This morning I would like to read you some verses from a particular passage of Scripture and ask: To what event are these phrases referring, and from where do they come?:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
“All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’”
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.”
“They have pierced my hands and my feet.”
“They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”
So, to what event is the writer referring? Now, from where do these words come, the New Testament or the Old Testament? If you said that they were the words of Jesus found in the New Testament describing his crucifixion, you would be wrong — at least partly. What I have read to you is actually a psalm written by King David — Psalm 22. It is a fascinating psalm describing the full gamut of human emotion, as well as being a prophetic word of what the coming Messiah would have to endure at the hands of sinners.
Let’s look at this psalm and see what it has for us today. The first thing I notice in this psalm is that: It is a word of prophecy. We have to ask the question: “How did David, who lived a thousand years before Christ, describe the crucifixion of Christ in such detail?” David wrote before the Roman empire existed, and before crucifixion was invented as a means of torture and death. We can understand that Jesus may have chosen to quote this psalm as he was dying on the cross, but how did David literally quote the Pharisees as they stood taunting Jesus while he was on the cross. Centuries before there were anything such as a Pharisee, David wrote: “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” (Psalm 22:8). Then, at the crucifixion of Jesus, we hear the Pharisees saying: “He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:43). Imagine Jesus reading this psalm as a 12-year-old boy. He had begun to study the law in synagogue and by adulthood had much of the Old Testament memorized. As he memorized the words, they burned their way into his heart as he understood that the words would applied to him and his sacrificial death for the sins of the world. This death had been planned before the world began, for the Bible tells us, “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 forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:19-20). The book of Revelation says that Jesus was the “Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).
He knew. He knew that he was facing death by crucifixion. They would pierce his hands and feet. His tongue would stick to the roof of his mouth, because he would lose fluids from his wounds as he hung in the scorching sun. What little fluids were left would pool in his lungs. Those who should have welcomed him hurled their insults instead. How could David have known, hundreds of years before, that the soldiers would divide his clothing and cast lots for the one piece that was made without a seam? How could he have known any of this. It was a prophetic word given to him by God. As far as David knew, he was simply describing his own agony and feelings of rejection as the King of Israel in metaphorical terms. He had no clue that he was giving a precise description of the death of his ancestor — the ultimate King of Israel, the Messiah who would be called “The Son of David.”
Many of the Pharisees had memorized Psalm 22, but they failed to see that it had anything to do with the Messiah. I wondered as I studied this if Jesus purposely quoted the first verse of this psalm, at the end of his experience on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, simply to get them to finish the rest of the psalm in their heads. If they did begin to go over the psalm in their minds, they must have been pierced to the heart. Jesus, in effect, pushed the play button on a tape recorder which began playing the psalm in their minds. Imagine one of the Pharisees finishing the psalm that Jesus had begun, only to hear himself quoted, and to recognize the awful events surrounding the crucifixion They would never have put it together before, but now the reality would be inescapable.
The prophecy of this psalm is just as real as the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied of the coming Messiah’s suffering by saying: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5). It is an amazing word of prophecy.
The second thing I notice about this psalm is: It is an expression of human emotion. The psalms are rich with emotion and unapologetic in their expression of despair and doubt, as well as their expressions of joy and hope. Jesus’ bones were out of joint, because the Romans devised a way to nail a person to the cross that would put an unnatural twist on the body. It caused enormous suffering. The person being crucified had to push up with his legs bent, just in order to breathe. The wounds of the nails which crushed the ankle bones added to Jesus’ misery. The terrible thirst made it nearly impossible to speak. People stood around to mock Jesus as he was slowly dying. At that point, in agonizing pain, paralyzed and helpless to defend yourself or even move, he felt the rejection of the world in ways that we will never know. I don’t know how you would experience a greater sense of despair. Little wonder he quoted the psalm as he said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
It gives us comfort knowing that Christ experienced the same emotions that we do. As Isaiah said, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” The writer of Hebrews says, “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers 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. . . . For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin” (Hebrews 2:17, 4:15).
David expresses the full range of human emotion as he writes this psalm. He goes from pole to pole, from the pit of despair, to exhilarating praise; from wondering why God has forsaken him, to expressing confidence that God will rule the nations; from feeling like a worm, to understanding his value before God. David is not only expressing his emotions, he is expressing the emotions that all of us have felt at different times in our lives. This very moment there are those here who would say with Erma Bombeck, “If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?” And there are others here who are on top of the world today. They are experiencing blessing and everything is going their way. Last year at this time, it may have been exactly the opposite for both of them. God understands our emotions and draws near to us when we are feeling abandoned by the world, and even by him. God has broad shoulders, and he can take it when we feel disappointed and angry with him. God does not want us to be a Pollyanna, nor does he want us to give in to despair. What God honors is honesty. What God honors is the struggle. He honors those who, like Jacob, wrestle with him to receive his blessing. Behind the struggle is a faith that God knows what he is doing, even if we do not. In the struggle is a trust that will not let go of God — even if he wounds us.
