17-4-14, Psalm 22, Good Friday Service, Confidence in the Valley
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· 53 viewsThe meaning of Jesus' words, "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me!"
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Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Have you experienced a time when you felt God was absent and your prayers fell on deaf ears?
This is not uncommon in a world filled with sin, death, and despair.
I want to share with you
On the cross, before His death, Jesus shouted the most fearful words.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew
Matthew 27:
These words revealed the Father’s abandonment of the Son to judgment.
God turned His back on Jesus as He poured His wrath on His Son.
We can relate to the fear of being abandoned by God.
You remember what has happened?
Jesus is the Son of God. He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are One God. Three Persons, perfect community, One Deity from eternity.
In love, the Father sent the Son to save creation, especially humanity who was slated for condemnation because of sin.
The Father sent the Son to save creation, especially humanity who was slated for condemnation for sin.
Jesus became human and took on flesh, yet He broke from human tradition and never sinned. Having no sin for Himself, He was qualified to take upon Himself the sin of sinners like you and me.
In the plan, the great gospel plan, Jesus was destined to die a sinners death. Guilty of nothing, wicked men condemned Jesus to die. They nailed Him to a cross and subjected Him to the worst death humanity has conceived.
Yet beyond the physical suffering, a spiritual drama unfolded. Jesus, having taken our sins upon Himself, received the Divine penalty for sin, the just wrath of God toward anyone who breaks a law of the kingdom of God.
He absorbed the terrible white-hot wrath of God which we earned.
In the throws of spiritual judgment, Jesus experienced something He had never experienced before from eternity past, separation from His Father.
In this time, Jesus felt forsaken by the Father and shouted the phrase stated earlier.
While enduring your hell and mine, your death and mine, Jesus remained intentional as a teacher. This phrase was not without control, but was instructive in the truth of God.
Jesus shouted the first line of , a psalm of David when David went through a terrible time of abandonment by the Lord.
In shouting , Jesus instructs us to study that psalm and to apply the conclusions of that psalm to the events of the cross.
is the lament of the innocent sufferer (ESVSB 963). Matthew pairs it with the crucifixion to demonstrate Jesus as the ideal innocent sufferer.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
:
Parallel with
Jesus experiences distress at receiving no relief to his pain or answer to His prayers. (ESVSB 963)
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
psalm
However, even in distress, the innocent sufferer makes no criticism of the Father.
Instead,
He reminds Himself of God’s character and authority.
He reminds Himself of God’s faithfulness to deliver His chosen people as they remained faithful.
He reminds Himself that God hears the prayers of His people and rewards faith with deliverance.
Those who trust in the Lord will not be embarrassed in the end by abandonment for God never abandons His children.
Jesus remained confident in the righteousness of the Father, even as the Father poured on His wrath.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
Psalm 22:6-8
The innocent sufferer recalls the mockery he receives in the midst of the distress. Ironically, Jesus receives such insults from the descendents of the faithful mentioned in vv. 3-5.
Matthew uses this section to further tie this Psalm to the crucifixion.
Matthew uses this section to further tie this Psalm to
in vs. 7 they deride Him and wag their heads (shake their heads in disgust). This picture repeats itself in
39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads
Matthew
Further, in this passage the mockers assume the sufferer’s faith is in vain because the Lord has not delivered Him…yet.
The people said the same in
The innocent sufferer
43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
In the face of mockery, the innocent sufferer again looks to the past to support His hope for future deliverance.
Psalm 22:9-
He knows that God knows Him and loves Him. From the very beginning, God instilled faith upon Him.
There was never a time in the sufferer’s life when He did not trust in God. Therefore, He will trust in even the present dark time.
Out of this reminder from the past, He draws near to God in the present. He prays for the Lord to reveal Himself again.
Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
Evil people who hurt the righteous are bulls, lions, and dogs. They are predatory in the name of greed and glory. They will suffer for the harm they give to the faithful of God.
Psalm 22:
The innocent sufferer describes the physical toil He endures. You read this and you think, is this David or Jesus in this psalm. It’s both!
Poured out like water
Bones out of joint
Heart like melted wax
Strength dried up
Tongue stuck to jaw
Dust of death
Pierced his hands and feet
He can count his bones
Psalm 22:
He is naked and His clothes have been gambled away. See...
35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.
But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
Psalm 22:
I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
The innocent sufferer picks up from v. 11 and asks the Lord for deliverance.
He begs the Lord to fulfill His hope and to draw near again with deliverance.
He asks for help to escape the bull, lion, and dog.
I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
Ps. 22:22-
The song closes with confidence that when God answers the prayer, the innocent sufferer will be vindicated and will again be able to join with God’s people in worship.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!
The innocent sufferer will again soon be in the warm fellowship of the Father.
Soon the sufferer will rejoice and looks forward to telling all of the faithful that God keeps His promises to those who trust Him.
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
Psalm 22:
He looks forward to telling it to the congregation of Israel.
He looks forward to praising the Lord in the congregation of the future which includes all the nations of the earth who are God’s people through faith.
You see, Jesus’ cry on the cross was not one of defeat and hopeless. It was the opposite. Jesus’ cry was one of confidence that soon the trial would be over and the Father would deliver Him.
On the cross the Son of God died. Yet in that death there was victory. Jesus had obeyed the Father in all things, even in the judgment of God and even in death.
On the cross the Son of God died. Yet in that death there was victory. Jesus had obeyed the Father in all things, even in the judgment of God and even in death.
Jesus pleased the Father through His absolute obedience. The Father rewarded the Son.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Phillipians 2:5-11
We can relate to the fear of being abandoned by God.
We can relate to the fear of being abandoned by God.
We can relate to the fear of being abandoned by God.
We can relate to the fear of being abandoned by God.
The cry of abandonment in the midst of judgment.
It moves to a cry of victory, in that after the valley, God proves He is faithful and indeed has not forsaken His servants.