Cleansing of the Leaper
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The Psalm of The Cross
Psalm 22
I. Introduction
A. If I were to say to you, "What is the most important event in world history," what would be your answer?
1) There is no doubt what the answer is to this question. It is the day that Jesus Christ, God's Son, hung on a cross outside Jerusalem. I'm sure that many that day failed to realize that this event would be the focal point of all history. But to us who are saved, we understand.
2) 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
B. 1 Peter 1:10-11 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
C. Psalm 22 is a fascinating psalm because it is written as if the writer is sitting at the foot of the cross watching the events unfold. Yet it was written 1,000 years before Christ died and before crucifixion became a form of capital punishment.
D. Psalm 22, James Montgomery Boice called, “the best description in all the Bible of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.”
E. Luther called it a “gem among the Psalms”
F. Spurgeon said, “This is beyond all others the psalm of the cross… We should read reverently, putting off our shoes from off our feet, as Moses did at the burning bush, for if there be holy ground anywhere in Scripture it is in this Psalm”
G. Calvin said, “in this psalm the heavenly Father intended that in the person of His Son those things should be visibly accomplished which were shadowed forth in David”
H. Psalm 22 are the words of a man enduring execution.
I. Many have observed how Psalms 22-24 constitute a magnificent trio, each emphasizing a particular aspect of the Lord’s Anointed, the Messiah-King. In Psalm 22 we have a portrait of our suffering king. In Psalm 23 we have a portrait of our shepherd king. In Psalm 24 we have a portrait of our sovereign king.
J. It is also instructive to read Psalm 22 in light of what precedes it in Psalm 20 and 21.
K. A psalm of lament containing both prayers of petition and praise, we are confronted immediately with the cry of the Righteous Sufferer. In the psalm there is no confession of personal sin for He has none.
L. Putting these clues together, we can be fairly certain that Jesus was meditating on the Old Testament during the hours of his suffering and that he saw his crucifixion as a fulfillment of Psalm 22 particularly.[1]
M. The four gospels incorporate texts from the Psalms more than from any other Old Testament book in their presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. No psalm is quoted more in the gospels than Psalm 22[2]
II. Meditate on the Suffering Savior (22:1-18)
Psalms 22:1-2 1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.
A. The Savior’s Cry
1) The psalm begins with a three-fold cry to El, a cry that is recorded as the 4th saying of Jesus on the cross in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34.
i. Matthew 27:46 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
2) To emphasize the isolation and separation He is experiencing he brings to God’s attention the fervency of His prayer life (v. 2).
3) According to the teaching of the New Testament, Jesus was indeed forsaken by God while he bore the sin of his people on the cross.
4) This is the very essence of the atonement—Jesus bearing our hell in order that we might share his heaven.[3]
5) Augustine also implies that it is our cry with which Christ identifies, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It is sin that alienates us from God. So argues Augustine, “This psalm is written about me.” Christ has interceded on my behalf, “and has made my sins his own, in order to make his righteousness ours.”[4]
6) Why did God the Father have to forsake Christ on the cross (vs. 1)? Why couldn't the Father help him and come near? Can God fellowship with sin?
7) Absolutely not - and Paul reveals several years later, that Christ became sin on the cross.
i. 2 Corinthians 5:21 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Psalms 22:3-5 3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. 5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
B. The Memory of the Past
1) Then in vs 3-5, the Righteous Sufferer turns in confidence as he recalls the character of God and the faithfulness of God. Note the phrases “But You, in You, to You and in You.”
2) The fathers knew this and trusted (3X) in you. They trusted and were delivered (2X).
3) But this was not the experience of our Lord Jesus. He was shamed more than any man. He was not delivered, He was forsaken.
Psalms 22:6-8 6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
C. The Mockery of the Crucifixion
1) The first three hours (9 to12) that Christ suffered on the cross, He suffered physically at the hands of sinners. Psalm 22 details many of the events years
before they happened.
2) Verse 6 - Christ said, "I am a worm." Illustration: the tola worm
i. Usually in the Bible, the Hebrew word for a worm is “rimmah”, which means a maggot – but the Hebrew word Jesus used here for worm, is TOLA’ATH, which means “Crimson worm” or “Scarlet worm”. Both scarlet and crimson are the colors of blood – deep red.
ii. After three days, the dead mother Crimson worm’s body loses its crimson color and turns into a white wax which falls to the ground like snow
iii. Isaiah 1:18 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
3) Verse 6 - Christ's visage was so marred, He didn't look like a man.
4) (v. 8). These words, as well as the gestures that accompanied them, were reproduced precisely at the crucifixion:[5]
i. Matthew 27:38-43 38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
5) Verses 6-8 - Christ was a reproach of men and despised of the people. He was stripped naked, beaten, mocked, reviled, and taunted while He hung on the cross
Psalms 22:9-11 9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts. 10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God. 11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help.
D. The Memory of My Past
1) This suffering King did trust in Jehovah. In vs 9-11 He notes 4 times the sovereign and providential activity of His God in His life from its beginning.
