Text: Psalm 22:1-22 and other Messianic Psalms
Into: The Christmas season is defined by some very special traditions. Songs that commemorate the meaning and message of the season. The giving of gifts which reflects the “spirit” of the season! After all what is Christmas all about?
Isaiah 9: 6a For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given-NIV
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. – ESV
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.-NJKV
And yet to appreciate a gift properly, we must appreciate the price or cost of the gift! There is perhaps not another Psalm or passage of scripture that best describes for us in a very graphic way the great price of the gift that God gave us when He gave us His Son, and the price that Jesus paid to give us the gift of salvation as well as Psalm 22.
It has been referred to as the “gospel according to David”. And one thing that is so amazing about this Psalm that it takes us deeper and higher in many ways than the gospels do!
Impossible you say? Well think about it! Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic gospels, which means they wrote down what they saw. The word Synoptic, in Greek, means "seeing or viewing together." They wrote down what they observed regarding the 3 ½ years that they walked with the Lord during his short time here on earth!
John’s gospel provide us with a greater or wider view because his gospel does begin in time and space, His gospel begins before time, and in the heavenlies!
John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made-NIV
But the Messianic Psalms TAKE US BACK TO OVER 1,000 YEARS BEFORE THE INCARNATION, AND NOT ONLY THAT BUT HE LITERALLY LIFTS US UP IN THE HEAVENLY PLACE AND TAKES US INTO THE INNER CHAMBER, BEHIND THE VIEL AND LET’S US LISTEN IN ON THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN FATHER AND SON, AND NOT ONLY THAT BUT ALS0 INTO THE HEART OF GOD , AND EVEN INTO THE THOUGHTS OF JESUS AS HE HUNG UPON THE CROSS! WOW!
If indeed Christianity is about a PERSONAL relationship with Jesus Christ, and it is just that, then the book of Psalms, the Messianic ones, cab take you into a depth of relationship with him that I pray will ignite your passion, and your love for him, and appreciation for what He has done for you all over again!
And so the goal of this message is this:
Studying the Psalms of Advent, will help us to:
1. Appreciate the pricelessness of the Gift
2. Appropriate the purpose for the Gift.
3. Awaken in us a new passion for the Gift!
Yet before I delve into Psalm 22 - Let’s begin by first looking at, some other Messianic Psalms and Passages:
I. The PREPARTION of The GIFT:
A) Prepared what?
1. It’s as if Jesus looked upon the sacrificial system that could never take away sin:
Hebrews 10: The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
2. And he said:
Psalm 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou didst not require. (Brenton Septuagint Translation)
Hebrews 10:5c but a body you prepared for me
Psalm 40:7 Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me (Brenton Septuagint Translation)
Psalm 40:8 I desired to do thy will, O my God, and thy law in the midst of mine heart. (Brenton Septuagint Translation)
B) Picture of His Heart!
Charles Spurgeon - The will of God to redeem sinners by the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ, was most grateful and pleasing to the very heart of Christ. It is said, in Proverbs 8:31, when he was solacing himself in the sweetest enjoyment of his Father, while he lay in that blessed bosom of delights, yet the very prospect of this work gave him pleasure,
Charles Spurgeon - When he was come into the world, and had endured many abuses and injuries…[yet] It became Christ to go about this work with cheerfulness and delight.
What a snapshot, an insight into the heart of Jesus Christ! What a friend, what a brother, what a bridegroom, what a Savior!!!
John 4:34“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
Ok, let’s look at next…portrait or phase of his life.., a part of the preparation encompassed…
II. The TEMPTATION of The GIFT:
A) Place of the temptation?
Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 3: 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River
1. Judea, and the Jordan River.
B) Purpose of the temptation?
Matthew 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
1. The phrase "to fulfill all righteousness," means to fulfill every righteous institution or appointment.
2. Fulfill "every ordinance."
C) Point of the temptation?
1. Jesus is identifying Himself completely with sinful mankind.
2. The King was identifying Himself with His subjects.
3. Baptism means not only immersion but also refers to identification.
Isaiah 53:12b And was numbered with the transgressors: Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors-NASB
a) Jesus actually quoted this right before his crucifixion!
Luke 22: 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
Hebrews 2: 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. _NIV
Hallelujah what a Savior! And look at what happens next…
D) Psalm quoted in the temptation?
1. Messianic Psalm 91!
a) Satan quoted a portion to tempt Jesus to jump in presumption!
Matthew 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands,s o that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
E) Problem with the quotation?
