Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: LLD
Program Code: LLD000005
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00:35 Let's bow our heads for prayer.
00:38 Our Father and our God, it is with reverence 00:42 that we approach Your throne this morning. 00:47 We realize that human wisdom cannot grasp the greatness 00:53 of the plan of salvation. 00:55 And so I ask this morning that You will give me 00:59 thoughts and words to speak about this great theme. 01:03 I also ask that You will give those who are present 01:06 clarity of thought and that You will give us tender hearts 01:12 to hear Your message, and that it might make an impact 01:17 in our lives. 01:19 We ask, Lord, that You will help us to concentrate upon 01:22 what we're going to study. 01:24 And we thank You for hearing our prayer. 01:26 For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 01:31 There are many great Messianic prophecies 01:35 in the Old Testament. 01:38 I'd just like to mention a few of them as we begin 01:41 our study this morning. 01:44 Who could forget that great Messianic prophecy of 01:47 Genesis 22, the sacrifice of Isaac. 01:53 Who could forget the meaning of the Hebrew Sanctuary 01:58 where the calendar of the plan of salvation 02:01 is presented from beginning to end. 02:05 Who could forget that great chapter of Isaiah 53 02:10 where we hear about the suffering servant 02:14 who bore our iniquities. 02:17 Who could forget Daniel chapter 9 where you have 02:21 the exact chronology of when the Messiah would be baptized 02:25 and when the Messiah would die. 02:29 But this morning we want to study a certain Messianic 02:33 prophecy, one of the greatest Messianic prophecies 02:36 in all of the Old Testament over and above 02:39 the ones that I've mentioned. 02:41 And that is Psalm 22. 02:45 And so I invite you to open your Bibles with me 02:48 to Psalm 22. 02:51 Now as you're searching for this chapter, 02:54 I'd like to say that students of the psalms, scholars, 02:59 have studied the psalms and they have grouped them 03:04 by categories, by literary type. 03:08 For example, there are royal psalms. 03:12 They are psalms that have to do with kingship, 03:15 with the coronation of kings. 03:18 You have psalms of ascent. 03:21 Those are psalms that were sung as the Jews marched towards 03:26 Jerusalem to celebrate the Hebrew feasts. 03:30 You have psalms of individual praise where an individual 03:33 is rendering honor and glory to God. 03:37 You have psalms of congregational praise 03:40 where you have a whole congregation singing 03:42 in the midst of the psalm. 03:45 You also have psalms which are called psalms of 03:49 individual lament where an individual is expressing 03:53 anguish and pain and suffering in their psalm to God. 04:00 And of course, you have psalms of national lament 04:03 where the whole nation of Israel is lamenting 04:06 some calamity or some problem which has come about 04:10 in the congregation. 04:14 Psalm 22 does not fit strictly into any of these categories. 04:21 It is a strange psalm. 04:24 Because it's a mixture of two different literary types. 04:29 The first half of the psalm from verses 1 through 21 04:33 is actually a psalm of individual lament. 04:39 There's an individual who is suffering anguish 04:43 and suffering pain. 04:45 And he's expressing this anguish to God. 04:50 In the second half of this psalm we have a song of praise 04:55 being raise up by a whole congregation, 04:59 by a whole assembly, where this same individual 05:03 who was in anguish and who was in pain 05:06 is now in the midst of a great congregation. 05:09 And the great congregation is rendering him 05:12 honor, glory, and praise. 05:17 Now some scholars who have studied the psalms 05:20 have concluded that these two sections of Psalm 22 05:24 actually were written by different authors, 05:27 and then an editor came later and he patched the two parts 05:32 of the psalm together. 05:34 Because the two parts are so vastly different. 05:39 But I would like to say this morning that these two 05:42 portions of Psalm 22 are very closely related 05:48 one to another. 05:49 They really belong to the same psalm. 05:53 Now another thing which scholars have done 05:55 is to try and determine the historical occasion 05:59 which led to the writing of the particular psalm. 06:04 For example, Psalm 41 is when Achitophel, who was the enemy 06:10 of David, sided with Absalom in Absalom's rebellion 06:16 against the king. 06:18 It was written for that particular 06:19 historical circumstance. 