He who has ears

He who has ears let him hear

April 18, 2025

Psalm 22:1-21

Today’s message is very much a part two and conclusion to last week’s message. If you missed it, please go and listen to it on YouTube.

I watched a troubling message from Paul Washer. In the video he said, it is a dangerous thing for a preacher to preach incorrectly. Many pastors come to the microphone during Easter with emotional stories, entertaining jokes with little to no study in hopes of drawing a crowd. Now there are times for humor and fun.

But God does not take it lightly or laugh at a preacher who does not take the message of salvation seriously. Every word, every idle joke, and every creative tool will be held to account before the almighty God. (James 3: Matthew 12)

If I preach in such a way as to not take this seriously, then you, as a congregation, are not held accountable for that. I am. I am judged by every word that comes out of my mouth. It is a terrifying weight, and for some of you, you know that I take this very seriously.

But, it is also a dangerous thing for this body when I do preach the Word of God. When I honor it as it is intended, when I preach the Words on the page as God intended, then the weight of responsibility is now on those who hear.

Have you read in God’s Word the statement, “He who has ears, let him hear?”

No less than 14 times in the NT is that phrase used. RC Sproul taught that the statement “emphasized the importance to actively listen to and understand God’s Word rather than simply hearing it passively.”

Allow me to add, those who have been given the ability to “hyper hear” not just hear it and forget it act according to what they have heard. There is a difference between listening (creating and action) and hearing. Wives, can I get an amen?

Again, it is dangerous to allow these words to just pass through your ears without it actively changing your heart and mind. The results are eternal. We view tonight’s message in light of this weight. We must have ears to hear. We must never become numb to the Easter message.

Tonight I want us to look at what the early church fathers considered the fifth Gospel. Psalm 22 was obviously written by David (see the subtitle). The words are written from the hand of David, but the Words were not exclusively his. Yes, David wrote them, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, these words were not specifically for David. They were for the One who would come later.

Psalm 22 is the closest way for us, the reader, to see what Jesus saw from the cross. It gives us an elevated view of what is happening from His vantage point. David takes us to the cross all the while reminding us that God is still God, God is still in charge while He carries out His plan of redemption. .

On the back of your sermon guide you will see a quote by CH Spurgeon.

   Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

“The position of this psalm is worthy of notice. It follows the twenty-second, which is peculiarly the Psalm of the Cross. There are no green pastures, no still waters on the other side of the twenty-second psalm. It is only after we have read, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" that we come to "The Lord is my Shepherd." We must by experience know the value of blood-shedding, and see the sword awakened against the Shepherd, before we shall be able truly to know the Sweetness of the good Shepherd's care.”

Psalm 22 comes perfectly before we read, “The Lord is our Shepherd He leads me besides still waters…” We cannot get to that until we read Psalm 22. It is fitting to remember that our still waters come from waters flowing from His side. Our green pastures come from the water provided by the blood of the lamb.

1.             The Son suffers forsakenness.

Vs 1-2 READ (My God, My God, why have you forsaken me…)

As a review from last week. Jesus cries out from the cross, “My God why have you forsaken me.” Remember what I said last week. Jesus is fully God, yet fully man. In Him are two natures. 1. The divine nature and 2. The human nature.

God never turns His back on the divine nature of Jesus, but as the wrath of the Father was being poured out on the Son, the human nature of Jesus, the Father turned His back on the man on the cross.

In Luke 22:42, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Anyone want to guess what was in that cup? All of God’s wrath for the sin of mankind. Every ounce of it. As Jesus was drinking it all, God had to turn His back on Him.

Imagine the hopelessness of this action. Imagine, please the weight of that. We cannot take the cup that would be due to us individually. I believe that Jesus Christ bore the sins for all who would believe. His sacrifice was sufficient for all, but only efficient for some. In this act, God had to abandon the Son.

In utter hopelessness, look at how David writes this Psalm.

Vs 3-5 READ

Instead of being bitter, angry or losing faith, look at how David draws us back to the Holy Father. “You are Holy, You are still on your throne, worthy to be trusted.” Do you see Him like this? We who have never suffered like Christ or even like David, do we see Him like this?

There is nothing wrong with expressing hopelessness when you feel left or abandoned. If you were to look over the course of your life, do you see times where you feel abandoned and hopeless?

Look back at verses 3-5. See that God is still on His throne. See that He is worthy of your praise even when you feel this way. Even when He is silent, He is still Holy. Even when HE does not give you clarity, He is still on His throne. Even when it is dark and the clouds are not allowing the sun to shine, He is still worthy of your trust.

