April 18, 2003 Psalm 22:22-31
22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or disdained 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 comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him -- may your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, 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 to a people yet unborn -- for he has done it.
For the past six weeks we have been looking at predictions from Psalm 22 as to what would happen to Jesus. Up to this point, they haven’t been very cheery predictions. In vs. 1, David predicted that Jesus’ own Father - the only one He could truly trust - would forsake Him. In verse 6 we saw that Jesus would be like a worm, getting stepped on and despised by the people. Verse 12 followed that up with a prediction that the religious leaders would attack Jesus. There was some good news in verse 8, seeing how Jesus would remain in the faith even through the bad times - he wouldn’t give up. Yet verse 17 then went on to predict that Jesus would be crucified - sapping Him of any strength or courage that He may have had left.
If I told you that in your future you would be abandoned by your parents, hated by your country, and put to death as a rebel, you probably wouldn’t be to happy. It has been a depressing six weeks, as we have seen the abuse and torture that Jesus had to go through in fulfillment of this psalm. But David was just saving the best for last. Today we will look at the final nine verses of this Psalm - the seventh and final prediction of the Promised One. You will notice that there is a shift in attitude - a shift in spirit with these final verses. Instead of talking about the death of Jesus, it now shifts to Jesus’ life. Therefore, this Easter Sunday, we will see how
The Seventh Prediction of the Promised One Gives Us Reason To Praise God
I. Jesus Would Praise God
Just a few weeks ago the flu virus worked it’s way through Topeka. The schools almost had to be closed as many of the teachers and students were down and out. A good percentage of our congregation got it as well. This flu strain was so contagious that they would only allow close family members to come to the hospital to visit their loved ones. It was almost - you could say - out of control. When you have a flu virus that is so contagious, you suddenly become very conscious of who you talk with - realizing that you could give them a sickness that you don’t want them to have.
Do you realize that you are contagious every day? What do I mean by that? I mean that we are contagious in the way we act. Even if you don’t have a virus, your actions and attitude rub off on people. For instance, I never used to sing in church - hardly at all. But then when I went to college to be a pastor - all of the students were singing in a loud voice. I thought to myself, “I guess I could try that.” Ever since, I have sung in church. I was effected by the actions of my peers - since they did it I wanted to try it. People are naturally sheep - they want to follow - they want someone to imitate - and they do just that.
This happens every day in ways that we don’t even realize. Have you ever come back from work in a bad mood, only to end up having a rotten night at home? You wonder why your spouse isn’t talking or your children are crying - maybe it was because YOU brought that attitude home with you from work and it rubbed off on your family. This can happen in a negative and a positive way. If you are in a good mood, you can also manage to cheer up your family, though this is admittedly more difficult. Your attitude and actions, whether good or bad - are contagious.
Today, Jesus takes the role of the influential leader - infecting us with a different attitude than the past six weeks - not of sorrow - but of happiness. Verses 22 begins, I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! Notice WHO Jesus says that He will declare God’s name to - His BROTHERS. Therefore, this is a prediction that Jesus would become our brother - a human just like us. People are more willing to listen to people who are on their level - who have been through what they have and have seen and felt their pain. Jesus would humble Himself to the level of men, and actually be our brother - which makes us much more willing to listen to Him.
WHAT would Jesus do? Declare God’s name - praising God to his brothers. After all of the other predictions - that Jesus would be crucified - that He would be put through hell on the cross - Jesus would not bad mouth God - calling Him unloving or unjust. He would only have praises.
WHERE would Jesus do this? In the CONGREGATION! Even after Jesus’ death and resurrection, he continued to praise God to the disciples.
Isn’t this contagious to our attitudes on this Easter? If Jesus, who was put through hell, can still praise God, then so can we! Nothing that we have been through can be as bad as what Jesus had to go through. We so often find ourselves complaining about our health, our bills, our spouses, the weather, or our bosses. Maybe you came to church this morning with plenty of reasons that you felt warranted complaints to God for the way He has treated. Are these problems as bad as going through hell? Of course not. After seeing what Jesus had to go through, - and yet seeing His attitude, it makes us ashamed of our attitude. Jesus never complained about God, He only praised Him, and here we are complaining about comparably little things. When we see and hear Jesus’ attitude, we realize, “if Jesus could praise the Lord after going through all of that, then I should praise the Lord as well!”
II. Jesus Would Live
Sometimes people wonder how Jesus could praise God after having been put through such agonizing pain. And they might wonder, “did he really mean that, or was He just saying it?” If you think about it, sometimes people try to put on a very tough veneer - like they are handling the pain well - but then when everyone leaves they let their feelings be known to God. An automatic response for us to say is, “God will work it out for good,” because we know that’s what God’s Word says. But inside we really wonder if God will work it out for good. We sometimes say these things because we know that’s what we are expected to say, not because that’s what we really feel.
