The Savior
Griffith Baptist Church – 11/18/07
P.M. Service
Text: Psalm 22
Introduction:
An elderly gentleman was out walking with his young grandson. "How far are we from Home?" he asked the grandson. The boy answered, "Grandpa, I don’t know." The grandfather asked, "Well, where are you?" Again the boy answered, "I don’t know." Then the grandfather said good-naturedly, "Sounds to me as if you are lost." The young boy looked up at his grandfather and said, "Nope, I can’t be lost. I’m with you." Ultimately, that is the answer to our lostness, too. We can’t be lost if He is with us.
The next three chapter are considered Messianic Psalms, about the Lord Jesus Christ
They depict different aspects of him. For instance:
• Psalm 22 – The Savior
• Psalm 23 – The Shepherd
• Psalm 24 – The Sovereign
Or you could look at in this fashion:
• Psalm 22 – What Christ has done
• Psalm 23 – What Christ is doing
• Psalm 24 – What Christ will do
Psalm 22 is THE PSALM OF THE CROSS – It is by far considered to be the Holy Ground of the Psalms.
As in Christ’s suffering on the cross some similarities occur:
• It begins with Christ’s statement of forsakenness (verse 1)
• It ends with Christ’s statement of completion (“He hath done this” like “It is finished” verse 31)
• There are some statements that never applied to David:
o They have pierced my hands and feet (16)
o They part my garments, etc. (18)
o Never without a helper (11)
The interesting feature of this psalm is that it does not include one word of confession of sin, and no imprecation against enemies.
It is primarily the account of a righteous man who was being put to death by wicked men.
1. The Suffering of the Messiah – 22:1-21 [Four aspects of suffering]
A. Deserted – 1-2
i. A sense of abandonment (1a), non-responsiveness (1b), and divine deafness (2)
ii. The Psalmist had an intense fear of God distancing Himself from him (why art thou so far from helping me, and compare to verses 11 and 19 [see underlined])
iii. We have all felt that way at times, as if God wasn’t there and didn’t care
iv. Hebrews 13:5 - for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
B. Disconnected – 3-5
i. Trying to remind God of His faithfulness in the past (3)
ii. There is a sense of this reminder being futile (4-5) because of the word “BUT” (verse 6)
iii. He was trying to self-motivate based upon good memories of a great God.
C. Despised – 6-10
i. Isaiah 53:3 - He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
ii. People step all over him – 6
iii. People laugh at him mock him – 7-8
iv. Still a memory of God being with him from the beginning – 9-10
D. Degraded – 11-18
i. Loneliness and separation - 11
ii. Those in power use their strength against him – 12 (Bashan – good pasture land and strong cattle)
iii. Saying false and mean things about him – 13
iv. Weakness and vulnerable – 14
v. Depression and lost vigor, exhausted – 15
vi. The messianic sufferings of the cross (prophetic) – 16-18
E. Doesn’t that sometimes speak for our lives as we truly walk with Christ?
i. The walk is not easy and the road not smooth, but isn’t it the company that counts?
ii. He went before us and as Job said – Job 23:10 - But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
F. Transitional prayer – 19-21
i. A cry for deliverance
ii. A cry for closeness
2. The Resurrection of the Messiah – 22:22-31
A. The Pronouncement – 22-25
i. Good news for the believer – 22 (He is risen, He is the Good News)
ii. Good news for Israel – 23 (the Messiah has come)
iii. Good news for the unbeliever – 24 (God hears when you cry in repentance)
iv. It all ends in worship to God - 25
B. The Product – 26-31
i. Satisfaction – 26
a. He is the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:48-58)
b. He brings lasting peace and real fulfillment to our lives
ii. Salvation – 27
a. Isaiah 45:22 – Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
b. Salvation is offered to all nations and people
iii. Sovereignty – 28
a. It is eternal - Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
b. He influences rulers – Proverbs 21:1 – The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
c. He puts them in place and takes them out at his choosing - Psalms 75:6-7 - 6For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. and Daniel 2:21 - 21And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
iv. Submission – 29
a. True worship can only be rightly done by the truly humble
b. He is the Lord of lords and King of kings and we are to bring glory to Him alone
v. Servanthood – 30
a. 1 Peter 2:9 - But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
b. To serve the Savior is the very highest of honors
vi. Succession – 31
a. Psalms 102:18 – This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
b. We have a story to tell
c. The only way the church of God will grow is to spiritually reproduce
d. We are saved to tell others.
3. Three ways this speaks to my journey with Christ:
A. There is no possible way, no matter how we feel, that God would ever abandon us. He is there, even in the silence. (verse 4-5) [Heb. 13:5 – never leave or forsake]
B. Suffering is productive when we respond to it correctly (submit, learn, continue faithfulness)
C. There is still power in the preaching of the cross that transforms lives.
Conclusion:
What have you learned from your lonely times?
What have you learned from your suffering and trials?
How does the Savior profoundly affect you now?
Does He still have the pull on you that He once did?
