Introduction – Trilogies have an interesting take on life. I remember when the Star Wars trilogy came out when I was a young adult. My sons really looked forward to the completion of the prequel trilogies when they hit the silver screen. We enjoyed all of the Back to Future, Batman, Lord of the Rings and Bourne trilogies together. God has given us an interesting set of trilogies in Psalms 22-24. Here we find God completing the work of redemption for man in these three Psalms.
As we examine Psalm 22, let’s understand that this Psalm is written 1,000 years before the crucifixion of our Savior and 500 years before the cross was invented. Yet, God in His wisdom uses the horrible instruments of man to accomplish His work of redemption.
THE PROPHECY OF THE CROSS (1-8)
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? Why…Why…”
The words that the Savior cries out on the cross reveal the prophecy and accuracy of God’s Word. We see three aspects of this prophecy. First, we see the SEPARATION of Jesus in verses 1-2. The Son cries on the cross because the Father does not hear. Jesus pleads with Him, “why…why?” He is separated because He became our sin. Second, we see the ALIENATION of Jesus in verses 3-5. He looks back at the deliverance of His people but it is not to be for Him. He becomes our sacrifice. He is our scapegoat. Then, we see the HUMILIATION of Jesus in verses 6-8. He has become a worm or tolah. This specific word is used because it notes the crushing of the tolah, a red blooded worm, to be applied to the garments as a red dye. He is crushed on our behalf that His blood may be applied to us that we might be made righteous. Notice that He is also a reproach and ridiculed among the people. He was shamed and humiliated on our behalf.
Henry Morris describes the tolah worm in this manner: "When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding his precious blood that he might ’bring many sons unto glory’ (Hbr 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through him! Psa 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of Christ. (cf. Isa 1:18)" (Henry Morris. Biblical Basis for Modern Science, Baker Book House, 1985, p. 73)
Illustration – How shall we know him?
An African prince was visiting the African settlement at the St. Louis Exposition many years ago. He was clad in citizens’ clothes, and the people from Africa appeared in their native costumes. When this stranger proclaimed himself a prince, they ridiculed him.
However, an aged man said, "I can tell whether you are a prince of the royal blood"; and when he ran his fingers down the back of the neck of the one who claimed to be a prince and found the scar that was there, the mark of his royalty, he fell upon his knees with all the others to worship him.
Jesus Christ stands before us as the Lamb that had been slain; there are scars in His hands and feet, in His side and back and on His blessed brow. He is our Redeemer. We shall know Him because He alone suffered what all of us deserve but only what He received. (J. Wilbur Chapman, Great Preaching on Salvation, Sword of the Lord Publishers, p. 160)
So we move from the prophecy of the cross to…
THE AGONY OF THE CROSS (9-21a)
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint”
I do not believe there was ever any event like the crucifixion of Jesus. It is here we witness three events. We witness the INDIGNITY of mankind. In verses 9-13, Jesus has placed His life in the hands of God. From the innocence of childhood into full manhood, Jesus experiences the ravages of a hate-mongering crowd. Naked, beaten, bloodied, humiliated and crucified, Jesus was exposed to the pagans and unbelievers of society. He compares them to bulls and lions. In this we witness secondly, the INHUMANITY of mankind. It is in verses 14-18 that we feel the pain of what Jesus is going through for our souls. This description was written 1,000 years before the cross was invented and yet the Romans perfected it as a tool for torture, pain and death. The following is a description of the crucifixion but it cannot describe the excruciating pain Jesus experienced on the cross that day.
A medical doctor provides a physical description: The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place.
The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain—the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet.
As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.
Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.
It is now almost over—the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level—the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues—the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues. Finally he can allow his body to die. All this the Bible records with the simple words, “And they crucified Him.” (Mark 15:24). What wondrous love is this?
Adapted from C. Truman Davis, M.D. in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8
As the Son of God hang suspended between heaven and earth, we then witness the INEQUITY of mankind’s cruelty toward God’s Son. These words are describing the injustice man is inflicting on Him. Yet He appeals to the Father as He suffers in verses 19-21. He cries for help, deliverance and rescue as these “animals” destroy Him.
Illustration – My son’s experience in the ER
Several years ago my eldest son suffered a traumatic facial injury riding a bicycle. Taking him to the emergency room was almost as traumatic to me as it was for him. The physicians wired three of his teeth into his gums to hold them into place. I was not allowed to stay in the emergency room but I could hear him screaming out into the waiting room. It literally took several years to repair the damage he had done to himself in an accident.
The pain my son suffered was mild to what Jesus suffered on the cross. Our sin was paid by the perfect Lamb of God.
