Sacrifice

Prayer: Dear Lord, there is no God but You. Into Your hands I commit this time and myself as we meet for prayer. Please Holy Spirit, speak so that I can      understand and bring my heart close to Yours. May this time edify me and   glorify You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Read: Psalm 22
http://www.esvbible.org/Psalm 22:1-31

Think about It: This is the most often quoted Psalm in the New Testament. There is a reason for that. It may have been spoken in its entirety by Christ as He hung on the cross! Certainly some of the verses were quoted by Jesus, as we have record of what He said from the cross in the four Gospels. And we are compelled to read it every year during the Passion Week, as David’s words fill our ears in the voice of our suffering Savior.

  • Verse 1, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” rings with startling familiarity. In the Matthew and Mark, these are the only words they report Jesus saying, where we hear them in a mixture of Aramaic and Hebrew, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” Luke and John do not mention them at all. But they are shocking words. God the Father has actually abandoned His one and only Son. It almost takes your breath away to even consider it!

  • Verse 2 takes us into the suffering of one who is truly alone. When God does not answer, the loneliness is crushing. Of course, we cannot know what it means to be totally abandoned by God, for He does not do that to us. It was a onetime deal – reserved for Jesus only as He became sin for us.

  • Verse 7 brings to mind the taunts and scorn that were heaped upon the crucified Christ by those who stood below the cross without a clue as to what they had done. Even one of the thieves killed with Jesus had words of derision and hatred, and he only hours from death himself. 

  • Verse 14 describes a man who has been abused and now is struggling for every breath. Imagine the strain and pain upon Jesus’ shoulders as he has to pull / push Himself up in order to get air in and out of His lungs. Every joint must have screamed in pain with the effort.

  • Verse 15 reminds us that He even declares His thirst at one point, His tongue stuck to the roof of His mouth.

  • Verse 18 prophesies the casting of lost for Jesus’ garments. It was typical to stripe the condemned man naked and hang him for everyone to ridicule and point at as the humiliation continued.

Here just a few verses highlighted as an amazing proclamation of what Christ would suffer for us as He conquered our sin. If you pay close attention, you will find others in this Psalm as well. These words are poignant and painful to read as they again remind us what had to be done in order to pay the price for our transgression. Read the Psalm again, taking a moment to ponder each verse that reminds you of the crucifixion story.

Prayer: Father God, I have no way to truly understand the suffering that Your dear Son had to endure. But I do acknowledge that it was my sin that drove Him to that cross. Please help me to accept Your sacrifice with humility and even joy, as I have been reborn into Your Kingdom because of His sorrow. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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