvation of God that comes through Jesus Christ dying in your place? Though he never sinned, he took our sin to that cross and nailed it there forever. Sin no longer has mastery over you if you are in Christ! My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the Lord, praise the Lord oh my soul.
Lots to think about this weekend as you move toward corporate worship on Sunday.
Listen to songs 31 & 32 in the DevoLink Worship Center.
Song 31, Death of a Son, is directly from Psalm 22 by Michael Card
Song 32, Lord When Thou Ascended, is about Jesus on the cross
Praise the Lord!
DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.
