The Sacrifice Of The Lord: Psalm 22

This spring we have looked into the Bible to see Old Testament passages
that point to Jesus Christ, as well as passages that reveal what the LORD is like;
this summer we will dive into different Psalms.
Unintentionally, our main passage this post—Psalm 22—covers all three! 🙂

Why do this?

Luke 24:25-27: [Jesus] said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe
all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things
and then enter his glory?”
²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them
what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

31-32:Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
and he disappeared from their sight.³²They asked each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us
on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Psalm 22: took place in the life of earthly King David,
but points ahead to & is fulfilled in the death of the eternal King Jesus—
quoted at least 4x on the cross.

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.

The Father is pouring onto His Son the just punishment for sin;
not HIS sin, but ours—staggering. This cannot be adequately described or conveyed,
but we are wise to reflect on Christ’s suffering, not just the physical,
but His emotional/spiritual/relational suffering.

Isaiah 53: our sin & shame & guilt was laid on His shoulders,
along with our deserved punishment. Wow.

Christ Who has from eternity enjoyed perfect one-ness with the Father,
this Lord Jesus in Whom His Father is well-pleased,
receives from Him our punishment.

Just as Abraham agreed to sacrifice his only son Isaac,
so the Father AND the Son willingly & compassionately agreed
to this very personal sacrifice so sinners like us could
go free, be reborn, be adopted, be made fit for heaven.

Notice at the thought process as Christ is suffering—
praise for His Father,
remembering the Father’s past deeds of
willingness & compassion & deliverance.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

The Lord Jesus launches from that sturdy foundation—
the Father’s trustworthiness—
and pours out His heart in describing His situation:

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

Yet Christ goes back to His focus on the Father & His trustworthiness:

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 on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Christ then returns to pouring out His heart & describing His situation—
what an example for us when we face all kinds of trials and suffering:

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 that tear 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 within me.
¹⁵ My mouth 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 surround me, a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.

Yet all focus is on the Father, Christ continues to give Him all glory/honor:

¹⁹ But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me 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 people; in the assembly I will praise you.

Christ declares that His suffering doesn’t take away from the Father’s greatness,
but instead magnifies it, makes it most clear and obvious!

²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

Now having walked the walk, the Lord talks the talk:
He commands us to praise & honor & revere the Father,
the willing & compassionate Father,
no matter what we are going through!
His perfect character never changes!!!

²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you [not from my circumstances, but from YOU, dear Father!]

comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.

The reason Christ praised the Father while He suffered—
the Lord’s THEME—
was not because the Father made life easy,
not because the Father never brought the Lord Jesus into a storm,
but because Christ knew & trusted that the Father was with Him
before, during and after the storm!
Not because He makes every Friday good [easy],
but because of His love for us shown thru the cross on Good Friday!

Christ praises the Father
and looks ahead to the amazing results
that will come from His suffering and sacrifice—
for the JOY set before Him He endured the cross (Hebrews 12)—
here’s the joy:

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;

[taste & see that the LORD is good—
His body & blood our bread & wine to make us alive & forgiven!]

those who seek the Lord will praise him—may your hearts live forever!

[worship Him in spirit & in truth, live forever in His presence in heaven!]

²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,

[turn from rebellion against the LORD to restored relationship with Him!]

and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

³⁰ Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn:

[That is our mission, dear Christians–
to proclaim the righteousness of Christ to future generations
& His death & resurrection & new life for all who repent & believe!]

He has done it!

[It is finished—paid in full—salvation is His work from beginning to end!
Christianity is not “this I do” but “this He did”!
Declaring HIS goodness, showing His compassion
in dying for sinful/undeserving me,
not my goodness in deserving it!]

Closing Challenge

We dove into Psalm 22 this post in order to know the LORD better,
but we ultimately need power from Him to know Him:

Ephesians 3:17-19: And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
¹⁸ may have power,
together with all the Lord’s holy people,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

What a prayer to pray every day
as we seek the LORD Who sought us first!