06:21 Psalm 2, scholars all agree that this psalm was written 06:26 to celebrate the coronation of David as king of Israel. 06:30 In other words, scholars have studied the psalms 06:32 to try and determine what historical circumstances 06:36 led to the writing of the particular psalms. 06:41 In the case of Psalm 22, we know that the writer was David. 06:47 Now as we look at the life of David, we find many episodes 06:51 where he's crying out to God. 06:53 We find many places where David is suffering anguish. 06:57 For example, when he was fleeing from Saul 07:00 when Saul was coming after him and trying to destroy him. 07:05 We have many psalms where David is describing 07:07 that experience. 07:10 But Psalm 22 expresses an anguish, expresses such a 07:16 deep suffering on the part of the person who is actually 07:21 uttering the words of this psalm, that scholars have 07:24 not been able to find any particular episode of the 07:26 life of David which fits the experience that is described 07:31 in this psalm. 07:33 It appears that this particular psalm, Psalm 22, is actually 07:39 a direct Messianic prophecy. 07:42 In other words, it did not commemorate any historical 07:46 event in the history of Israel, but rather is a direct 07:50 Messianic prophecy which pointed forward to the future. 07:55 As we examine the psalm, in fact, we discover 07:58 that David was allowed to look forward through the corridors 08:04 of time to experience the thoughts and the feelings 08:09 of Jesus the Messiah when Jesus was going to go 08:13 through His passion in the garden of Gethsemane 08:17 and on the cross of Calvary. 08:19 As we examine the psalm, there's no doubt whatsoever 08:23 that this is describing directly the experience of the Messiah. 08:29 Now we're going to work through this psalm and we're going to 08:31 study the two sections that we find of this 08:35 particular passage of Scripture. 08:38 Verses 1 through 21, the deep anguish which is being suffered 08:43 by this individual. 08:45 Verses 22 to 31, this same individual in the midst of a 08:49 great congregation and He is receiving honor and praise 08:54 from a great multitude. 08:57 Now let's go to Psalm 22 and read verses 1 and 2. 09:03 And you're going to recognize immediately at the beginning 09:07 of verse 1 something that you've read in the gospel of Matthew. 09:12 It says there... 09:39 Immediately, we remember the words of Jesus 09:42 when He was hanging on the cross of Calvary 09:45 close to a thousand years later. 09:48 "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" 09:52 And it's interesting that the gospel writers, 09:54 when they register these words, they actually write them 09:58 in Aramaic, which is the language which Jesus 10:01 most likely spoke in. 10:04 And in the Aramaic language, you can sense the anguish 10:07 that Jesus was going through. 10:10 The words, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" 10:14 "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" 10:20 In the gospels, Jesus is claiming this psalm as His own. 10:25 He's saying, "This psalm is about Me." 10:28 You see, Jesus had memorized Scripture. 10:31 And as we've studied in other venues, we've noticed 10:35 that the life of Jesus was actually choreographed 10:38 from eternity. 10:39 Jesus knew on the cross that these were the words 10:43 which He was to proclaim. 10:45 He had committed them deeply in His memory, 10:49 deep in His psyche. 10:52 Now you notice in these first two verses 10:54 that a mention is made of Jesus, or the Messiah, 10:58 crying out day and night. 11:03 Now undoubtedly, the night that is referred to here 11:07 is the experience of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, 11:12 where we're told in the gospel of Matthew that He held 11:15 a mysterious cup in His hand. 11:17 And He begged His Father if it be possible 11:20 to remove this cup of suffering, this cup of God's wrath, 11:24 from His hand. 11:25 In other words, this anguish was experienced 11:29 by Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. 11:32 In fact, we're told in the spirit of prophecy that 11:35 His anguish was so intense and so great, His suffering 11:39 was so intense that Jesus would have died in the 11:43 garden of Gethsemane had it not been for an angel 11:46 that came and strengthened Him. 11:50 So deep was His anguish. 11:52 You know, you've probably watched the movie that 11:54 Mel Gibson directed, The Passion of the Christ, 11:59 and you see how Jesus was beaten. 