Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers. Find the heart of the Bible, the book of Psalms. And then find what in my estimation is perhaps the most remarkable psalm of all of the psalms.
You may think I'm talking about Psalm 23, but I'm talking about Psalm 22 The Old Testament Calvary. The Old Testament Calvary. Let me tell you. One of the ways that I know that I know that I know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. May I tell you how?
Friend, it is full-filled. prophecy. No one could write a book like the Bible apart from divine inspiration. not only fulfill prophecy, but the wonderful unity of the Bible. In a moment, I'm going to read to you a psalm.
That is written 800 years before Jesus Christ, And it sounds like someone is standing at the foot of the cross. Writing this psalm. And I want to remind you that even while this psalm speaks of the nailing of Jesus to the cross, they pierced my hands and my feet. Crucifixion like that was not known till the Romans came. The Jews Executed By stoning.
And yet, we have a picture of a Roman form of execution that was going to come eight. hundred years Later. And I'm going to show you from the Word of God. How minutely how minutely God prophesied The death. of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was said. of the builders of the ancient pyramids, the Egyptians. As they boasted about what they did, they said of themselves rather, We build like giants. But we finish. like jewelers.
like jewelers. That is, they did massive things. But oh how careful they were. at the smallest detail.
Now you're going to see that as we study this 22nd Psalm together. And I'm going to tell you, my dear friend, that the fulfilled prophecy of the Bible is proof. Indisputable proof. That the Bible must be, it must be, it must be the inspired word of God. But not only the fulfilled prophecy, but the wonderful unity of the Bible.
The Old and the New Testament tell the same story. Learn this about the Bible, friend, and you'll know how to understand the Bible. The Bible has but one hero. His name is Jesus. The Bible has but one villain.
Satan. The Bible has but one message, Jesus saves. That's it. That is it, friend. If you don't understand that, you don't understand what the Bible is all about.
The hero of the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, is Jesus Christ. The villain of the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, is Satan himself. The message of the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament. Is Jesus saves. I hope by now your appetite is whetted, and I want you to see this Old Testament.
Calvary. Look, if you will, now I begin to read in Psalm 22. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearst not.
And in the night season I am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee. They trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee and were delivered.
They trusted in thee and were not confounded. But I am a worm. And no man A reproach of man. and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn.
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb? Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb.
Thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me, for trouble is near. For there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me, strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round, they gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. Note specially verses 14, 15, and 15.
And 16, I'm poured out like water. All of my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels, my strength is dried up like a pot shudder, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. And thou hast brought me. into the dust of death.
For dogs have have come past me. The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They Here's My hands And my feet? I may tell all my bones they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them.
and cast lots. upon my vesture. But I have divided the psalm this morning into three parts.
Now I want you to see what I'm going to call the prophecy of the cross. Then I want you to see what I'm going to call the agony of the cross. And then bless God, the victory of the cross. And if you love the Lord Jesus. And if you love the Word of God, you're going to be blessed today.
Now first of all, I want you to see what I'm going to call the prophecy of the cross. And I want you to see, as I've said, almost 1,000 years before Jesus Christ was ever born, almost 1,000 years. There is an account of the crucifixion of Jesus. That sounds like an eyewitness. Standing at the very cross of Jesus Christ.
For example, For example, the very words that Jesus Christ would say on the cross, look if you will, in verse 1. My God, my God. Why? Hast thou forsaken me? Take your Bible and turn to Matthew 27 and leave it open in Psalm 22 and Matthew 27.
both of these together. Look, if you will, in verse 46. Jesus is on the cross, and the Bible says, and about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, Lammasabotchthanai, that is to say, Are you ready? My God. My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
The exact words. that are recorded in Psalm 22. came from the mouth of the Lord Jesus.
Well you say, Pastor. That's easy. Jesus just looked back and Read Psalm 22. And when he was on the cross, he was quoting poetry. No, my dear friend, Jesus was not looking backward quoting poetry.
David was looking forward quoting Jesus. It was a prophecy of what the Lord Jesus Christ would say on the cross, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Secondly, look in verse 2. And see about the supernatural darkness that came that day when Jesus was crucified. O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearst not.
And in the night season, I am not. Silent.
Now my dear friend, the Bible teaches that when Jesus Christ was crucified, it was both day and night. when he was crucified. For example, You're there in Matthew chapter 27? Look in verse 45. The Bible says now from the sixth hour, There was darkness.
Over all the land of until the ninth hour.
Now let's get our chronology correct. Jesus Christ was crucified according to the Bible at 9 in the morning. He died at three in the afternoon. He was on the cross. Six hours.
Why six? Because he was dying for the sins of man, and six is the number of a man. But at noon time, At noontime, that is at the ninth hour, which was noontime, ninth hour according to the way they reckon time, not after he'd been on the cross nine hours, but at midday. It became dark. The heavens were darkened at noonday.
I think of the sun that had looked down upon all of the filth and rape and murder and pillage and famines and wars. But the sun continued to shine, but when the sun of God hung on the cross, the glowing face of the sun in the heavens was veiled and it became dark. And there were three hours of darkness. and three hours of light when Jesus Christ was on the cross. How exacting is the word of God?
Look at verse 2. I cry. This is Psalm 22. I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not. And in the night season, I am not silent.