1. His omission!
a) He purposely omitted - [to guard you in all your ways ]
Psalm 91: 11 For he will command his angels concerning you[to guard you in all your ways; ]12 they will lift you up in their hands, o that you will not strike your foot against a stone. -NIV
F) Purpose of the omission?
1. Jesus is the way - John 14:6a “I am the Way”
2. He always went God’s way
3. Satan left out “God will guard you in all your ways,” he tried to seduce him to depart from God’s way and follow his destructive way!
Hosea 14:9a Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right; The righteous walk in them -NIV
4. Reason of the omission ?
a) Read on!
Psalm 91: 13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
i. He will tread on the lion, cobra, great lion and serpent -Satan himself!
5. Response of Our Lord?
Matthew 4:7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Deuteronomy 6:16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.
G) Point regarding presumption:
1. It is FORBIDDEN!
1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”-ESV
Ok we looked at the preparation and the temptation, but it is inevitable that we get to…
III. The CONDEMNATION of The GIFT!
Mark 14:61b Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.
A) Process of the condemnation? – How did it begin?
1. Betrayal!
B) Predicted!
Psalm 41 (For the director of music. A psalm of David) 7 All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, “A vile disease has afflicted him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.” 9 Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.-NIV
1. Jesus Predicts His Betrayal by Referring to this Psalm!
John 13:18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’ 19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am.
2. Sold out!
Matthew 26: 14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver
a) Predicted by Jeremiah and Zechariah!
Matthew 27: 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”
Zechariah 11:13And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter.
3. That night is defined be betrayal!
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’
4. Jesus is hurt by betrayal!
Luke 22:59 About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean." Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times."
Matthew 26:74b Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.:
a) Nothing hurts like betrayal!
Malcom X- “To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal. You see, I could conceive death, but I could not conceive betrayal.”
C) Point?
D) PRICE! THIS IS JUST ONE OF MANY THINGS HE SUFFERED!
2. Beaten!
Isaiah 50:6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
3. Whipped:
Psalm 129: 3 Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long.
4. Crucifixion!
Max Lucado – “You can’t go to the cross with just your head and not your heart. It doesn’t work that way. Calvary is not a mental trip. It’s not an intellectual exercise.…It’s a heart-splitting hour of emotion.…That’s God on that cross. It’s us who put him there.”
What is so amazing about this is that the Psalm takes you into the very heart, thoughts, prayer of Jesus!
A) How did He suffer in His crucifixion?
Psalm 22 (NIV) For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David. - 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
1. Spiritually!
Matthew 27:46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) – NIV
a. He experienced isolation and separation from His Father for the first time!
b. A Father that He had eternally fellowshipped with He now feels forsaken by!
John 17: 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began
Benson Commentary-In these words Christ, when hanging on the cross, complained, that he was deprived of the loving presence and comforting influence of his heavenly Father
c. God does not forsake those who trust in Him, but this time is the only time that He did!
Q: Why?
d. There is a contemporary worship song lyric that says it well:
Amazing Love
I'm forgiven because You were forsaken
I'm accepted, You were condemned
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me
'Cause You died and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be?
That You, my King would die for me?
Amazing love, I know its true
It's my joy to honor You
In all I do, I honor You
Psalm 22: 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
e. Night and day? I though the hung on the cross fo 6 hours?
Matthew 27: 45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Psalm 22: 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5a To you they cried out and were saved
f. Yet this was not true of Our Lord!
g. He cried out and was not saved from this horrible fate!
Hebrews 5: 7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
h. Perfect?
Hebrews 2: 10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.
Hebrews 2: 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—
Psalm 22:5b in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
i. Point?
a. Not true of our Lord - He was shamed more than any man.
b. He was not delivered, He was forsaken!
2. Physically – He suffered!
Psalm 22:6a But I am a worm and not a man,
Jon Courson - While there is no record of Christ uttering these words on the Cross, there is little doubt that these words were on the heart of our Lord. Great is the mystery (of godliness) that God became a man (1Timothy 3:16). But greater still is the mystery that the MAN became a LAMB (Jn 1:29) and the LAMB became a WORM to save you and me!"
a) Worm?
Job 17:14 I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
Job 25:6 How much less man, that maggot,And the son of man, that worm!”
i. By nature man is a worm!
ii. A groveling, abject, contemptible!
iii. “I am a worm and not a man.” - The great I AM who was made a little lower than the angels now is made lower than man – A Worm!
b) Worm – ???????- towla - worm, scarlet stuff, crimson
i. In most OT passages it refers to a color, either scarlet or crimson
Charles Spurgeon - There is a LITTLE RED WORM which seems to be nothing else but BLOOD when it is crushed, it seems all gone except a blood-stain.
ii. Perspective?