12:01 But have you ever realized that Jesus was at the point of death 12:05 before anyone laid one finger on Him? 12:08 Because of the spiritual anguish which He was 12:11 suffering intensely. 12:13 And up to this point, we're told in John 8 verse 29 12:17 that Jesus said, "My Father has not left Me alone. 12:21 He is always with Me. 12:23 Because I do the things that are pleasing in His sight." 12:26 But now Jesus cries out, "My God, My God, 12:30 why hast Thou forsaken Me?" 12:31 And the cup of God's wrath trembles in His hand, 12:35 and He begs His Father to remove the cup if it be possible. 12:39 And the only answer of His Father is a deafening silence. 12:45 Apparently He has been forsaken. 12:48 Now let's move on to verses 3 through 5. 13:13 It's interesting that here the holiness of God 13:17 is brought into view. 13:18 "You are holy." 13:20 You see, Jesus was suffering under the holy wrath 13:24 of His Father. 13:25 That's why His Father apparently was not there, though He was. 13:30 Because the Father withdrew His presence, His face, 13:34 from Jesus because Jesus was bearing upon Himself 13:38 the sins of the world. 13:40 And you'll notice in these verses that Jesus says, 13:43 "Our fathers cried out to You and You listened to Our fathers. 13:46 You delivered Our fathers." 13:48 Now the question is, what event was Jesus referring to 13:53 when He said that, "You heard the cries of Our fathers 13:58 and You delivered them." 14:00 There can be no doubt that Jesus here is referring 14:04 to what happened in Egypt when Israel was captive to Pharaoh 14:08 and to his hosts. 14:10 In fact, notice Exodus chapter 2 and verses 23 to 25. 14:14 Save your place there in Psalm 22. 14:16 Exodus chapter 2 and verses 23 to 25. 14:21 It says there... 14:29 Notice the terminology. 14:54 So Israel cried out to God. 14:57 And God delivered them from bondage. 14:59 But here Jesus is saying, "Our fathers cried out. 15:03 You delivered them. 15:04 But I cry out and there is no deliverance. 15:08 You don't listen to what I'm saying. 15:10 You don't answer." 15:12 Now it's interesting to notice the particular occasion 15:15 in which Israel cried out and Israel was delivered. 15:19 Do you remember in Exodus chapter 12 that Israel 15:23 celebrated the Passover when they were about 15:26 to be delivered from Egypt? 15:30 Have you also noticed that Jesus, according to the 15:33 apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 7 and 8, 15:37 tells us that Jesus, our Passover, has been 15:40 sacrificed for us? 15:42 So Jesus is saying, "Your people, the fathers, 15:46 cried out to You at Passover, and through the blood of 15:49 the lamb You delivered them. 15:51 But now I am the Passover and I cry out, 15:56 and there is no answer from You." 15:58 Deafening silence. 16:01 Let's move on to verses 6 and 7. 16:04 Jesus is expressing His innermost feelings. 16:07 This is a thousand years before the events are taking place. 16:11 This is a Messianic prophecy. 16:12 Notice the perspective that Jesus has of His sufferings. 16:16 He says... 16:30 Kind of reminds us of Isaiah 53. 16:33 He was despised and He was rejected. 16:36 Verse 7... 16:57 Do you know that these are the very words which were spoken 17:00 by the enemies of Jesus as Jesus hung on the cross? 17:05 No doubt, as Jesus was on the cross crying out, 17:08 "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me," 17:10 Psalm 22 was coming to His mind. 17:13 When He saw His enemies gathered around the cross 17:16 ridiculing Him, Jesus undoubtedly thought 17:20 about the words of this psalm, "Prophecy is being fulfilled 17:24 before My very eyes." 17:26 Notice Matthew 27 and verses 39 to 43. 17:30 Matthew 27 and verse 39. 17:35 It says there, "And those who passed by blasphemed Him 17:40 wagging their heads..." 17:42 Remember Psalm 22 where we just read? 17:45 "...and saying, 'You who destroy the temple 17:48 and build it in three days, save Yourself. 17:51 If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.' 17:55 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes 17:59 and elders, said, 'He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 18:05 If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down 18:09 from the cross and we will believe in Him.'" 18:12 And now comes the direct quotation from Psalm 22. 18:16 "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now 18:20 if He will have Him. 18:22 For He said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 18:27 And so as Jesus is hanging on the cross, He's thinking about 18:31 the words of this psalm. 18:33 And undoubtedly, He's saying, "Prophecy is being fulfilled 18:37 before My very eyes in My very own experience." 18:42 Let's go to verses 9 through 11. 18:46 Psalm 22 verses 9 through 11. 18:53 He's speaking to His Father. 18:54 "You took Me out of the womb." 18:55 In other words, "You delivered Me when I was born." 19:20 He's saying, "You delivered the fathers when they 19:22 cried out to You. 19:23 You delivered Me when I was born. 19:26 But now I cry out to You and there is no one to help. 19:31 I am by Myself. I am alone. 19:34 Why have You forsaken Me? 19:36 Why can't You remove this cup of suffering and of anguish?" 19:42 Up till verse 11, we have a description of the 19:46 psychological suffering of Jesus. 19:48 The spiritual suffering of Jesus. 19:50 Not much has been said about His physical suffering. 19:53 But now beginning with verse 12 through verse 21, 19:56 We're going to find a description of His 19:58 physical sufferings. 20:01 Notice verses 12 and 13. 20:07 By the way, bulls represent great leaders in Israel. 20:11 You know, animals were used to represent leaders. 20:14 He goats and bulls represented, and rams, represented 20:20 great leaders. 20:21 And so it says... 20:35 You notice here that we have a reference to the bulls of Bashan 20:39 and to a roaring lion. 20:41 Of course, the roaring lion represents Satan 20:43 who goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom 20:47 he may devour. 20:48 Now Bashan was an area east of the Jordon River 20:53 that was very, very rich in pasture land. 20:57 And it was famous in biblical times for their bulls. 21:00 The bulls were huge and they were ferocious. 21:04 In other words, Jesus is saying, "My enemies are standing 21:08 next to Me, the devil is standing next to Me 21:11 like a roaring lion. 21:12 And they're ready to pounce on Me and to destroy Me 21:16 and to extinguish My life." 21:20 And then notice verse 14. 21:22 Another fulfillment of prophecy later on in the 21:25 ministry of Jesus. 21:27 In fact, when Jesus hung on the cross, He says... 21:43 You know, in 1968 they discovered in the Kidron Valley 21:47 the body of an individual who had been crucified 21:50 by the Romans. 21:51 And it helped us understand a little bit better 21:54 the method of crucifixion which the Romans used. 21:58 You know, they did not put the nails through the hand 22:03 of the criminal, but rather through the wrists, 22:07 it was discovered. 22:08 It was also discovered that the nails were not placed 22:12 through the feet, but the feet were actually placed 22:15 side by side, and then a spike was nailed through 22:20 both of the ankles into the cross. 22:24 This is the type of anguish and pain which Jesus was suffering. 22:28 You see, crucifixion was not only an execution. 22:31 Crucifixion was actually suffering with torture. 22:36 It was a method of torture. 22:40 You know, Jesus had been beaten several times 22:43 before He actually got to the cross. 22:45 And as He was hanging there, you know how the story goes, 22:48 He had been on the cross about six hours. 22:51 And the Sabbath drew on. 22:53 And so they felt that they needed to take the bodies 22:56 off of the crosses. 22:57 And so the soldier comes and he breaks the legs 23:01 of the two thieves. 23:03 And when he comes to Jesus to break His legs, 23:05 suddenly he's surprised. 23:08 Because this individual who has been on the cross 23:11 only six hours is dead. 23:14 You see, it was known in antiquity for individuals 23:17 to live on crosses for up to a week. 23:21 And here, this Man had died only in a period of six hours 23:26 of being on the cross. 23:28 And so this soldier, surprised by what he has seen, 23:31 the centurion, he takes the spear and he thrusts the spear 23:36 through the side of Jesus. 23:37 And suddenly, out of the side of Jesus comes water 23:42 mixed with what? 23:44 With blood. 23:47 Now, physicians know that this is a sign that Jesus actually 23:55 died probably of a heart attack. 23:57 You know, when an individual is in severe anguish, 24:01 severe stress, the water sack around the heart 24:07 grows larger and it pressures the heart. 24:10 And in some instances it can cause a heart attack. 24:14 And that's the reason why when this centurion thrust his spear, 24:18 Jesus was actually poured out, as it says in Psalm 22, 24:22 poured out like water. 24:24 His heart melted like what? 24:27 His heart melted like wax. 24:30 And so out of His side came water mixed with blood. 24:35 Notice verse 15 of Psalm 22. 24:39 Jesus is expressing His experience, He says... 24:45 Have you ever seen a potsherd, a piece of pottery? 24:48 Very, very dry. 24:50 Of course, Jesus at this point has lost a great 24:53 amount of blood. 24:54 And so He says... 25:01 You know, that's a sign of shock. 25:03 For those of you who know the symptoms of shock, 25:06 an individual who goes into shock, 25:08 you know, their mouth becomes dry. 25:11 And that's why Jesus said on the cross, "I..." What? 25:16 "I thirst." 25:17 And then I want you to notice the last part of verse 15, 25:21 "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, 25:23 and my tongue clings to My Jaws." 25:26 And now notice, "You have brought Me 25:28 to the dust of death." 25:32 Let me ask you, did this suffering individual die? 25:36 Yes. 25:38 He says, "You have brought Me to the dust of..." What? 25:41 "You have brought Me to the dust of death." 25:43 In other words, this individual died. 25:46 That is a very, very important detail. 25:50 Now notice verses 16 through 18. 25:53 Here Jesus says, "For dogs..." 25:55 A sign of the unconverted. 25:57 Those who have not committed their lives to God. 26:06 And now notice the clear references to the Messiah. 26:17 Was Jesus really at this point emaciated 26:22 that they could count all His bones? 26:26 He continues saying, "They look and stare at Me." 26:29 Because at this point, Jesus was stark naked. 26:33 We're going to notice that in the next verse, verse 18. 26:44 So Jesus is hanging naked on the cross. 26:46 You know, usually the artist will depict Him as covered 26:49 with loincloth. 26:51 That's not what Scripture teaches. 26:53 That's not what the Romans did. 26:55 The Romans would hang the criminal stark naked, 26:58 and people would look at them and make fun of them. 27:01 And so the garments of Jesus are removed. 27:04 They cast lots over Him. 27:06 They pierced His hands and His feet. 27:09 And His enemies have surrounded Him. 27:12 All of this is in Psalm 22, a thousand years before 27:16 it occurred to Jesus. 27:18 And then notice verses 19 through 21. 27:21 We reach the climax of His sufferings. 27:23 It says there in verse 19, "But You, O Lord, 27:27 do not be far from Me. 27:29 O My Strength, hasten to help Me!" 27:32 Notice, He's crying out to His Father, "Help Me." 27:36 "Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the 27:41 power of the dog. 27:43 Save Me from the lion's mouth..." 27:45 Notice, He's using all these metaphors. 27:47 He's using this symbolic language to describe 27:50 His experience. 27:51 He says, "Save Me from the lion's mouth 27:54 and from the horns of the wild oxen!" 27:57 Very sharp horns. 28:00 And then the person who is suffering in this psalm 28:05 says some very significant words in the midst of this suffering. 28:08 Notice what He says, "You have..." What? 28:13 "You have answered Me." 28:18 And so the first part of this psalm ends by Him saying, 28:21 "You have answered Me." 28:23 Here He's hanging on the cross. 28:26 He has His hands, or His wrists, and His feet that have been 28:34 pierced by these spikes. 28:38 He feels abandoned by His Father. 28:42 And yet He says here, "You have answered Me." 28:48 You know, you sense this, when Jesus is on the cross, 28:52 you sense this ambivalence of Jesus where He feels 28:55 forsaken, but He knows He's not forsaken. 28:58 Because Jesus did not guide His life by circumstances 29:01 and feelings and by emotions. 29:04 He depended on the promises of His Father. 29:07 It's interesting that Jesus says, "My God, My God, 29:10 why hast Thou forsaken Me," but then the last thing He says 29:15 on the cross is, "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit." 29:20 Even though He felt separated from His Father, 29:22 He says, "I know that You have not separated from Me. 29:26 Because You promised that if I was faithful to You, 29:28 You would come and You would resurrect Me on the third day. 29:32 I feel terrible, but I believe Your promise." 29:37 You know, that has a great lesson for us. 29:39 Because we usually have the tendency of guiding our lives 29:42 by feelings and by emotions, how we feel. 29:44 Or by circumstances. 29:46 Jesus did not do that. 29:48 He felt forsaken, and yet He says, "You have answered Me." 29:56 And then we come to the second half of this psalm. 30:00 This same individual is standing in the midst 30:05 of a great congregation. 30:09 And this congregation is rendering Him honor 30:12 and glory and praise. 30:15 Now immediately you say, "Now wait a minute. 