2) But here the sufferer has moved forward a notch in his thinking, since his memory now is not of God’s faithfulness to those others only but of God’s former faithfulness to himself.[6]
3) Will God not continue to be faithful to me now?[7]
Psalms 22:12-18 12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
E. The Savior’s Suffering
1) (vs. 12-13). Christ was rejected and reproached by His own people.
i. Indeed there is no one to help this innocent victim now at the mercy of evil, wicked humanity. With 2 striking metaphors the greater David describes the enemies who have surrounded Him.
1. Many bulls
2. Raging and roaring lions
2) Verse 16 - His hands and feet were pierced and nailed to the cross.
3) Verses 14-15 - He endured excruciating physical pain, torture, and thirst.
4) Verse 18 - He watched as they gambled for his clothes.
5) C. I. Scofield:
i. Psalm 22 is a graphic picture of death by crucifixion. The bones (of the hands, arms, shoulders, and pelvis) out of joint (v. 14); the profuse perspiration caused by intense suffering (v. 14); the action of the heart affected (v. 14); strength exhausted, and extreme thirst (v. 15); the hands and feet pierced (see v. 16 …); partial nudity with the hurt to modesty (v. 17), are all associated with that mode of death. The accompanying circumstances are precisely those fulfilled in the crucifixion of Christ. The desolate cry of v. 1 (Mt. 27:46); the periods of light and darkness of v. 2 (Mt. 27:45); the contemptuous and humiliating treatment of vv. 6–8, 12–13 (Mt. 27:39–44); the casting lots of v. 18 (Mt. 27:35), were all literally fulfilled. When it is remembered that crucifixion was a Roman, not Jewish, form of execution, the proof of inspiration is irresistible.[8]
6) Verse 16, which is translated, “they have pierced my hands and my feet.” The word pierced is the most striking indication of a crucifixion in the entire psalm,[9]
7) Matthew 27:35 35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”
F. The cross clearly demonstrates:
1) God hates sin.
i. Sin must be paid for. God cannot allow sin to go unpunished. He would not be righteous in character if He did. Christ knew this on the cross (vs. 3).
ii. God loves righteousness and hates wickedness. Psalm 45:7
iii. Psalms 45:7 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.
2) Christ alone would incur the wrath of the Father against the sins of all mankind.
i. Can you even fathom the spiritual pain and torture?
ii. 1 Peter 2:24 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
iii. Christ did no sin, yet He suffered and died. Why? Romans 5:6, 8 (for us)
iv. Romans 5:6-8 6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
3) Christ suffered our physical death, but also our spiritual death, during those three hours when the Bible says His soul became an offering for sin.
i. Isaiah 53:10 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
4) What He suffered from the hand of man could not atone for our sin, but what He suffered from the hands of God during those three hours forever settled the sin question.
III. Meditate on the Saving Savior (22:19-21)
Psalms 22:19-21 19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. 21 Save Me from the lion's mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.
A. The psalmist now makes his petition proper. It is clear and simple, and it is voiced in confidence and faith. This faith and confidence in Jehovah is not in vain.
1) God helped His Righteous Sufferer. 22:19
i. This prayer of faith begins with a strong and emphatic adversative. “But You… He addresses God as “Lord” (Jehovah) and “My strength.”
2) God delivered His Righteous Sufferer. 22:20-21
i. Having addressed the Lord in faith, the psalmist now gives one final glance to His enemies. In essence David repeats in reverse order the enemies noted in verses 12-13 and 16.
ii. Once again the pattern of Psalm 2 comes into play as the nations rage…and the kings of the earth and its ruler take counsel against Yahweh and His Messiah (2:2). The wild men are not just enemies of Messiah. They are the enemies of God
iii. There is some debate as to proper understanding of the end of v. 21. Verse 21 ends the petition not with a 4th imperative for help as we might expect.
iv. Rather the Hebrew perfect is used with a single powerful word of salvation: (Heb.) anitani, “you have answered!”
B. This is a cry of triumph, not despair. It marks the moment at which the period of darkness passes and Jesus, having suffered a true alienation from the Father as punishment for our sins, becomes aware of God’s presence and favor once again.[10]
IV. Conclusion
A. In this psalm we see the Messiah:
· Rejected - vs. 1-21
· Risen - vs. 22-26
· Ruling - vs. 27-31
B. Prophecy saw His resurrection and His return to earth to rule and reign happening on the heels of each other. But, hidden in God, was a mystery time period called the dispensation of the grace of God.
C. This is where we are living today. The next event for us on God's timetable is the return of Christ in the heavens to receive all believers unto Himself.
· At this point, the prophetic time clock will begin ticking again, and in a few short years, this psalm will be fulfilled.
D. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? Have you placed your faith and trust in Him? Why not trust Him today?
[1] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 193). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
[2] Waltke, B. K., Houston, J. M., & Moore, E. (2010). The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary (p. 377). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
[3] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 194). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
[4] Waltke, B. K., Houston, J. M., & Moore, E. (2010). The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary (p. 383). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
[5] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 194). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
[6] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 195). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
[7] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 195). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
[8] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 195). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
[9] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 195). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
[10] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 196). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.