The Lord Has Not Despised the Afflicted One

"Crucifixion" by Titian

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“You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you offspring of Israel! For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and He has not hidden His face from Him, but has heard, when He cried to Him” (Psalm 22:23-24).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Have you ever painted yourself into a corner? That’s how I feel tonight. My plan for our mid-week Lenten services was to use the appointed psalm for the week as the text for our sermon. Tonight’s psalm is the last part of the messianic psalm, Psalm 22, that provides many prophetic details of Christ’s suffering and death. But our appointed text is only verses 23-31, in which the psalmist calls all people to praise the Lord for His faithfulness: “You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you offspring of Israel.” But since our text only mentions the suffering in passing, it’s very difficult to understand particularly why we should offer praise to the Lord, and thus this psalm loses much its full impact, its real comfort.

So, what do you do when you paint yourself in a corner? Well, you can wait for the paint to dry. Or you tiptoe back through the paint and cover your tracks. And since we don’t have time to wait, let’s go back to the first verses of the psalm.

Let’s say up front, this is a direct messianic psalm. It gives us a graphic picture of the suffering and humiliation of the Messiah some thousand years before His incarnation. It does not find its fulfillment in David or anyone else. Rather, it is directly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, in His suffering and death.

The psalmist begins: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from saving Me, from the words of My groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest” (Psalm 22:1–2).

Jesus uses these words as His own prayer on the cross (Matthew 27:46). To the scoffers standing around the cross, it seemed that the Father had abandoned His Son. In Gethsemane, Jesus had fervently prayed, “Take this cup from Me.” Now it seems that this prayer is not being answered. Certainly, God has the power to deliver His own Son. Why isn’t He doing it?

In the next sections of this prayer, the Messiah struggles to answer this question: “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; they trusted, and You delivered them. To You they cried and were rescued; in You they trusted and were not put to shame” (Psalm 22:3–5).

The apparent failure of God to deliver His Son cannot be due to injustice or weakness on God’s part. The Lord is enthroned in heaven as the holy God, who receives the praise of Israel. Time after time, He has delivered His people when they have called to Him in distress. God’s ability to help is beyond question. Yet the crowd can see no evidence that God will deliver Jesus from the cross.

So the psalmist declares: “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see Me mock Me; they make mouths at Me; they wag their heads; ‘He trusts in the Lord; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, for He delights in Him!’” (Psalm 22:6–8).

God seems to be absent. Jesus is scorned like a slimy worm that people crush underfoot. In their mockery, Jesus’ enemies draw this logical conclusion: “God could rescue Him if He wanted to. God isn’t rescuing Him. Therefore God doesn’t want to save Him.” Could that be true?

So the psalmist returns to the way God had provided for and protected Him in the past: “Yet You are He who took Me from the womb; You made Me trust You at My mother’s breasts. On You was I cast from My birth, and from My mother’s womb You have been My God. Be not far from Me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help” (Psalm 22:9–11).

Jesus knows that the taunts of the enemy cannot be true. From the beginning of Jesus’ life, the Father has been declaring His love for Him. Angels had announced His future glory to Mary and Joseph even before He was born. On the day He was born, angels announced the peace He would bring. The Father Himself had declared His pleasure in Jesus at His baptism and transfiguration.

In the same way, Jesus had shown His love and obedience to His Father. Already as a 12-year-old boy, He had placed His Father’s business first. This loyalty had continued throughout His life. Jesus would not renounce it now.

Jesus stands alone, abandoned by His disciples. His enemies are powerful and vicious. He knows that only God can deliver Him now.

He describes the agony: “Many bulls encompass Me; strong bulls of Bashan surround Me; they open wide their mouths at Me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within My breast; My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue sticks to My jaws; you lay Me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass Me; a company of evildoers encircles Me; they have pierced My hands and feet—I can count all My bones—they stare and gloat over Me; they divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots” (Psalm 22:12–18).

The mercilessness of Jesus’ enemies is graphically portrayed by comparing them to vicious animals—bulls, lions, and dogs. When they beat Him, they are like bulls trampling a little child. When they tear His flesh, they are like lions tearing their prey. When He is on the cross, they surround Him like a pack of snarling dogs.

The intensity of Jesus’ suffering is described in a number of broken pictures. The soldiers pierce His hands and feet as they nail Him to the cross. As He hangs there, He is poured out like water. He is dried up like a broken pot. These pictures and the others vividly portray the suffering that led Him to cry, “I thirst.”

The prophecy of the casting of lots for Jesus’ clothes and dividing Jesus’ garments is one of the most amazing messianic prophecies. Its fulfillment is recorded in Matthew 27:35 and John 19:24.

Though His enemies are strong and vicious, Christ knows that He is not left without help. The Lord is powerful. He will deliver Him from His enemies. So He prays confidently: “But You, O Lord, do not be far off! O You My help, come quickly to My aid! Deliver My soul from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog! Save Me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued Me from the horns of the wild oxen!” (Psalm 22:19–21).

Certain of the Lord’s protection, the psalmist promises: “I will tell of Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise You: You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All You offspring of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all You offspring of Israel! For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and He has not hidden His face from Him, but has heard, when He cried to Him. From You comes My praise in the great congregation; My vows I will perform before those who fear Him” (Psalm 22:22–25).

Finally, we get the answer to the opening question, “Why have You forsaken Me?” The Father let the Son die for the sins of His people so that He would give them eternal blessings. Christ suffered as one who had been separated from God by the curse of our sins. He was forsaken by the Father as He hung dying on the cross. However, the Father did not abandon Him to the grave but raised Him to life and glory. Now He is seated at the right hand of the Father in power and majesty.

Confident of the Lord’s rescue, the Messiah promises to share the good news of His triumph with the assembly of God’s children. This promise is fulfilled when Jesus proclaims the Gospel in the Church. As true man, Jesus became our brother and died for us. Through the Gospel He gathers us together as the children of God who will share His glory.

Seeing this as all fulfilled, the Messiah invites believers to join Him in praising God because the Messiah’s deliverance is also their deliverance. “The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve Him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn, that He has done it” (Psalm 22:26–31).

Jesus’ kingdom will be spread throughout the earth and through every generation until the end of time. Since He is the Savior of all people, both the rich and the poor will receive the blessings of His kingdom if they turn to Him in faith. All who believe in Him will be fed at the feast of eternal life.

What great Good News for you and me!

We, too, may feel alone and forsaken by God at times. Truly we deserve to be forsaken by God because of our sinfulness. We poor, miserable sinners justly deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment. But, as this psalm foretells, God Himself came to be our Redeemer. While many human beings have shared these feelings, this psalm finds its greatest fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who spoke it from the cross (Matthew 27:46). Christ truly was forsaken by His Father and died alone so that you and I could be reconciled to our God.

Jesus was forsaken by God and abandoned by His own disciples for our sake. Jesus willingly gave Himself into the hands of those who led Him mercilessly, bound hard and cruel, from one unjust judge to another. Jesus was falsely accused and condemned, spit upon, scoffed at and struck in the face with fists for the sake of our misdeeds. Jesus was hit, whipped, crowned with thorns, and treated wretchedly—like a worm and not a man. For the sake of our sin, He was counted a sinner and hung up between two evildoers as a curse. He was pierced in hands and feet with nails, and in His highest thirst He was given vinegar and gall to drink. Finally, in great pain, He gave up His spirit so that He could pay our debt and we could be healed by His wounds.

For this and all His other suffering and pain, we give Him thanks and praise. We pray that Christ’s holy, bitter suffering and death not be lost on us, but that all times this may be our comfort, and that we may boast in it; and that as we ponder it, all evil desire in us may be snuffed out and subdued, and all virtue may be implanted and increased, so that we, having died to sin, may live in righteousness, following the example Christ has left us, walking in His footsteps, enduring evil with patience, and suffering injustice with a good conscience.

“You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you offspring of Israel! For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and He has not hidden His face from Him, but has heard, when He cried to Him” (Psalm 22:23-24).

Jesus’ deliverance is your deliverance. For His sake, you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.