30:18 Didn't we just read that this individual died?" 30:25 Did we read that He died? 30:26 That God laid Him in the dust of the earth? 30:29 Absolutely. 30:30 And so you say, "How can you see Him in the midst 30:34 of a great congregation if He died?" 30:39 It must mean that He what? 30:42 It must mean that He resurrected. 30:45 Now the psalm doesn't say so. 30:48 But by implication, if He's going through this suffering, 30:51 if He's laid in the dust of the earth, 30:54 and then afterwards He's standing in the midst of a 30:57 great congregation that is rendering Him honor and glory 31:01 and praise, it must be that after His death He, what? 31:06 After His death He resurrected. 31:09 Notice verses 22 and 23. 31:12 He says this... 31:14 And remember that He has just said, "You have heard Me." 31:18 He dies knowing that the Father has heard Him. 31:21 Even though He doesn't feel like the Father has heard Him. 31:48 "For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction 31:51 of the afflicted, nor has He hidden His face from Him; 31:57 but when He cried to Him, He..." What? 32:00 "...He heard." 32:02 In other words, the question is, was the prayer of this suffering 32:06 servant heard by His Father?" 32:08 Yes, He now stands in the midst of a great congregation 32:12 and He describes those who are there as His brethren. 32:19 By the way, do you know that this portion of Psalm 22 32:23 is actually quoted in Hebrews chapter 2 32:26 and verses 10 through 13? 32:29 Where we're told in short that Jesus is not ashamed 32:34 to call us what? 32:36 Is not ashamed to call us brethren. 32:39 In other words, He sees Himself, after His suffering... 32:43 And undoubtedly, this strengthened the mind of Jesus 32:46 as He was going through this experience. 32:47 He sees Himself in the midst of this great congregation 32:51 with His brethren. 32:54 Notice verse 25. 33:06 Notice, "The poor shall eat and be satisfied. 33:10 Those who seek Him will praise the Lord. 33:13 Let your heart live forever." 33:16 So you have the sons of Jacob, Israel, praising Him. 33:19 According to verse 25, you have the poor and the destitute 33:23 praising Him in the midst of the congregation. 33:27 Then it goes broader. 33:28 Notice verse 27, it says... 33:39 "For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations." 33:44 And so it begins with Israel, with Jacob, that small circle 33:48 of the Israelites. 33:50 And then it moves to the poor and to the afflicted. 33:53 Then it moves to every nation on planet earth. 33:57 In other word, the praise and the honor is growing globally. 34:03 Notice verse 29, "All the prosperous..." 34:06 Now the rich come into view. 34:08 The consecrated rich, that is. 34:10 "All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship. 34:14 All those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him." 34:19 Notice that, "...shall bow before Him, even he 34:22 who cannot keep himself alive." 34:26 What does that mean? 34:27 Even he who cannot keep himself alive 34:29 is going to praise the Lord? 34:31 It must be that they, what? 34:32 That they died and they resurrected. 34:36 Because those who were not able to keep themselves alive 34:40 will also come and praise Him, according to verse 29. 34:44 So not only the living, but also those who die 34:48 and are resurrected. 34:51 Notice verses 30 and 31. 35:09 In other words, those who as yet had not been born 35:12 when Jesus performed this work on the cross 35:16 were going to hear about this. 35:17 And they were going to be present to render Him 35:20 honor and glory and praise. 35:24 Now the question is, when is this going to be fulfilled? 35:30 When is it that all of God's people; 35:36 the people of the Messiah, the sons of Jacob, 35:39 the people from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, 35:42 the rich and the poor, 35:45 those who died and those who resurrected, 35:49 when is it that the entire universe is going to render 35:54 Jesus honor and glory and praise? 35:59 Well you know, it's when all of His people are together 36:04 in the kingdom. 36:06 Notice Philippians chapter 2. 36:07 Which we've read many times before, 36:09 and I want to read it again. 36:11 Philippians 2 verses 5 through 11. 36:13 Because we're talking about the law of life and death. 36:18 The law of death is to exalt yourself. 36:21 God says, "I'll humble you." 36:23 The law of life is to humble yourself. 36:26 And God will what? Exalt you. 36:28 Do we find a clear reference to humbling in this psalm? 