Title Psalm 22 (2010.6.18)
Contents
Title: The Suffering Savior
Text: (Psalm 22:1-31)
Hymns: 151. King of kings my lord
Date: June 18, 2010 (Fri) 5 am
Venue: Jeonju Yebut Church Small Worship Room
Psalm 22 was written before Jesus came to this world, but it prophesied that Jesus, the savior of mankind, would suffer on the cross in the future.
As the psalmist prophesied, Jesus cried out by quoting Psalm 22:1 while suffering on the cross. Matthew 27:46 says, "About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.' This means, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'
1. Jesus was rejected by God because of our sins.
Why did God give up his only begotten Son? God is a God of justice. He loves sinners, but he hates sin and judges sin. Jesus died on the cross, a sinner who covered the sins of all mankind. The God of justice must judge the sin of disobeying God and not living according to His commandments and words.
2. But God is also a God of love.
In Hosea 11:8-9, “How can I forsake you, O Israel, and how can I forsake you? How can I treat you like Arma, and how can I make you like Zeboim? I turn and my compassion is fully kindled. I will not provoke my fierce wrath, nor will I destroy Ephraim any more; for I am not a man, but God. I am the Holy One who dwells among you, and I will not come against you in wrath."
3. A holy and just God must judge us as sinners, but a God of love also wants us to forgive our sins.
Here is God's dilemma. God solves this dilemma through the cross of Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son. God forgave our sins by imputing our sins to Jesus so that he could bear our sins and have a substitutionary death on the cross.
4. On the cross, Jesus took the pain and suffering we deserve.
In verses 12-18, the psalmist prophesies about the physical sufferings that Jesus would suffer on the cross. Originally, crucifixion was devised by the Persians and Assyrians. They believed that the earth was sacred. They thought that if the feet of a death row prisoner, a sinner, were to touch the ground, they made the punishment of the cross dirty. The Romans borrowed this system and used it for heinous criminals and political prisoners. The punishment of the cross was so cruel that it was never used against Roman citizens. The author of Psalm 22 foretold that Jesus would be crucified about 1,000 years before he came to this world.
5. Jesus completed salvation on the cross (verse 31).
In John 19-30, after Jesus said “It is finished” on the cross, his soul died. Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and to be judged, so that our salvation was accomplished.
Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “Brothers, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way he has opened for us through the veil, which is his flesh.” No one could come before God until Jesus died the atoning death. However, through the blood of Jesus, we have gained the courage to go before God at any time. The way to go before God is wide open before us. Now we are those who have received the gift of salvation and eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross.