Over the last month or so in my blogs we have been looking at Psalm 22. We saw the viewpoint from the cross of person experiencing that tragedy. With verse 21 of this Psalm, we see the answer to the prayers that were prayed from the cross. The psalmist states, “You have answered me”, (Ps.22:21b NKJV). I started unpacking, last week in my blog, what I believe to be the scriptures that refer to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus had repeatedly stated that He would raise from the dead and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, but there’s not a lot of prophecy related to Jesus’ resurrection found in the Old Testament. I would take the position that the second half of this Psalm is the Scripture that Jesus is referring to when He talks about fulfilling Old Testament prophecy.
Let’s look at little further at some of the verses that support this point of view. We read, “For He has not despise nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from Him; but when He cried to Him, He heard. My praise shall be to You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him,” (Ps.22:24-25 NJKV). This is another passage of Scripture that is referred to in the book of Hebrews where the writer states, “During the days of Jesus life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,” (Heb.5:7-9 NIV). God cares for the afflicted and those going through difficult times and He will deliver. His deliverance is not necessarily in the way we would like it or the way we may think. Remember the load laid on Jesus was with a view to His ultimate glorification and to the accomplishment of the deepest desire of God’s heart, the salvation of the humanity. Jesus suffered more than anyone ever had before or since, but His afflictions were the result of His deep love and care for every one of us. But His heavenly Father did not leave Him in the tomb but raised him from the dead and fulfillment to his request that were stated from the garden of Gethsemane and the cross.
In the 25th verse David talks about praising God in the great assembly in fulfilling his vows. In the Old Testament people would pay their vows at the time of the harvest and the gifts would be offered unto God as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. This passage looks forward to the day when the Lord Jesus Christ has assembled all the saints together and invites us to celebrate with Him all He has accomplished. There is a harvest celebration that is coming that will be like no other event in human history. The moment when all the redeemed are together in the presence of the heavenly host and we will lift up our voices in praise and adoration to the only one who is worthy of our praise and adoration, the Lamb of God and the lion of the tribe of Judah, our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a great and glorious moment that will be!
It is so important that you and I be faithful in sharing this message of hope and blessing with the world around us. God has entrusted to us this message so that unborn future generations can come into a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. God will have a church at the end of the age, but we must teach our children to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and to rest in Him if they’re going to be part of that final product.
Serving the King together,
Pastor Rich Sivo