36:32 Sure. 36:34 Death of a cross? Yes. 36:36 Sub-human level? Yes. 36:40 But then do we find Jesus being exalted 36:43 and praised by the whole universe? 36:45 Absolutely. 36:46 Notice how this is developed in Philippians 2. 36:59 A better translation, as I've mentioned before, 37:01 is, "did not consider equality with God 37:04 and something to be grasped." 37:19 Notice that even when He was a Man already, 37:21 "He humbled Himself..." 37:27 There's the first part of the psalm. 37:30 And now notice the second half of the psalm. 37:50 By the way, that hasn't happened yet. 37:53 The ones under the earth have not done it yet. 37:55 Those are the people who have died. 37:58 And not everybody on earth who is alive is doing that 38:02 at present either. 38:04 And so it says... 38:12 There you have the second part of Psalm 22, 38:15 the exaltation of Jesus. 38:17 He who humbled Himself will be what? 38:21 Will be exalted and placed on the throne of the universe. 38:27 We find another scene similar to this in Revelation 5:11-13. 38:32 If you'll go with me. 38:33 Revelation chapter 5 and verses 11 to 13 38:36 speaks about this explosion of praise. 38:46 By the way, here you have all the angels, 38:48 you have the living creatures who are the cherubim 38:51 and the seraphim, and you have the 24 elders, 38:53 the representatives of all the worlds. 39:09 "...who was slain..." See, past. 39:10 That's the first part of the psalm. 39:22 And now notice, "And every creature..." 39:25 This hasn't happened yet. 39:50 The big question is, am I going to be in that congregation? 39:58 Did Jesus, on the cross, see me in that great congregation? 40:03 You know, we're told in Isaiah 53 that Jesus 40:09 had this trying experience. 40:13 And then He what? 40:15 He shall see the travail of His soul, and shall be what? 40:19 Satisfied. 40:21 Why? 40:22 Because He's going to see present there 40:24 all of the redeemed. 40:27 All those who received Him as Savior and Lord. 40:31 The question is, have we received Him as our Savior 40:35 and as our Lord? 40:39 You know, when Jesus was on the cross, according to 40:41 the spirit of prophecy, Jesus could actually see 40:47 every person who was going to be redeemed 40:51 in His kingdom individually. 40:56 He wants us there. 40:58 "He shall see the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied." 41:03 Because He's going to have His people there. 41:06 But folks, if we're going to be there, we have to have 41:09 the same spirit that Jesus had. 41:11 "He who humbles himself will be exalted. 41:15 And he who exalts himself will be..." What? 41:18 "...humbled." 41:19 Two mysteries. 41:20 Lucifer said, "I'm going up." 41:23 God cast him down, he's going to be destroyed. 41:26 Jesus said, "I'll come down." 41:28 The Father has highly exalted Him, and is going to exalt Him. 41:31 And all those who have the mind and the spirit of Jesus 41:35 will have the same experience of Jesus and will be present 41:38 in that great congregation. 41:40 I pray to the Lord that none of us in that great day 41:45 are missing. 41:47 Let us pray. 41:49 Father in heaven, we thank You for this marvelous 41:52 Messianic psalm. 41:54 We're thankful that You were willing to send Your Son, 41:57 Your beloved Son, the most precious thing in the universe, 42:01 the most precious being in the universe, 42:04 to come to this world to suffer the anguish and the agony 42:07 and the pain that we studied about in this psalm. 42:10 We'll never be able to fully understand, 42:13 not only the physical suffering, but the mental torture, 42:16 the spiritual anguish that Jesus felt. 42:20 We thank You that You were willing to send Jesus, 42:22 and we're thankful that Jesus was willing to come 42:24 and suffer this for us. 42:27 And Father, I ask this morning that You will come and You will 42:30 touch each heart and each mind in this congregation. 42:34 Father, instill in us the spirit of Jesus 42:37 who is meek and lowly of heart. 42:40 I ask, Father, that You will help us always to be willing 42:43 to occupy second or third or fourth place. 42:46 That we will be willing to occupy the place of service 42:50 that You have established for us. 42:52 So that someday You will exalt us and we will have the 42:56 privilege of being in that great congregation. 43:00 I pray, Father, that on that great day not one of those 43:03 who are gathered here will be missing. 43:05 I thank You, Father, for hearing my prayer. 43:08 For I ask it in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus. 43:12 Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17