The problem with our struggle is that we only see what is happening from this side. On one side is God, who is working out all things for our good and his eternal purposes. But we are on the other side, and all we can see on our side is chaos and disaster. Corrie ten Boom, the beautiful Christian who went through Hitler’s death camp for aiding Jews, used to hold up a piece of her embroidery to demonstrate an important truth. On her side the embroidery was beautiful. The colors were coordinated and pulled together to make a beautiful tapestry. But on the other side dangled strings in a chaotic and knotted tangle. Looking on that side you would have never guessed what was going on on the other side. The problem is that although God is beside us helping us, we don’t feel it. We don’t understand what is happening, even though we desperately want to believe that God knows what he is doing. We see the chaos, but God sees the pattern that he is creating.
In her book, The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom tells about her experience at Hitler’s Ravensbruck Camp. The barracks was extremely crowded and infested with fleas. One morning Corrie and her sister Betsie secretly read in their tattered Bible from 1 Thessalonians: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Betsie said, “Corrie, we’ve got to give thanks for this barracks and even for these fleas.” Corrie replied, “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.” But Betsie insisted that they give thanks — even for the fleas. Months went by, and they realized that the guards were no longer coming into the barracks. The women had freedom to talk, read the Bible together and even pray. It was the only place of refuge from the cruelty of the guards. One day they learned why the guards never stepped foot in the barracks — the fleas. Betsie turned to Corrie and said, “Do you see Corrie? Even the fleas are a part of God’s plan.”
Even the difficulty you are facing is a part of God’s plan. He is weaving a beautiful tapestry of your life that includes trials and blessings. Disappointments become his appointments. Even the reverses in life cannot keep us from going God’s direction. The apostle Paul put it this way: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).
The third thing I see in this psalm is: It is a message of hope. The psalm begins with David talking about how abandoned he feels by God. He lists the things that are going against him in his life. He talks about the sinking feeling of betrayal, the hurt, the disappointment about how his life has turned out. But he ends the psalm saying, “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. . . . The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise him — may your hearts live forever ” (Psalm 22:24&26).
Here are the options: Trust God or lose all hope; believe in God or believe that there is no love in the universe; hang on or give in. The choice is between God and nothing. If people want not to believe in God, that is their choice. But what do you believe in if you don’t believe in God? Do you believe in an empty universe? Do you believe that there is no meaning or point to life? If you don’t go to God, to whom do you go? That is why people go to drugs or alcohol in order to alter their reality. That is why people go from meaningless relationship to meaningless relationship. That is why people move from place to place. They are trying everything but God. And when you are avoiding God you become friends of despair and devastation.
But I want to say to you today that there is hope. There are valleys, but there are also paths out of the valleys. There are troubles, but there is a trouble-busting, problem solving, loving and blessing God. He is aware of your situation. He knows your need. And though you may not be able to see it, he is still very much in charge of your life, and the rest of the world as well. The Bible says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).
If God knew about the cross before the beginning of time and redeemed the events of the cross, which were the greatest evil in history, he knows what is happening in your life and can redeem it as well.
Gladys Aylward was a missionary to China more than fifty years ago, but she was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yangcheng. However, she could not leave behind the children to whom she had given her life. With only one person to help, she led more than a hundred orphans over the mountains toward Free China. In the book The Hidden Price of Greatness, the authors tell what happened: “During Gladys’s harrowing journey out of war torn Yangcheng . . . she grappled with despair as never before. After passing a sleepless night, she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety. A 13-year-old girl in the group reminded her of their much loved story of Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. ‘But I am not Moses,’ Gladys cried in desperation. ‘Of course you aren’t,’ the girl said, ‘but God is still God.’ When Gladys and the orphans made it through, they proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel, God is still God, and we can trust in him.”
You are not Moses — not even close. But God is still God, and he is looking after you. The Word says, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
Rodney J. Buchanan
October 27, 2002
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
HE KNEW
(Questions for October 27, 2002)
1. Go over the scripture for Sunday and see how many references you can find which allude to the crucifixion.
2. How does it make you feel to realize that this passage of Scripture could predict the scene of the crucifixion in such amazing detail?
3. Read Isaiah 53:1-6. This is a prophetic scripture as well. What does it say about the purpose of the crucifixion?
4. How does it affect you knowing that Jesus Christ knew exactly what would he would have to suffer, yet he came anyway?
5. When have you cried out to God, wondering where he was?
6. What has been the most help to you when you faced a difficult situation?
7. How does God respond when we are angry with him?
8. What is the hope that we have to offer a hurting world?
9. Think of some practical ways you can reach out to someone who is hurting.
