But I am like a worm instead of a man. People make fun of me and hate me. Those who look at me laugh. They stick out their tongues and shake their heads. They say, "Turn to the Lord for help. Maybe he will save you. If he likes you, maybe he will rescue you." ....People have surrounded me like angry bulls. Like the strong bulls of Bashan, they are on every side. Like hungry, roaring lions they open their mouths at me....Evil people have surrounded me; like dogs they have trapped me. They have bitten my arms and legs. (vs. 6-8;12-13;16)
This is a Messianic psalm. Meaning, of course, that it heralds the coming Messiah. I find that intensely interesting considering He was to come as the savior of not only the Jews, but all mankind. How then could this psalm be prophetic? Or, better yet, how could the Jewish people to whom Jesus finally did show Himself in power have missed these verses if they knew they were Messianic? Wouldn't that have changed their expectations? To know He would fulfill all of this psalm?
Jesus seemed born to quote verse one from the cross: "My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?" Even then, those mocking Jesus at the foot of the cross thought He was calling on Elijah to save Him. Clueless.
Bleeding from the shredded skin hanging from His freshly beaten body and jeered at as He wore a crown of thorns upon His bruised and sweating face, the crowd spat on Him, ridiculing His claim to be the Messiah, the King of Kings. "He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He says He is the king of Israel! If he is the king, let him come down from the cross now. Then we will believe him! He trusts in God so let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, 'I am the Son of God.' "
He did come down from the cross. Taken by Joseph of Arimathea and buried in a fresh tomb while the sun has gone running in shame in the middle of the day and the earth is rattling God's fury, the Son is locked hermetically tight in a tomb with a giant stone. Soldiers stand guard outside because on some level they know this is not just another man. Turns out He wasn't. Jesus blew out of the cave-tomb three days later while angels put the soldiers into a coma they could not explain to their officials later that day. Our sins buried with Him and our lives new with His, He became our King.
But that cost Him. Even now there are the scars in His hands. He entered heaven as a slain Lamb, not a regal monarch. He is forever our redemption. Why? Because he became like us. He understands what flesh feels like - how it struggles. His ears have burned and his heart quaked at the jeers and mockings of those who should have known His worth. The heart of Jesus has been broken by the words and actions of bullies who pinned Him to a tree and left Him there to rot. The deepest kind of betrayal done with the most profound display of hubris. How could He then not understand my pain?
Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, let us hold fast the faith we have. For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, He was tempted in every way that we are, but He did not sin. Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God's throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. Hebrews 4:14-16
While Jesus lived on the earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One Who could save Him from death, and His prayer was heard because He trusted in God. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He learned obedience by the things that He suffered. Hebrews 5: 7-6
Even in the process of securing our salvation, the heart of God was to fully experience the plight of man so that man could fully experience the power of God. Jesus knows my heart. He knows my struggles to please other people - to be really understood by those who do not get me. The heart of Jesus has plumbed the depths of misery that is created by those who hate Him for no reason. My Jesus is safe. I can run to Him and He will not turn me away, but hold me in His arms and say: "I know, child. I know."
This is a Messianic psalm. Meaning, of course, that it heralds the coming Messiah. I find that intensely interesting considering He was to come as the savior of not only the Jews, but all mankind. How then could this psalm be prophetic? Or, better yet, how could the Jewish people to whom Jesus finally did show Himself in power have missed these verses if they knew they were Messianic? Wouldn't that have changed their expectations? To know He would fulfill all of this psalm?
Jesus seemed born to quote verse one from the cross: "My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?" Even then, those mocking Jesus at the foot of the cross thought He was calling on Elijah to save Him. Clueless.
Bleeding from the shredded skin hanging from His freshly beaten body and jeered at as He wore a crown of thorns upon His bruised and sweating face, the crowd spat on Him, ridiculing His claim to be the Messiah, the King of Kings. "He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He says He is the king of Israel! If he is the king, let him come down from the cross now. Then we will believe him! He trusts in God so let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, 'I am the Son of God.' "
He did come down from the cross. Taken by Joseph of Arimathea and buried in a fresh tomb while the sun has gone running in shame in the middle of the day and the earth is rattling God's fury, the Son is locked hermetically tight in a tomb with a giant stone. Soldiers stand guard outside because on some level they know this is not just another man. Turns out He wasn't. Jesus blew out of the cave-tomb three days later while angels put the soldiers into a coma they could not explain to their officials later that day. Our sins buried with Him and our lives new with His, He became our King.
But that cost Him. Even now there are the scars in His hands. He entered heaven as a slain Lamb, not a regal monarch. He is forever our redemption. Why? Because he became like us. He understands what flesh feels like - how it struggles. His ears have burned and his heart quaked at the jeers and mockings of those who should have known His worth. The heart of Jesus has been broken by the words and actions of bullies who pinned Him to a tree and left Him there to rot. The deepest kind of betrayal done with the most profound display of hubris. How could He then not understand my pain?
Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, let us hold fast the faith we have. For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, He was tempted in every way that we are, but He did not sin. Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God's throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. Hebrews 4:14-16
While Jesus lived on the earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One Who could save Him from death, and His prayer was heard because He trusted in God. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He learned obedience by the things that He suffered. Hebrews 5: 7-6
Even in the process of securing our salvation, the heart of God was to fully experience the plight of man so that man could fully experience the power of God. Jesus knows my heart. He knows my struggles to please other people - to be really understood by those who do not get me. The heart of Jesus has plumbed the depths of misery that is created by those who hate Him for no reason. My Jesus is safe. I can run to Him and He will not turn me away, but hold me in His arms and say: "I know, child. I know."
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