Was Jesus just putting on an act of confidence? Of course not. Since Jesus was holy, He really did praise the Lord. How could He remain so optimistic and joyful about His Father after having been through such hell on the cross? He tells us why. For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. What does that mean? His Father didn’t disdain Jesus’ suffering - He didn’t turn His nose up at Jesus’ offering, like a child pushes away a plate of peas. The Father accepted Jesus’ offering for the sins of the world and consumed it with glee. How do we know? In Matthew 28: The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 God the Father LISTENED to Jesus’ cry for help and raised Jesus from the dead. He didn’t allow Jesus to rot in the grave. Knowing this would happen, Jesus could praise the Lord. His work would pay off. His suffering wouldn’t go for nothing - it would be for the sins of the world. And so after Jesus rose from the dead, He did just that - He praised Lord in the congregation of believers.
This is what makes us happy on this Easter as well. Our hero was victorious in His mission. It reminds me of watching the Superbowl a few years back, when John Elway got lucky and beat the Packers. For years Elway’s fans had been waiting and hoping he would finally win the Superbowl. After all of his hard work and his prolific career, it finally paid off - he got the reward He deserved in winning the championship. I can only imagine how happy his fans were to see him win two in a row. In the same way, this is a part of what makes us rejoice on this Easter Sunday. We have followed Jesus throughout the church year - from his humble birth at Christmas time - to his circumcision - to his baptism - to his temptation - to the cross, and finally - to the resurrection from the dead. It’s good to see our hero win the battle - to rise from the grave. He is not a failure. Jesus lives! He has conquered death and the grave! It’s great to see.
III. Jesus Would Bring Life to All
But if that were all Easter was about - it would still be kind of empty for us, wouldn’t it? Some people just live for that very thing though - they love to watch movie after movie of love romances and wars won - they love to watch game after game cheering their heros on to victory - but then they have to return to the real world - where their lives are failures. They have to return back to their broken families, their missed fortunes, and their inability to win the big championships. In the end, it isn’t very gratifying. There needs to be more to life than watching other people succeed. If that’s all we did was watch movies of other people’s successes, while we remained failures within our own homes, life wouldn’t be very gratifying. If Easter were just about watching Jesus succeed, something would be missing.
The final beauty of the Easter story, is that it involves us and makes us a part of the story - we aren’t just spectators. Not only was Jesus the victor when He rose from the dead, but so were we. That’s what He tells us through the final predictions of Psalm 22. The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him -- may your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, 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.
This final prediction talks about people from all around the world praising the Lord. The poor will be able to eat and be satisfied - the rich will be able to feast and worship. What does that mean? God is not talking about a physical feasting, but a spiritual consumption - a partaking of God’s love and forgiveness. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:4, God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. The beauty of God’s forgiveness is that it isn’t for a certain social class or a certain race, it’s for everyone. The Bible shows living proof of this. Joseph of Arimathea was rich, and Lydia was rich, yet that didn’t disqualify them from the grace of God’s forgiveness. Jesus’ died for them as well. Lazarus couldn’t afford a loaf of bread - calling him poor would have been an insult to poor people. And yet he was continually filled up spiritually with the knowledge that he was forgiven. When he died, he tasted the fruits of that faith.
And the same is true for us as Christians today. Since Jesus died and rose from the dead - it gives us so much comfort - no matter who we are and what our social status is. Romans 4 tells us that Jesus was raised because of our justification. It proves to us that we were declared not guilty. Jesus tells us in John 14, because I live, you also will live. How is this possible? In John 11:25 Jesus told Mary, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;” Isn’t this a beautiful message that has meaning for us for all times? Since Jesus lives, we know that God accepted His sacrifice for OUR sins. We know that we are holy - His death did effect us. Since Jesus lives, through faith we know that WE also will live - body and soul - with Jesus after the resurrection of the dead. That’s why we can get excited about Easter and praise the Lord. The Seventh Prediction of the Promised One Gives Us Reason To Praise God. So by the grace of God, we will gladly fulfill the final prediction in verses 30-31. Future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn -- for he has done it.
There are some things in life that people have access to, but never appreciate. Take for instance certain foods - if you don’t try them, you’ll never know if you like them. I never would have tried artichokes if my mom hadn’t made them, but since she introduced me to them, I love to eat them. Maybe you’ve had the same experience - whether it was a peanut butter and potato chip sandwich or a brand new money program on your computer - you wonder how you got along in the past without these things - wishing that you had found them a long time before.
Some of you may have never heard of Psalm 22 before we started studying it - just like the disciples may have never paid special attention to the passages that Jesus pointed out to them on the way to Emmaus. But after Jesus did so, their hearts were burning within them. He gave the old Scriptures new meaning to them - giving them an appreciation for verses never even thought of before. I pray that through this study of Psalm 22, the Holy Spirit has given you the same appreciation for not only the plans that God made for your salvation, but also for the work that it took Jesus to fulfill those plans. Amen.
