Seeds for 03/26/2024 - Psalm 22:6-11
Scripture:
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
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.”
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.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
Observation: We began yesterday by recognizing that when Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He is not merely quoting the first line of this psalm. He is evoking the whole psalm, inviting us to read and find insight into His cross through it.
Verses six through eight are striking. Verse six stands out because it expresses well Jesus’ experience of the sham trial, as well as the mockery and torture by the guards. It communicates the shameful treatment of the Son of God by the sons of men.
Verses seven and eight, however, arrest our attention as their echo rings out in Matthew 27:38-44.
Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads… In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked Him. (verses 39-41)
and
He trusts in God. Let God rescue Him now if He wants Him… (verse 43)
It seems clear from this simple comparison that Matthew reread Psalm 22 in light of Jesus’ cry, and found there the words that matched the description of the crucifixion scene.
Verses nine and ten connect us to the Incarnation, which we celebrate at Christmas—that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh. He took on vulnerabilities common to humanity and at the same time experienced profound, continuous unity with God the Father. The contrast between the malignant shouts of the crowd in these present moments and the steadfast love of God since birth provides a foundation for His request in verse eleven.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
Despite the cruelty of the crowd, Jesus acknowledged the faithfulness of the Father. When “trouble is near and there is no one to help,” we too can turn to Him. He endured forsakenness on the cross so that our sin would not separate us from God after all. The cross bridges the gap we create between ourselves and God through sin. Where sin creates distance, the cross reconnects us, allowing us to call out with confident assurance, “Do not be far from me.” Even when all is against me, the Lord Jesus is "my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Application:
When have you felt alone in a struggle and needed to call on the Lord to draw close?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, draw me close to you by the steadfast strength of your cross. Be my rock and refuge. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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