As we have explored the prophecy and agony of the cross, let us consider one final aspect of the cross. It is here we discern …
THE VICTORY OF THE CROSS (21b-31)
“And all the families of the nations shall worship before You”
The cross was not God’s plan b or great alternative. The cross was His purpose and plan that we might have a right relationship with Him! Perceive the tone of verses 21b-31. We will first hear the PRAISE of the people in verses 21b-24. Notice the declaration “You have answered Me.” All was not lost! The victory is secured through His sacrifice! In this we hear the people praise Him. Victory is secured. Note also where we feel the PASSION of the people in verses 25-29. There is an excitement for the work that has been accomplished! It is finished! Glory, what a Savior! Then note in verses 30-31 where we see the PLEASURE of the people. We get to tell others about the victory! We are allowed to serve Him with enthusiasm! It is a pleasure to serve the Living God because of His love!
Illustration - The Sacrifice of a Son: An Allegory
It was in 1967, when Dennis Hensley writes this allegory about God’s unconditional love and concern for man.
The Great Depression settled like a funeral cloak upon the land. Oklahoma, John’s native state, was turned into a swirling dust bowl by the dry winds, and his dreams were swept away with the wind. So he packed up his wife, his tiny baby boy, and their few meager belongings in an old car and drove away to find greener pastures. He thought he might have discovered those on the edge of the Mississippi, where he got a job caring for one of those great, huge railroad bridges that cross the mighty Mississippi.
For the first time, he brought his 8-year-old son, Greg Griffith, to work with him to see what Daddy did all day. The little boy was wide-eyed with excitement, and he clapped his hands with glee when the huge bridge went up at the beck and call of his mighty father. He watched with wonderment as the huge boats steamed down the Mississippi.
Twelve o’clock came, and his father put up the bridge. There were no trains due for a good while, and they went out a couple of hundred feet on a catwalk out over the river to an observation deck. They sat down, opened their brown bag, and began to eat their lunch. His father told him about some of the strange, faraway lands that some of these ships were going to visit. This entranced the boy.
The time whirled by, and suddenly they were drawn instantly back to reality by the shrieking of a distant train whistle. John Griffith quickly looked at his watch. He saw that it was time for the (John 1:7), the Memphis Express, with 400 passengers, which would be rushing across that bridge in just a couple of minutes. He knew he had just enough time, so without panic but with alacrity he told his son to stay where he was.
He leaped to his feet, jumped to the catwalk, ran back, climbed the ladder to the control room, went in, put his hand on the huge lever that controlled the bridge, looked up the river and down to see if any boats were coming, as was his custom, and then looked down to see if there were any beneath the bridge. And suddenly he saw a sight that froze his blood and caused his heart to leap into his throat. His boy! His boy had tried to follow him to the control room and had fallen into the great, huge gear box that had the monstrous gears that operated this massive bridge. His left leg was caught between the two main gears, and the father knew that as sure as the sun came up in the morning, if he pushed that lever his son would be ground in the midst of eight tons of whining, grinding steel.
His eyes filled with tears of panic. His mind whirled. What could he do? He saw a rope there in the control room. He could rush down the ladder and out the catwalk, tie off the rope, lower himself down, extricate his son, climb back up the rope, run back into the control room, and lower the bridge. No sooner had his mind done that exercise than he knew--he knew there wasn’t time. He’d never make it, and there were 400 people on that train.
Suddenly he heard the whistle again, this time startlingly closer. And he could hear the clicking of the locomotive wheels on the track, and he could hear the rapid puffing of the train. What could he do? What could he do! There were 400 people, but this was ... this was his son, this was his only son. He was a father! He knew what he had to do, so he buried his head in his arm and he pushed the gear forward.
The great bridge slowly lowered into place just as the express train roared across. He lifted up his tear-smeared face and looked straight into the flashing windows of that train as they flashed by one after another. He saw men reading the afternoon paper, a conductor in uniform looking at a large vest-pocket watch, ladies sipping tea out of teacups, and little children pushing long spoons into plates of ice cream. Nobody looked in the control room. Nobody looked at his tears. Nobody, nobody looked down to the great gear box.
In heart-wrenching agony, he beat against the window of the control room, and he said, "What’s wrong with you people? Don’t you care? I sacrificed my son for you. Don’t any of you care?" Nobody looked. Nobody heard. Nobody heeded. And the train disappeared across the river.
D. James Kennedy, "Message from an Empty Tomb," Preaching Today, Tape No. 66.
The greatest tragedy today is the disdain man has for the sacrifice God has provided. A wasted life is one where Jesus has been rejected. We look at the work God has provided and spend our days “acting” as if life has no meaning. Come to Him today. He accepts you warts and all. He changes you from the inside out. Don’t delay. Heaven can’t wait!
