Good Friday 2025 - Psalm 22

Well, good evening, if I haven't already said it to you.

Very glad that you are here with us this evening.

This is extra in the week,

and I am greatly encouraged by how many people have joined us this evening.

As we gather to consider the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

on the cross of Golgotha,

I would like for us to consider some of Jesus' final words

as he suffered on our behalf

and reflect upon what may have been

some of his final thoughts as he gave his life for the sake of ours.

So, to do so, please join me in Psalm 22.

This psalm serves as a divine commentary

on much of what Jesus uttered on the cross,

as we will see that three of his statements come from this psalm.

Because Jesus cites this psalm so prevalently,

I believe that it is safe to assume

that he was pondering this psalm as he suffered.

It may not have been the only text of Scripture that he meditated upon,

but it was surely one of them,

and it may well have been the dominant one,

and therefore can grant us some insight into his thoughts.

The author of this psalm is King David,

and no events of his life match the description found here.

So it is widely agreed that this psalm is also prophetic,

that David was speaking specifically of the suffering of Jesus Christ.

We will see that it alludes to five incidences

that occur in the process of Jesus being tried and crucified.

Further, the apostle Peter, in reference to another of David's psalms,

calls him a prophet in Acts chapter 2 and verse 30.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

So as we take some time this evening to consider some of Jesus' final words,

and most likely some of his final thoughts,

I want to invite you to have your heart warmed

by the loving kindness of God to us in the death of Jesus Christ.

I'll read the entirety of the psalm.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet, you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In you our fathers trusted, they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they cried and were rescued.

In you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

All who seek me mock me.

They make mouths at me.

They wag their heads.

He trusts in the Lord.

Let him deliver him.

Let him rescue him, for he delights in him.

Yet, you are he who took me from the womb.

You made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

On you was I cast from birth,

and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

Be not far from me, for trouble is near,

and there is none to help.

Many bulls encompass me.

Strong bulls of bashing surround me.

They open wide their mouths at me like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart is like wax.

It is melted within my breast.

My strength is dried up like a pot shirt,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws.

You lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs encompass me.

A company of evildoers encircles me.

They have pierced my hands and feet.

I can count all my bones.

They stare and gloat over me.

They divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing that casts lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far off.

O you, my help, come quickly to my aid.

Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog.

Save me from the mouth of the lion.

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will tell of your name to my brothers.

In the midst of the congregation, I will praise you.

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.

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.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation.

My vows I will perform before those who fear him.

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied.

Those who seek him shall praise the Lord.

May your hearts live forever.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nation shall worship before you.

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

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.

Posterity shall serve him.

It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation.

They shall come and proclaim his righteousness

to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it.

So, first,

let's look at the five incidences that occurred

in the process of Jesus being tried and crucified

that this psalm alludes to.

And remember, I'm making the case to you

that this is at least prominently what's on his mind

as he suffers and dies on our behalf.

So, first,

the dividing of Jesus' garments

and the casting of lots.

We see this recorded in John 19,

John 19:23

verse 23 and 24,

where it says,

when the soldiers had crucified Jesus,

they took his garments

and divided them into four parts,

one part for each soldier,

also his tunic.

But the tunic was seamless,

woven in one piece from top to bottom.

That is, it was expensive.

So they said to one another,

let us not tear it,

but cast lots for it

to see whose it shall be.

This was,

John says,

to fulfill the scripture

which says,

and he cites Psalm 22 and verse 18.

They divided my garments among them

and for my clothing,

they cast lots.

Secondly,

we read about the piercing

of Jesus' hands and feet

and his severe beating.

We only find out about the piercing

of Jesus' hands and feet

because of doubting Thomas.

In John chapter 20,

John 20 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 24,

John records,

Now Thomas,

one of the twelve,

called the twin,

was not with them

when Jesus came.

So the other disciples told him,

We have seen the Lord.

This is the risen Lord.

But he said to them,

Unless I see his hand,

the marks of the nails,

and place my finger

into the marks of the nails,

and place my hand into his side,

I will never believe.

