Psalm 22:1-31

The Bible is much more than an inspiring book; it is an inspired book or more accurately a collection of inspired books.  As such, the Bible is supernatural.  Mere men do not have the ability to predict the future accurately.  We can make educated guesses about what might happen and sometimes we are right and sometimes we are wrong.  The Bible is not like that.  It is always right.  That fact makes the Bible difficult for us to understand because we look at it from a human perspective.  When we read the content of today’s Psalm we see a clear description of Christ on the cross and the events surrounding the cross.  However, this Psalm was written by David about a thousand years before Christ came to the earth.  If we assume that David was talking about himself in this Psalm we will be confused.  There may be some similarities between David’s circumstances and feeling and those of Christ.  However, it is best to look at this Psalm from the perspective that God supernaturally revealed through David His plan to redeem man from sin by way of the cross.

THE MISERY OF THE CROSS:  The cross was an instrument of great humiliation and suffering.  The physical pain that in inflicted was excruciating.  Christ is described as having all of his bones out of joint.  He is the object of scorn as he is mocked by the soldiers and religious leaders that surrounded him.  He is hung naked on the cross while the soldiers divide and gamble over his clothing.  He is described as a worm that is lower than any man because of the pain, suffering, humiliation and degradation that He was called to face.  All of the physical pain and emotional humiliation could not compare with the spiritual anguish Christ faced when He was abandoned by the Father while our sin was being placed upon Him.  There were times when Job and David felt like God had abandoned them, but they were wrong.  God did forsake Christ on the cross because He bore our sin.  The true misery of the cross did not come from pain or humiliation it came from the wrath of God being poured out on Jesus as He paid for our sin.

THE MERCY OF THE CROSS: The description of misery is intertwined with descriptions of trust and faith on the part of God’s children and His faithful answers to them.  God had delivered Israel time and time again.  Faith in the Lord had always been rewarded with deliverance from Him.  This continues to be true today.  Nobody who places their trust in Christ will ever be forsaken by God because Christ was forsaken by Him in our place.  The cross was misery for Christ but it permitted God to be merciful to us who believe on Christ.  God has proved Himself faithful throughout the ages of the world, and He will continue to do so though all of eternity.  His mercy and love is great because His justice was satisfied on the cross.  Our hearts should swell with praise and worship for our Lord because of the great mercy we experience through the cross.   

THE MISSION OF THE CROSS: The cross has a clear mission to pay for the sin of the world.  However, not all men know of this, God’s greatest gift.  Christ’s death took place in Israel over two thousand years ago.  Since that time, Christ left His disciples with a mission to spread the message of forgiveness through faith in Christ to all the nations of the world.  It is God’s desire to extend His mercy and forgiveness to all the nations.  He wants Christ’s name to be praised in every language and in every corner of this globe.  This was the mission of the cross that continues to be the priority of God in the world today.  It is our job and must be our top priority to see that the message of mercy through the misery of Christ on the cross is proclaimed to every tribe in every language.  That is the mission of the cross and must be the mission of every person who has experience the mercy of God through the misery of the cross.