The Excitement Of Easter

Because of two reasons:

(1) It is a blessing, when you consider the fact that some have never heard the gospel. We are blessed to have

heard it preached over and over again.

(2) Another reason is because the more we can hear something, the more we receive from it.

For example, it is amazing how we can read our Bible over and over again, and continue to see things we have never seen before.

However, with the blessing of hearing the Word of God over and over again, there is a DANGER!

WHAT IS THE DANGER?

The danger is that anytime we are constantly exposed to something, THE EXCITEMENT WEARS OFF!

Illus: For example, most of us like ice cream. In fact, some of us love ice cream. However, as much as we all enjoy ice cream, did you know that if we ate ice cream every day, three times a day, seven days a week, the thrill of eating ice cream would soon wear off eventually?

However, when we are constantly exposed to something, the EXCITEMENT WEARS OFF EVENTUALLY!

Illus: That is the reason playing sports and GOING HUNTING, FISHING AND GOLFING are so much fun. We do these things every now and then.

But if we were exposed to these things every day of our lives, the EXCITEMENT WOULD EVENTUALLY WEAR OFF.

This is sad to say, but many believe that the excitement of the gospel no longer exist in the life of many Christians and many churches because they have heard the gospel over and over again.

I am glad that we have such a day as this set aside, that we call Easter. Let me show you several things in Psalm 22, so that the gospel of the Lord Jesus might become fresh to us again.

Psalm 22 is a wonderful chapter about the crucifixion. But as you examine it closely, you will see that Christ, as He goes through this very dark time in His life, sees the resurrection hope at the end of this chapter.

This is a Psalm that allows us to get into the mind of Christ as he hung on the cross for our sins and see things from His perspective.

First, let me show you-

I. HIS RELENTLESSNESS

There were many things that Satan put before the Lord, to try and stop Him from accomplishing what He had come to accomplish. For example, we see-

A. HIS SUFFERING

Suffering is a deterrent.

We all like our dentist personally, but we hate to go to them because we know he/she is going to hurt us, and we try to stay away from pain as much as we can!

When we know something is going to hurt us, that suffering becomes a deterrent that drives us away.

The Lord Jesus faced tremendous suffering. But He did not allow the sufferings He faced to stop Him from accomplishing what He had come to accomplish.

Look at some of the ways He suffered:

(1) Look at verse 12. We read, “Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.”

He is describing these Romans soldiers that crucified Him as the BULLS OF BASHAN.

Illus: The land of Bashan was on the east side of Jordan, north of Gilead. It was noted for rich pasture land that produced some of the large strong bulls of that day.

The large bulls of Bashan represent the powerful Roman soldiers that nailed Him to a cross.

But it was not just the Roman soldiers who did this to him, there were others who participated in this horrendous act.

(2) Look at verse 13, we read, “THEY gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.”

The word “Gaped”, is the Hebrew word, “Potsah” (Paw-tsaw) which means to OPEN, RIP, TEAR APART!

I want to ask you a question. How could the Lord Jesus look down from the cross, and see those people below Him acting like wild animals, and pray, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do?”

Illus: The only way he could have possibly done this, HE LOOKED BEYOND THEIR SINS, AND SAW THEIR NEEDS.

You see, God has always hated sin, but God has always loved the sinner.

Illus: It is not a difficult task to love a beautiful dog that comes to us with his tail wagging, but it is a different thing to love a dog that stands before you with his teeth showing, and he wants to rip you apart.

• The Lord faced such people on Calvary.

• The Lord prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

(3) Look at verse 14. We read, “I am poured out like water...”

One of the horrible things about the people who were crucified, was THE EXCESSIVE PERSPIRATION OF A CRUCIFIED MAN IN THE SUN.