Eight days later,

his disciples were inside again

and Thomas was with them.

Although the doors were locked,

Jesus came and stood among them

and said,

Peace be with you.

Then he said to Thomas,

Such kindness here,

such tenderness.

Put your finger here

and see my hands.

And put out your hand

and place it in my side.

Do not disbelieve,

but believe.

Thomas answered him,

My Lord and my God.

We know that Jesus

was severely beaten

from texts like Matthew 27.

And the prophet Isaiah wrote

in Isaiah 52 and verse 14,

As many were astonished at you,

his appearance was so marred

beyond human semblance

and his form beyond that

of the children of mankind.

We see in Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:16

verse 16 and 17,

For dogs encompass me,

a company of evildoers

encircles me,

they have pierced

my hands and feet,

I can count all my bones,

they stare

and gloat

over me.

Thirdly,

we can see

the mocking

of the soldiers.

We can read of this

in Mark chapter 15,

Mark 15:16

verse 16

and following.

There Mark says,

And the soldiers

led him away

inside the palace,

that is,

the governor's headquarters.

And they called together

the whole battalion,

and they clothed him

in a purple cloak,

and twisting together

a crown of thorns,

they put it on him.

And they began

to salute him,

Hail,

King of the Jews!

And they were striking

his head with a reed,

and spitting on him,

and kneeling down

in homage to him.

And when they had mocked him,

they stripped him

of the purple cloak,

and put his own clothes

on him,

and they led him out

to crucify him.

Luke adds in Luke 22,

Luke 22:63–65

verse 63 through 65,

Now the men

who were holding Jesus

in custody

were mocking him

as they beat him.

They also blindfolded him

and kept asking him,

Prophesy,

who is it that struck you?

And they said,

many other things

against him,

blaspheming him.

Jesus became

a mockery,

an object of derision

and sport

for the Roman battalion.

The creator

of all the universe

became a laughingstock

to those

whom he created.

Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:6

verse 6 and 7,

there says,

But I am a worm

and not a man,

scorned by mankind

and despised

by the people.

All who seek me

mock me.

They make mouths at me.

They wag their heads.

Fourthly,

we can see

the mocking

of the bystanders

and the religious leaders.

Matthew 27,

Matthew 27:39

verse 39,

says,

All those

who passed by

derided him,

wagging their heads.

Again,

Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:7

verse 7,

and then into verse 8,

All who seek me

mock me.

They make mouths at me.

They wag their heads.

He trusts in the Lord.

Let him deliver him.

Let him rescue him.

For he

delights

in him.

He mocked

who he said

that he was.

In Luke 23,

Luke 23:35

verse 35 and following,

we read,

And the people

stood by watching,

but the ruler

scoffed at him,

saying,

He saved others.

Let him save himself.

If he is the Christ of God,

his chosen one.

The soldiers

also mocked him,

coming up

and offering him

sour wine

and saying,

If you are the king

of the Jews,

save yourself.

There was also

an inscription over him,

this is the king

of the Jews.

And John adds

in John 19

that even that

was controversial.

They wanted it

to be worse,

the sign that hung

above him.

There he says,

Pilate also wrote

an inscription

and put it on the cross.

It read,

Jesus of Nazareth,

the king

of the Jews.

Many of the Jews

read this inscription

for the place

where Jesus was crucified

was near the city

and it was written

in Aramaic,

in Latin,

and in Greek.

That is to say,

everybody could read it.

So the chief priest

of the Jews

said to Pilate,

Do not write

the king of the Jews,

but rather,

this man said,

I am the king

of the Jews.

And Pilate answered,

What I have written,

I have written.

So there's a mocking

of the bystanders

and the religious leaders.

Fifthly,

we see the mocking

of the criminals.

Matthew 27

and verse 44

records,

and the robbers

who were crucified

with him

also reviled him

in the same way.

And in Luke 23,

39,

we get a little more detail.

One of the criminals

who were hanged

railed at him saying,

Are you not the Christ?

Save yourself

and us.

And Luke goes on

to tell us

that the other criminal

rebuked him

and placed his face

in Christ.

