The Psalm of the cross

INTRO

Psalm 22 is perhaps the clearest and most compelling picture of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the Old Testament.

We should make several points by way of introduction.

1. First, Christ himself connected his death and resurrection to this psalm.

a. Jesus prayed the first words of Psalm 22 from the cross (Matthew 27:46)

b. Christ’s last words on the cross echo the last words of this psalm as well (John 19:30)

2. Psalm 22 is prophetic. In the words of the Apostle Peter, this psalm foretells “the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories” (1 Peter 1:11)

a. David is writing as prophet, describing the agony of Christ’s suffering and the victory that followed.

The form of this psalm is straightforward. The first half is Jesus’ cry for help (v1–21); the second half is Jesus’ song of praise (v22–31). Let us examine these two points together today.

Point 1: The King’s prayer in the time of suffering.

1. He was abandoned by the Lord (v1-5)

a. These first verses immediately take us to the cross

i. Jesus felt that God had abandoned him. Why? (v1-2)

1. Jesus was truly forsaken so that you and I would never be forsaken. We may feel like God has turned his back on us sometimes but if we belong to Christ we have his promise, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Jesus was truly alone so we would never have to be. We need to believe his promise.

ii. Even here we see Jesus’ faith and trust in his loving Father (v3-5)

1. When Jesus was in his darkest hour, he strengthened his heart by remembering the way God had been faithful to those who had gone before.

2. Jesus is our example here. When we feel like God has abandoned us, we can remember how God has been faithful to others. He was faithful to the fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was faithful to Paul, and to Peter, James, and John.

3. Whatever our circumstances, we can look back to the way God has cared for others and take courage. He is faithful.

2. He was despised by the people (his very own people—John 1:11) (v6-11)

a. Jesus endured the scorn of man (v6-8)

i. Jesus was silent on the cross and didn’t respond, but David tells us here what these insults did to him inside. They made him feel subhuman.

b. Jesus turns to what he knows about the care and lover of his Father (v9-11)

i. As he wrestled with his thoughts and feelings, Jesus strengthened himself again with what he knew about God. “You are he who took me from the womb,” he says (v9). God had been with him since birth. This God would continue to care for him even now.

3. He was condemned to death for our sins(v12-21)

a. Through the Spirit, David describes the vicious torture that completed Jesus’ sacrifice, the suffering he went through because he loves you and me. (v12-18)

i. He did not pray for escape even though he could have called ten thousand angels to set him free.

ii. The one who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17) had every joint dislocated. The one who gives living water (John 4:10–15) was dried up like a broken clay pot!

iii. And all this he did for his Father, to bring us to God!

b. Even here we see Jesus’ hope in his father (v19-21)

i. In his time of anguish Jesus still holds on to hope in loving God. Jesus is telling us to remember that even in the worst times God is still God and his is still with us (Lam. 3:22-24)

4. So what does this mean for us? In the Psalms we have seen that the life of the people is bound up in the life of the king. The people are blessed through him. The people are saved through his salvation. Christ suffered this way for you and me.

Point 2: Jesus’ song of Praise(v22-31)

1. There is a transition in Psalm 22 at verse 21. Here Jesus breaks into a song of praise to God.

a. In the middle of his prayer, Jesus knows that God has heard him!

b. After his unspeakable agony, Jesus shouts for joy! And he announces the growth of the gospel around the world and across time (v22-24)

i. After God heard him and rescued him, Jesus sets himself to the task of lifting up God’s name to God’s people. He reveals the Father to us.

1. This means we need to listen carefully and pay close attention whenever God’s Word is opened. Jesus himself is speaking through his Word. The risen Christ himself declares God’s name to us.

ii. Brothers and sisters, Jesus’ first thought in Psalm 22 is for you! He loves you. And Jesus has not stopped thinking of you. The Scriptures say that our Lord Jesus is now “at the right hand of God … interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).

c. Not only does Jesus announce God’s name to us his brothers (for that is what this Psalm calls us (v22)) but he also announces God’s name to the nations (v27-29)

i. Because Christ suffered and was forsaken, because he prayed to God and was heard, people at the farthest corners of the globe will turn to worship God. His suffering was not pointless—it is powerful. The world has forgotten God and turned away from him. But because of the suffering and salvation of Christ, the nations of the world will remember their Creator and return to God, repenting of their sins. And the nations will worship God, bowing down to serve him as their King. Jesus was comforted and encouraged to know that his death and resurrection would bring the most distant peoples of the world back to God. His suffering was not in vain.

ii. This promise motivates us to be committed to missions and evangelism. We send out missionaries because we want men and women around the world to “turn to the LORD” (v. 27) and worship him. This is Jesus’ passion, and it is ours as well.

iii. Verses 30 and 31 tell us that this is our mission through the ages, to tell the new generations about the love of the Lord for them.

Conclusion

1. Christ saved the nations of the world through his death and resurrection. Jesus suffered for sinners. He cried out to God, and he was heard. God saved him from death and gave him the nations of the world as his inheritance (Psalm 2:8). As long as children are still being born, Psalm 22 should send us out to the world with this good news. May God bless us as we chare this good news of our loving Lord who was willing to suffer for us and bring us to God for all eternity.