Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Please turn to Psalm 22
• Functions on two levels:
  1. A traumatic experience of David – A strategy that we can follow
  2. It prophesies a more traumatic experience of Jesus at the cross
• Many verses of Psalm 22 are fulfilled in Mark 15
  • Feeling forsaken by God (v1)
  • Mocked by the people around Him (v7)
  • Casting lots for the garments (v18)
  • Piercing the hands and feet (v16)
• Jesus would have known Psalm 22 – it would have been a ministry to His soul
• Four things we learn from the Lord Jesus Christ in this Psalm

The Scale of Christ’s Suffering

• Example from The prophet Isaiah – Isaiah 53
  • A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief / familiar with suffering
  • He suffered in His earthly ministry but most at Calvary
  • No one has suffered as Jesus did – Psalm 22
• Three strands to His suffering:
  1. Physically (v14,16)
     • Examples
  2. Emotionally (v6-7)
     • Real human emotions
     • We feel the pain when people reject us and treat us shamefully
     • Jesus feels all alone (v11)
       • His friends forsook Him and His closest friend denied Him
       • Example in the Garden of Gethsemane
     • Are there times in your life when you have felt abandoned?
  3. Spiritually
     • In His very soul
     • Christ feels forsaken (v1)
       • God turns His face a way – a mystery we will never understand

The Depth of Christ’s Love

• The scale of Christ’s suffering is proof of the depth of Christ’s love
• Why did Jesus put Himself through all the above?
  • For us
  • It was not forced on Him – He laid down His life
  • Jesus embraces His suffering at the cross
  • Jesus endured the cross
• Why?
  • Love for you and me
  • We understand how deeply we are loved
• God will never abandon us
  • Jesus gave His life for us
  • For love of sinners

The Breath of Christ’s Achievements (v22+)

• A remarkable change in the Psalm after v22
  • The previous verses (1-21) are downbeat
  • Then a complete change – a note of joy and celebration
• God has answered Christ’s cry
  • v1-21 are Jesus on the cross
  • v22+ – Jesus is in heaven
    • Jesus is praising God – v22, 25
• Jesus is not alone – v22, 25
  • The brethren/great assembly – the people who have been saved through Jesus’ blood
    • Jesus has been triumphant
  • Not just numerous people
    • The poor (v26) and the prosperous (v29)
    • People of different nations (v23, 27)
    • Not just one generation, but even into the next (v30-31)

The Scope of Christ’s Sympathy

• Christ suffered more than any man – physically, emotionally and spiritually
  • He can understand what we are going through
  • He can enter into our sufferings
  • He is filled with power and sympathy
• Examples:
  • A body racked with pain
  • Lonely and isolated
  • Despised and ridiculed
  • Feeling that God has abandoned you
• As High Priest – He sympathises with our weaknesses
  • Quote from Christmas Carol
• He is not remote, unapproachable and unable to understand
  • He can minister to us in every situation
• Come to Him
  • Let Him help you