And so we see this mocking,

Are you not the Christ?

Save yourself

and us.

Psalm 22, 8.

He trusts in the Lord.

Let him deliver him.

Jesus was even mocked

by those found guilty

and experiencing

the very same death.

In Luke 23,

we find him so willing

to forgive the transgressions

at whose hands he suffered.

In verse 34,

he utters the words,

Father, forgive them,

for they know not

what they do.

He pitied the ignorance

that would murder the one

who came

to save their souls.

And so we see

all of these

connection points

back to

Psalm 22.

So,

we ask,

I think it's right

for us to muse,

what must have been

going through

the mind of our Savior

as he experienced

the most cruel

of deaths

ever to be employed

by a nation state.

This is not argued.

This was the worst.

This form of death

was not only

extremely painful,

it was meant

to be a spectacle.

The condemned

replace on display

in a place

of prominence

for all to see

and to consider

the cost

of law-breaking.

The Romans

wanted to make

it very clear

what would happen

to those

who went

against Rome.

So not only

is he dying

a painful

physical death,

he is being

rejected

at every turn

by those

that he loves.

Psalm 22

Psalms 22:12

verse 12

and 13,

many bulls

encompass me,

strong bulls

of Bashan,

which is modern

day Syria,

surround me.

They open wide

their mouths at me

like a ravening

and roaring lion.

In the midst

of all David's

prophecy

of the suffering

of the coming Christ,

he writes

these reprieves.

When I read

the total psalm

to you,

I tried to give

some pauses

to highlight that.

These moments

of rest

and reflection

from all

of the suffering.

And here I think

we get the most

wonderful glimpse

of the mind

of Jesus.

I'm making the case

to you.

I think this is

what he's thinking.

As I'm going to

show you in a moment,

he's citing this psalm.

I think this is

what's going

through his mind.

And I think David

prophetically has told us

what he would suffer

and is giving us

some hints

at what he must

have been thinking.

So just before

the text I read,

the bulls

encompassing,

the strong bulls

opening wide

their mouths

like a ravening

roaring lion,

just before that

we get this reprieve.

Verse 9-11,

Yet you are he

who took me

from the womb.

You made me trust you

at my mother's breast.

On you was I cast

from my birth

and from my mother's womb

you have been my God.

Be not far from me

for trouble is near

and there is none

to help.

The psalmist,

as I've argued,

shows us

that Jesus

suffered greatly

but that he looks

to God the Father

who was with him

from the very beginning

and is therefore

to be trusted

for help,

comfort,

peace,

and finally

deliverance.

Now let's take a look

at three statements

that Jesus uttered

on the cross

that are found

in this psalm.

First,

we can read

in Matthew 27

and verse 46,

also in Mark 15, 34.

And about the ninth hour

Jesus cried out

with a loud voice

saying,

Eli,

Eli,

lama sabachthani.

That is,

I'm thankful

for the translation,

my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

Eli,

Eli,

lama sabachthani.

my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

At about 3 p.m.,

the sky went dark

and Jesus

laid his life

down.

The sinless

for the sinful,

the worthy

for the unworthy,

the blessed

for the destitute.

John Stott

once said,

our sins

blotted out

the sunshine

of his

father's

face.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:21

chapter 5,

verse 21,

Paul says,

for our sake,

he,

God,

made him

Christ

to be sin

who knew no sin

so that in him

we might become

the righteousness

of God.

In the garden

of Gethsemane,

the night before

Jesus' crucifixion,

he prayed as recorded

in Matthew 26,

Matthew 26:39

verse 39,

my father,

if it be possible,

let this cup

pass from me.

Nevertheless,

not as I will,

but as you will.

Jesus'

great concern

was not the

physical

torment that he

was going to go

through.

It was drinking

the cup

of God's

wrath

against sin,

your sin

and mine.

Jesus'

anguish

over his

coming crucifixion

was because

of that reality

that he knew

was coming.

He knew he was

going to bear

God's wrath.

He knew that

God would turn

his face

away from him.

