Grosey's Messages

Psalm 22:The Triumphant Victory of the Cross (vv. 22-31)

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

28 For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.

30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

 

The Agony of the Cross (vv. 1-21)

Words of Abandonment

Words of Agony

On Good Friday we were reminded of the love of Christ, who came to be made sin for us, that He might be our substitute and bear the punishment for our sins. He was separated from His Father, who is His absolute holiness could not look upon Sin.

Isaiah put it like this.

It was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt. He would bear their iniquities. He would pour out His soul to death and be numbered with the transgressors. He bore the sin of many.

Then Isaiah hints at the glorious resurrection of the Saviour "he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." "Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong," he "makes intercession for the transgressors."

Words of Accomplishment.  It is finished.

The verse which closes this psalm was not an expression of defeat and death expressed from the cross, it was a declaration of accomplishment. If you look at the context of this second half of this Psalm , the context moves from a description of death to a description of accomplishment, praise and worship!

Whereas Isaiah 53 hints at the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead, the New Testament church read Psalm 22 as an expression of thanksgiving about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead. They had seen Him in His resurrection. And as they read Psalm 22 they read there again with fresh eyes exactly what they had experienced. This mysterious Psalm describing crucifixion so precisely, yet written 400 years before crucifixion was practiced, also had this mysterious twist to it: it starts in despair in abandonment and agony, but develops  into accomplishment and adoration.

The second half of Psalm 22 is completely different from the first half. Something happened between verses 21 and 22: the resurrection. Death is over (see vv. 22-25). Now there is life.

The author of Hebrews shows us how the early church dealt with this mystery as he interprets this Psalm as signifying the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 2:9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. 10 for it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying, "I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise." 13 And again, "I will put My trust in Him." And again, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me." 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

Peter in the New Testament reflects that David and Isaiah understood the resurrection of the Lord Jesus as part of this wonderful prophecy.

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories." (1 Peter 1:10,11)

Jesus Resurrection Means: Jesus is Lord

He is Sovereign  28 For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.

Look at the words David uses to describe how we should react to Jesus.

23 praise him!

glorify him,

stand in awe of him,

praise the LORD!

27 remember and turn to the LORD,

worship before you.

29 worship; before him shall bow

30 serve him;

31 proclaim his righteousness

Both the Lord Yahweh and the Lord Jesus, in the sense of the Triunity of the Godhead are the recipients here of the worship praise and glory. Hebrews chapter 1 identifies Jesus as Yahweh. 10 And, "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands.

Now both the crucified One about whom this Psalm is about and Yahweh are identified as the recipients of this Praise.

Now sometimes we hear people say we must receive Jesus as saviour and then later on recognise Him as Lord in our lives. The truth is there is no time when Jesus hasn't been Lord. He is the King, the Lord, by his nature.   The Saviour Jesus is Lord! And to Him belongs all your praise.

You should 23 praise him! glorify him,  stand in awe of him,  praise the LORD!

27 remember and turn to the LORD,  worship before Him.

29 worship; before him bow

30 serve him;

31 proclaim his righteousness

This is what the Lord wants you to do.  Do you worship the Lord?

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was, by all accounts, a giant of history. Soldier. General. Emperor. Exile. And although no would add 'theologian' to this list, Napoleon faced a question common to all mankind: Who is Jesus Christ? History has seen many different answers. Christians have claimed Him as Saviour, others have considered Him just another wise teacher.

Near the end of his life, the exiled Emperor Napoleon came to the following conclusion about the King of Kings: "I know men, and I tell you Jesus Christ was not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and other religions the distance of infinity. Alexander, Cæsar, Charlemagne and myself founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon sheer force. Jesus Christ alone founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men will die for Him. In every other existence but that of Christ how many imperfections! From the first day to the last He is the same; majestic and simple; infinitely firm and infinitely gentle. He proposes to our faith a series of mysteries and commands with authority that we should believe them, giving no other reason than those tremendous words, 'I am God.' The Bible contains a complete series of acts and of historical men to explain time and eternity, such as no other religion has to offer. If it is not the true religion, one is very excusable in being deceived; for everything in it is grand and worthy of God. The more I consider the Gospel, the more I am assured that there is nothing there which is not beyond the march of events and above the human mind. Even the impious themselves have never dared to deny the sublimity of the Gospel, which inspires them with a sort of compulsory veneration. What happiness that Book procures for those who believe it!"

"Jesus is Lord" (Greek: κύριος Ἰησοῦς, kyrios Iesous) is the shortest credal affirmation found in the New Testament.

In the New Testament days this was a very radical counter cultural statement.

For a Christian to recognise Jesus as Lord caused problems for society. When in 27 B.C. Roman Emperor Octavian received the title of "Augustus" it carried religious overtones, suggesting a special relationship with the world of the gods, symbolised by the cult of the Emperor's 'genius', a veiled form of emperor-worship.(Frend:16) To refuse to honor the national gods was unpatriotic and akin to sabotage.(Workman:44) By around 150 A.D. provincials had made up their minds that the Christians by refusing to worship the gods were responsible for all manner of ills such as famine, plague and earthquakes and of practices such as cannibalism and black magic.(Frend:70).

It is counter cultural in our day to stand with footballer Izzy Falou and say that all people must repent of whatever sins they have done and turn to the Lord Jesus for salvation otherwise they will go to hell. But we must! It is the narrowness of Falou's position that has caused distress. He is entitled as an Australian to be as narrow as he wishes under our constitution and laws. But  it is this narrowness that we as believers must confess that angers people. if Jesus is risen, then Jesus is Lord! And if Jesus is Lord, then the way is very narrow indeed.

