Subtitle: He Has Finished It
Psalm 22:16-18 “Dogs have
surrounded me. A mob has encircled me. They
have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. People stare. They gloat over me. They divide my clothes among themselves.
They throw dice for my clothing.” (God’s Word, Copyright 1995 by God’s
Word to the Nations Bible Society, www.godsword.org).
God spoke through His servant
David to reveal to us specific promises concerning the coming of the promised
Messiah. Psalm 22 is often used during Good Friday because of its portrayal of
Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. While skeptics will always have their
doubts about the Bible, it is no coincidence that Jesus was tortured and killed
as predicted in this Psalm. Or that His garments were divided among the
soldiers at the foot of the cross in the exact way that David described. Or
that a soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a sword without breaking the bones in His
legs in accordance to Psalm 34, even though the bones of the other two
crucified with Him were broken according to the eye witness account of His
disciple John. One could argue that Jesus knew of the prophecies concerning the
promised Messiah and so He did things to intentionally fulfill them, but after
His death, only God could have orchestrated the events of that day to move the
Roman soldiers to fulfill the rest of the prophecies which were written hundreds
of years before.
Psalm 34:20 “The LORD guards
all of his bones. Not one of them is
broken.”
Zechariah 12:10 “I will pour
out the Spirit of blessing and mercy on David’s family and on those who live in
Jerusalem. They will look at me, whom
they have stabbed. Then they will morn for him as one mourns for an only
son, and they will cry bitterly for him as one cries for a firstborn son.” (God’s
Word, Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society, www.godsword.org).
God’s mercy for us is extended through the punishment He places on His
very own begotten Son Jesus. After everything was completed, after the
punishment for our sins had been fulfilled, after Jesus had been killed; the
LORD was still with Him and raised Him from the dead. I can’t explain how it
was done, but understand that it happened because death has no hold on one who
is righteous before the LORD. Jesus was born in righteousness and was faithful
to the end. He was God in human flesh. He was one with God, and yet, fully
human in so much as He became one with us in our sufferings and death.
And here is the BOLD Outreach promise of this chapter. For generations
to come the people who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, (those who
have experienced the joy of having their sins forgiven), will share this good
news with others. They will tell the good news that it is finished, because Jesus has paid the price for all of our
sins. Not in part, but completely! By
His death He paid the penalty for the sins of everyone, believer and non-believer,
alike. The difference between the two is the faith that accepts the forgiveness
the Jesus gives; and the LORD does not turn His back on those who call out to
Him for forgiveness.
Psalm 22:24, 30-31 “The LORD
has not despised or been disgusted with the plight of the oppressed one. He has
not hidden his face from that person. The
LORD heard when that oppressed person
cried out to him for help. … There will be descendants who serve him, a
generation that will be told about the Lord. They will tell people yet to be born about his righteousness— that he
has finished it.” (God’s Word, Copyright 1995 by God’s
Word to the Nations Bible Society, www.godsword.org).
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