Jesus would

have had in mind

patches like

Jeremiah 25,

Jeremiah 25:15

verse 15 and 16

and verse 27.

God is

just

and God is

unchanging

and therefore

God must

punish

sin.

He can't

simply

overlook it.

It must

be

punished.

If you and I

were to have

any hope

of the forgiveness

of our sin,

we needed

a substitute.

We needed

someone to die

in our

place.

Jesus came

to die our

death,

so as he hung

on that cursed

tree,

he bore

all of the

wrath for

all of the

sin due

you and

I and

all those

who will

ever or

ever will

be called

by his

name.

Every ounce

of that

eternal wrath

for our

sin.

And it's in

that final

moment that he

cries out,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

God the

Father turned

his face

away from

his Son

and poured

infinite

wrath

on him.

Charles

Spurgeon

once said,

it seemed

as if hell

were put

into his

cup.

He seized

it and at

one tremendous

draught of

love,

he drank

damnation

dry.

I don't

know if

anybody will

have a way

with words

like Spurgeon

ever again.

Psalm 22

Psalms 22:1

verse 1 and

2,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

Why are you

so far

from saving

me from

the words

of my

groaning?

Oh my

God,

I cry

by day

but you

do not

answer

and by

night

but I

find

no

rest.

And then

Psalm 22

gives us

another one

of these

reprieves

that I

mentioned

and I

suggest

the hope

that pulled

Christ the

man through

this immeasurable

suffering.

The writer of

Hebrews tells

us in

Hebrews 12

too that

Jesus endured

the cross

for the joy

set before

him.

So maybe

it's a thought

like this

that's going

through his

mind right

after the text

I just read

verses 3

through 5

yet you

are holy

enthroned

on the

praises

of Israel

in you

our fathers

trusted

they trusted

and you

delivered them

to you

they cried

and were

rescued

in you

they trusted

and were

not

put to

shame.