Luke 22:44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Isaiah 52: 13 See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,
a. He was beaten so badly, and bled so profusely so that the sinless blood of God’s Son can sprinkle, ie, atone for the sin of the nations!
b. Why did he become a WORM?
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
1 Peter 1: 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
3. Socially- He suffered!
Psalm 22: 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
a. Fulfilled in Matthew:
Matthew 27: 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
a) Even though
1 Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
i. Why?
1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
Psalm 22:9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
ii. What?
a) Reference to the virgin birth?
b) Although many believed him to be the product of adultery!
Matthew 1: 18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly
Mark 6:3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
Psalm 22:11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
Psalms 22:12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
b) Godless Gentile Rulers?
Amos 4:1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!” 2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness: “The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks.
Luke 23: 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
Mark 15:15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Psalm 22:13 Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.
1 Peter 5: 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Luke 22:53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Thomas Mattoon - It was one of the darkest hours of history. The bridle was removed from bitterness that gripped the hearts of the religious leaders. The handcuffs were removed from their hatred. The restraints were cut on their rebellion toward Christ's authority. All deterrents were eliminated from the powers of darkness which reigned for the moment only because God Almighty allowed them to implement their will so that His divine will could be done
4. Physical suffering again:
Psalm 22:14a I am poured out like water,
a) I am drained, emptied of strength, completely spent, void of any energy or vitality.
Psalm 22:14b “All my bones are out of joint,”
b) From the yanking and pulling and whipping and being stretched out on the cross
c) From by body weight drawing me downward as I struggle to push myself upward to draw a breathe!
Psalm 22:14c My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.
d) Under extreme pressure the pericardium, a thin, two-layered sac that surrounds your heart can burst releasing fluid.
e) Perhaps he also died of a broken heart?
i. Psalm 69 which is also Messianic alludes to this:
Psalm 69:4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.
Psalm 69: 20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. 21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
Matthew 27: 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. -NIV
Psalm 22:15a My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
John 19:28b Jesus said, “I thirst.”
d) I am dehydrated, life sustaining fluids have seeped out of my body due to the blood loss, the sweat and tears!
Psalm 22:15b you lay me in the dust of death.
e) The dust of death—of course, is the grave
i. Not the destiny of the sinless but the sinner!
Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death
Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
Job 7:21b For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more
Psalm 22:16a Dogs surround me,
f) Romans soldiers?
i. Jewish terminology for Gentiles in Jesus day:
Matthew 15: 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
Matthew 15: 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
ii. Dogs in scripture usually refer to Gentiles.
iii. Dogs were ancient scavengers who ran in packs living off the garbage and refuse dumps of the land.
iiii. Dogs symbolize an angry mob?
F. W. Grant- “How perfectly man was revealed in the presence of the cross! The dogs, heartless, shameless, unclean, and offal-feeding, hunting in packs like the assembly of the evil-doers here”
Psalm 22:16b a pack of villains encircles me;
Psalm 22:16c they pierce my hands and my feet.
John 20: 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Psalm 22:17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.
h) I am so emaciated, so thin, so worn out, I look like a victim of a holocaust concentration camp.
Theodoret – “When Christ was extended, and his limbs distorted, on the cross, it might be easy for a spectator literally to tell all his bones.”
i) All out of joint from the yanking and pulling.
Psalm 22:18a They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
John 19: 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did.
g) No undergarments as well?
h) Naked!
i) Point?
Derek Kinder - “No Christian can read this without being vividly confronted with the crucifixion. It is not only a matter of prophecy minutely fulfilled, but of the sufferer’s humility…and his vision of a world-wide ingathering of the Gentiles. This is His heart. This is His vision. Let us not consider, let us not be satisfied, with anything less.”
Psalms 22:19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.
IV. The RESSURECTION of the GIFT!
Psalm 22:21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
A) Metaphorical language for the resurrection?
1. Read next verse!
Psalm 22:22 I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.
2. When did that happen?
a) After he rose from the dead! PTL!
John 20: 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
B) Predicted in Psalm 16!
Psalm 16: 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
C) Point of Apostolic preaching!
1. Peter’s:
Acts 2: 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing
2. Paul’s:
Acts 13:32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’
34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ 35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,
“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
VI The ASCENSION of the GIFT!
Psalm 68: 18 You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.-ESV
1. Fulfilled in Christ!
Ephesians 4: 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
VII. THE APPLICATION OF THE GIFT?
Ephesians 4: 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
VIII. The APPROPRIATION OF THE GIFT?
Hebrews 4: 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.- NIV