On one occasion when a martyr was asked as to his condition, he replied: 'I am a free man, but the slave of Christ' and Febronia, a wealthy and beautiful virgin, shocked the judge by declaring herself a slave. When asked, 'Whose slave?', the reply was again: 'The slave of Christ'.(Workman:89f)

In the New Testament days this was a very radical costly statement.

Clement, serving as bishop at Rome, sent a letter to the church at Corinth. Clement opens his letter by referring to "the sudden and successive calamitous events." Persecution rolled over the church like wave after relentless wave. Clement wrote to comfort them and to exhort them to stand firm. Near the middle of his letter, he simply reminds the believers at Corinth that Christ is our leader and we are His soldiers.

Domitian's edict and the persecution that followed served to press an urgent question to the church. This question was there at the very beginning. It was there at the events surrounding the incarnation when Herod ruled. It was there when the soldier drew his sword in the garden of Gethsemane, and it was there all along the excruciating and agonizing road to the cross. The question never left the early decades of the church or even the early centuries of the church. The question was this: Caesar or Christ?

Domitian's edict made that question palpable, even visceral. Statues of him were sent all over the empire. On appointed days, feasts were held, and all of the populace had to pass before the cast image of Domitian and bow before him as god. It was very clear: Caesar or Christ?

At age eighty-six, Polycarp, the second-century bishop of Smyrna and disciple of the apostle John, was brought to the Roman authorities and ordered to confess that Caesar is lord. Though doing so would have saved his life, Polycarp refused and was murdered, inspiring others to remain faithful. "Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Saviour? You threaten me with a fire that burns for a season, and after a little while is quenched; but you are ignorant of the fire of everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked." Polycarp was burned at the stake and was pierced with a spear for refusing to burn incense to the Roman Emperor.

Jesus Resurrection Means Jesus is Lord of all of the Peoples on Earth.

The New Testament quotes verse 22, speaking of the expansion of the gospel (see Hebrews 2:11-12). Notice the expansion here. Not only is this a description of how the new testament church grew and continues to grow today, it is also a logical statement. If Jesus is risen from the dead then he is Lord over all the earth. And all the earth must come and bow before Him.

"My brethren" (v. 22)

"Descendants of Jacob…offspring of Israel" (v. 23)

"Great assembly" (v. 25)

"All the ends of the world…all the families of the nations" (v. 27)

"The next generation" (v. 30)

"A people who will be born" (v. 31)

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. 28 For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. 29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. 30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; (Psalm 22:27-30, ESV)

The Lord is to be magnified among the nations.

God desires that all the nations to turn to Him.

Normally it is the people of God, the covenant community, who are called to praise the Lord. But not here. No, it is the goyim, the "nations" (NASV, NIV, ESV, HCSB).

"Nations" does not refer to political states but people groups, different ethnic and linguistic groups. The "Joshua Project" (www.joshuaproject.net) list 16,320 different people groups in the world with 6,741 as unreached. The percent of unreached people groups is 41.3% totally 2.72 billion people. At this moment, 4,100 language groups have no hope of praising King Jesus as Lord of the universe.

God desires that all the nations Worship Him.

John Piper says, "The reason God seeks our praise is not because He won't be complete until He gets it. He is seeking our praise because we won't be happy until we give it….Missions is calling the world to do what they were created to do, namely, to enjoy making much of Christ forever."

The Lord is to be magnified because of His nature. For Kingship belongs to the Lord!

There is a rhyme and reason to God's call to magnify Him among the nations. It is a call rooted in the very nature and character of God.  And what can we say about this God? He is great in His love for us and He will be faithful to love us forever. 

Yes Our God is a God of love to any of all nations who will turn to Him.

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: 23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. 25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. 26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! (Psalm 22:22-26, ESV)

He cares for the afflicted among His people (24). He cares for the afflicted in the earth. He wants people to find  Him as the saviour and Lord that they need.

Jesus said 28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

The risen Lord Jesus instructed His disciples to take the message to the entire world (see Acts 1:8)

Philip Schaff.  "Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mahomet, and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and schools combined; without the eloquence of schools, He spoke words of life such as never were spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of any orator or poet; without writing a single line, He has set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art and sweet songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times. Born in a manger, and crucified as a malefactor, He now controls the destinies of the civilized world, and rules a spiritual empire which embraces one-third of the inhabitants of the globe. There never was in this world a life so unpretending, modest, and lowly in its outward form and condition, and yet producing such extraordinary effects upon all ages, nations, and classes of men. The annals of history produce no other example of such complete and astonishing success in spite of the absence of those material, social, literary, and artistic powers and influences which are indispensable to success for a mere man."

Jesus Resurrection Means Jesus is Lord and his Work is Complete.

31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it. (Psalm 22:31, ESV)

 "he has done it" is one word in Hebrew: asah. It is one word in Greek: tetelestai: It is completed or It is finished (see Luke 23:46; John 19:30). It refers to the completion of the work of Christ.

It is a summary statement, a final statement, a statement of exultation. 

You should hold this summary statement closely and deeply in your heart. It is finished. He finished it all for you.

Quit trying to convince God you are good enough to be saved (see Isaiah 64:6).  The great word of the gospel is not do; it is done.

Some Christians feel forsaken by God. But it is an impossibility.

You may be experiencing His silence.

You may be experiencing His discipline.

You may be experiencing His displeasure due to sin, a barrier between you and God Isaiah 59:1-2.

But you can never be forsaken by God.

Jesus was forsaken so we wouldn't have to be.

He went through the darkness so we would walk in the light.

Have you put your trust in our resurrected Sovereign King?

Jesus'  resurrection means Jesus is Lord. If anyone can get you to heaven He can. If he can't no one can get you to heaven.

Romans 4: 23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

Have you believed in Him who was raised from the dead as proof that He is Lord, the only Lord, the saving Lord?