Second

thing he

says

we find

in John

John 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19

and verse

28

this

is briefly

but I'm

connecting you

back to

Psalm 22

again

after this

Jesus

knowing

that all

was now

finished

said

and John

puts in

parentheses

to fulfill

the scripture

I

thirst

now

this is

certainly

a direct

reference

to Psalm

69

and verse

21

there that

says

they gave

me poison

for food

and for

my thirst

they gave

me sour

wine

to drink

and this

one is a

bit more

difficult to

find in

Psalm 22

but I

contend

that it

is

there

in verses

14

and 15

where he

says

I'm poured

out like

water

and all

my bones

are out

of joint

my heart

is like

wax

it is

melted

within

my breast

my strength

is dried

up like

a pot

shirt

and my

tongue

sticks

to my

jaws

you lay

me

in the

dust

of

death

thirdly

when Jesus

had received

the sour

wine

he said

it

is

finished

I find

these to be

the three

most precious

words in

the Bible

it

is

finished

and he

bowed his

head

and gave

up his

spirit

Jesus upon

accomplishing

the task

that he

became a

man to

accomplish

uttered

these

simple

but profound

and packed

full

of meaning

words

it

is

finished

that

redemptive

price

has

been

paid

all

that we

need

to have

the salvation

of our

souls

has

been

accomplished

it's

done

it

is

finished

a work

that he

did

on our

behalf

and doesn't

expect

a work

from us

to have

it

an

astounding

thing

the author

of Hebrews

writes

in Hebrews

1

and verse

3

Jesus

Christ

is the

radiance

of the

glory

of God

and the

exact

imprint

of his

nature

and he

upholds

the universe

by the

word

of his

power

after making

purification

for sins

he sat

down at

the right

hand

of the

majesty

on high

and this

language

is striking

to those

who are

familiar

with this

early

Jewish

practice

of temple

worship

the priests

there

who were

making

intercession

sacrificial

intercession

for God's

people

never

got to

sit down

there is

no furniture

in that

temple

no place

for them

to sit

and to

rest

they work

in shifts

around the

clock

to make

purification

for sins

the Levitical

priests who

could never

make atonement

the way we

need

atonement

so Christ

comes

through a

different line

that of

Melchizedek

for another

time

perhaps

and he

makes a

once for

all

sacrifice

of

himself

he

finishes

the work

it's

finished

and he

sits down

at the

right hand

of the

majesty

on high

the work

is

done

psalm 22

Psalms 22:29

verse 29

and following

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

posterity

shall serve

and they

shall be

told

of the

Lord

to the

coming

generation

they

shall

come

and

proclaim

his

righteousness

to a

people

yet

unborn

that he

has

done

it

it

is

finished

praise

be

to

God

well

four

brief

points

of

application

and

I'll

be

done

and

we'll

conclude

with

some

closing

songs

some

things

we

want

to

witness

Jesus

doing

as he

hung

on

the

cross

first

the

case

I'm

making

to

you

is

that

he

was

pondering

the

word

of

God

that

he

had

stored

up

texts

!

psalm

22

so that

he

could

consider

them

and

all

of

the

promises

of

God

could

pull

him

through

the

great

suffering

that

he

experienced

and

beloved

we

need

to

do

the

same

we

will

suffer

in

this

life

and

we

need

to

have

ready

access

to

God's

word

at

all

times

secondly

we

see him

praying

to

God

for

help

in

times

of

need

psalm

Psalms 22:19

22

verse

19

there's

this

cry

and

following

but

you

oh

lord

be

not

far

off

oh

you

my

help

come

quickly

to

my

aid

and

it

goes

on

our

God

hears

us

and

he's

ready

to

answer

us

and

because

of

the

righteousness

we have

in

Christ

we

can

boldly

approach

him

boldly

lay

our

requests

at

his

feet

and

trust

in

his

loving

responses

third

of

suffering

connecting

us to

psalm

Psalms 22:2–5

22

verses

2

through

5

I read

this

before

oh my

God

I cry

by day

but you

do not

answer

by night

but I

find

no rest

yet

you

are

holy

enthroned

on the

praises

of

Israel

and you

our

fathers

trusted

they

trusted

and you

delivered

them

to you

they

cried

and were

rescued

and you

they

trusted

and they

were

not

put

to

shame

God

works

in the

suffering

of his

people

to bring

about

faith

in him

right

trusting

his

good

promises

exalting

him

because

we

believe

him

he

is

who

he

is

and he

has

said

things

and we

believe

those

things

to be

true

and that

keeps

the honor

on him

that is

due

him

fourth

proclaiming

God's

goodness

to one

another

and to

the

world

to one

another

we see

this

in

22

and

following

I

will

tell

of

your

name

to

my

brothers

in

the

midst

of

the

congregation

I

will

praise

you

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

for

he

has

not

despised

or

abhorred

the

affliction

of

the

afflicted

and

he

has

not

hidden

his

face

my

vows

I

will

perform

before

those

who

fear

him

the

afflicted

shall

eat

and

be

satisfied

those

who

seek

him

shall

praise

the

Lord

may

your

hearts

live

forever

we are

to proclaim

God's

goodness

to one

another

all the

time

day in

and day

out

hear me

I'm

thankful

for this

evening

and I'm

thankful

for

it seems

in our

culture

that this

is the

black

Friday

for

churches

and I

just

want

to say

we

gather

to

celebrate

the

resurrected

Christ

52

Sundays

out of

the

year

unless

something

catastrophic

happens

that's

what we

gather

to do

we do

it

regularly

why

because

we

need

to

hear

the

good

news

of

Jesus

Christ

regularly

and God

has

ordained

that we

hear it

regularly

so we

should

proclaim

God's

goodness

to one

another

and also

to the

world

verse 27

all the

ends

of the

earth

shall

remember

and turn

to the

Lord

all the

families

of the

nations

shall

worship

before you

for kingship

belongs

to the

Lord

and he

rules

over

the

nations

so I

hope

once again

that your

heart has

been warmed

by the

loving kindness

of God

to us

and the

death

of Jesus

Christ

I hope

that this

time serves

us well

as we

look forward

to

resurrection

Sunday

in a few

short days

please join

me in

prayer

next