Why is He worthy to be trusted? Because His Son was the One who did the suffering for us.

2.             The Son suffers anguish.

We looked at the physical pain of Christ last week but every aspect of the punishment dished out is felt to its max.

Nothing is held back. Every ounce of this prophecy was fulfilled, even down to what the people said to mock Him: what did that look like hundreds of years before He went to the cross through the eyes of David?

Vs 6-18 READ

“He trusts in the LORD; let Him deliver Him; Let Him rescue Him for He delights in Him.”

Every part of the cross was orchestrated and perfectly executed. It is hard for me to believe or understand how people do not recognize the perfect fulfillment of this text. But what I want to draw your attention to:

Worm: When is the last time you used this to describe someone or yourself?

The word worm: grub, vine-weevil; devouring the dead; symbol of insignificance[1]

Isaiah 41

14 Fear not, you worm Jacob,

you men of Israel!

             I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;

your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. [2]

If you ever get an elevated view of yourself, you can bring yourself down by remembering that you are a worm. But David writes this as a reminder of the low state that the weight of the cross brought on our Lord.

As One who walked among Angels, sat on thrones, orchestrated creation, cast the bodies of stars into place is now counting Himself as a worm that is mocked, ridiculed and rejected by His own creation. This is anguish.

It seems like there is no hope. In verses 14-18, it seems like darkness wins, hope is lost.

Read 14-18

In the darkness of your lives, have you felt like there is no hope? Have you felt like there is no outcome that is visible where there is a good ending? Have you felt this type of anguish emotionally?

When Jesus’s life blood poured from His body, as He hung on a cross, God is still there!

3.             God carries Him through.

I know that I said that God had abandoned the man the Son. But God has not abandoned God the Son. God is still walking with Him through this anguish. It may be confusing but it is not when we read Psalm 22.

Vs 19-21 READ TEXT

There is no coming back from this unless God does it. David writes that even when there was no winning, no coming back from it, it was God who saved. The humanity of Christ is dead; BUT, the Divine Nature of Christ is 100% intact.

The flesh is put to death, but the divine nature is unharmed. When we look at this, we need to ask the real question. What was our part in this?

If we think our sin does not have an effect, we have completely ignored what this message is all about. Do you think that your sin is secret and will not be found out? Do you think your sin has no cost? All sin, all hidden or open sin, has a cost that will be paid on the cross of Christ.

4.             Experience the forgiveness of the cross.

The Gospel message is this. Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living and Holy and perfect God was sent, perfectly sin less to come to Earth to pay the penalty of sin for each and every one of us in this room. He undeservedly went to the worst form of human death ever invented so that you and I did not have to. He took the penalty of the sin that each of us have committed. Instead of you, it was Him.

He was killed, crushed for our transgressions. You may have heard this message each year at this time. But what are we going to do with it? Will it change your life? Will you exchange your sin for righteousness? Will it have any affect on your life?

After last Sunday and tonight, I have done what I was told to do. The responsibility is now on you. The burden of this message is on your shoulders. If you slept through this or are numb to it, I can not advocate for you for the accountability that you will have.

Luke 12:

47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more[3]

You are now 100% accountable for the words preached. I am by no means washing my hands of this and saying, “It’s your problem now.” I am offering you and me a life-changing application! I am saying, let this message change you. Do not allow it to be just noise in your ears!

What makes this Easter look any different from any other Easter you have sat through? If it does not change you, change your behavior; my heart hurts for you. Can you honestly say that this information, this message, has not changed the way you view sin?

But pastor, what does it look like to fully understand this?

Isaiah 6:5

“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”[4]

Or Peter after the resurrection in Luke 5:8

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”[5]

It is a good thing that we don’t fully understand the full weight of our sin. If we fully got it, it would break us to know what our sin did to our Lord. It would sound like Isaiah and Peter (get away from me, LORD). The reason why they responded was that they fully got the gravity of their sin. It’s MY Sin doing this to Him. That is where we should be.

Now that I have preached the cross, are you moved? Does this cause a stir in your heart?

Come unto the LORD. He will restore a humble heart. For the one who understands their sin, God will never cast out. Understand what the cross is! Do not be numb to this message! He who has ears, let him hear.

My final quote again comes from Spurgeon. He is also famous for saying, “everyone on their way to hell should have us wrapped around their legs begging them to believe.”

Church, brothers and sisters, who would I be if I was not wrapped around your legs, begging you to take this serious? This is why we should never be numb to this message. I am begging you, look at this message as if your life depends on it.