And then continue to read, skip down to verse 7 and look at the words of those who ridiculed the Lord Jesus when he was on the cross. All they that see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head saying he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
Now The Bible prophesied that when Jesus Christ would be crucified, he would be laughed, mocked, ridiculed, and scorned. Go to Matthew 27. Look in verses 39 and following. And they that pass by Reviled him who, Jesus. and saying, thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself if thou be the Son of God.
Come down from the cross. And likewise also the chief priests, mocking him with the scribes and the elders, said, he saved others. Himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross. And we.
will believe Him. An incredible thing. These are not prophecies fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ per se. These are prophecies about the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled by his enemies. Those who had the least to gain by the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Go to verse 14, if you will. Look at it in Psalm 22. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. This is what the Lord Jesus says of Himself there upon the cross: I am poured out like water.
Well, what does that mean? We'll turn to John chapter Nineteen. And verse 34. When Jesus Christ was on that cross. They came and they broke the legs of the thieves, one on one side and one on the other, to hasten death.
But when they came to Jesus, he was already dead. And John 19, verse 34 says, But one of the soldiers with a spear. pierced his side. And forthwith there came out Blood. And Water.
I am poured out like water. And incidentally, They tell us that when this condition takes place, that when there's that fluid there around the pericardium and the heart cavity and the blood and the water flow out together, it is a sign that the victim has been under great, great duress. Jesus literally died of a broken heart. And they're poured out blood. and water.
As I studied this, I wondered if the things that break the heart of Jesus. Break my heart. Then next I want you to notice in verse 14 of Psalm 22, it says, all of my bones are out of joint. What would that mean? My dear friend, when they crucified an individual, they nailed him first to the cross, and then they took that cross and dropped it in a hole.
Josephus, the great historian, the Jewish historian, tells us that when an individual's body, nailed to a tree, nailed to a cross, was dropped into the hole, at that moment the bones went out of joint. only to increase The pain. With what detail? The Bible prophesies the Lord Jesus' crucifixion as the very sockets of his body are twisted out of joint. Then the Lord Jesus Christ was filled with a blistering thirst.
Look, if you will, in verse 15, my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. One is a pot shirt. That's a broken clay vessel. When the potsherd is broken, then there's nothing but dry clay. The Lord Jesus was full of thirst there upon the cross.
And I read in John chapter 19 and verse 28. Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I. First. Jesus had a ravening thirst in his body, but Psalm 22 verse 15 says, My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. My dear friend, almost a thousand years before it happened.
by divine inspiration. The prophet wrote down that the one who would be crucified for our sins would cry out. In First. Notice. Also, how the Bible describes those who would perpetrate the crucifixion.
Look, if you will, in verses 15 and 16. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws, and thou hast brought me into the dust of death, underscore thou. And then, for dogs have compassed me, underscore that. And then in the last part of verse 16, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. Who crucified the Lord Jesus?
God the Father crucified him, as we're going to see. Bow The Gentiles crucified him. As he speaks there of dogs, do you know what the Jews call Gentiles two-legged dogs? And then the assembly of the wicked, what's he talking about there? The Jewish council.
And there you have God the Father. The Gentiles represented by Pilate, and the assembly of the wicked represented by Caiaphas. All of these are they who nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross. And then, my dear friend, I want you to see how this one hanging on the cross was stripped of his clothing and hung there naked. Look, if you will, in verse 17, I may tell all my bones they look and stare upon me.
That is, the Lord Jesus Christ is hanging there absolutely, totally uncovered. Jesus Christ, who was perfect purity and undefiled modesty, was stripped naked to hang upon that cross. And the Bible tells us that that happened to him in Matthew 27, verse 28, and they stripped him. And put on him a scarlet robe. And Matthew 27, verse 36 says, And sitting down, they watched him there.
Amazing precision in this psalm. And then look in verse 18. They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. There were four minor pieces of clothing that a person would wear in this time, and one major piece. And the major piece would be an undergarment woven A seamless Robe.
And read there in Matthew chapter 27 and verse 35, and they crucified him and parted his garments. Casting lots, that is, rolling dice, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. David is called a prophet here. They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. You get this garment, you get this garment, you get this garment, you get this garment, and now, when it comes to that one seamless robe, They cast lots for that one seamless robe.
Incredible, amazing thing. Look again in verse 18, they part my garments among them and cast lots for my vesture.
Now, all I've done, dear friend, is take a few. Not all, but a few of the incredible correspondences between what David wrote, I am telling you, 1,000 years before the crucifixion. They pierced my hands and my feet. How did that come to pass? Do you think that has happened, Stance?
Do you think that just happened? No, my dear friend, that is the prophecy of the cross. Secondly, I want you to notice the agony of the cross. I want you to see the price that Jesus Christ paid for your redemption, that you might be here today, that you might be forgiven, that you might be saved, that you might be filled with the Holy Spirit, that you might have a hope that is steadfast and sure, and how you ought to praise the Lord Jesus, and how you ought to serve the Lord Jesus because of the suffering that He suffered. No one ever suffered like the Lord Jesus Christ.
Others were crucified, but nobody ever suffered like Jesus, and I'll show you why. Jesus suffered at the hands of three. He suffered at the hands of God. He suffered at the hands of men. And he suffered at the hands of Satan.
I want you to see it right here in this Psalm. First of all, he suffered at the hand. of a holy God.
Now look, if you will, in verses 1 through 5. My God. My God, why? Hast thou Forsaken me. Look in verse 15, if you will.
In the last part of verse 15, thou has brought me to the dust of death. Who crucified the Lord Jesus? God the Father crucified him. God the Father put him to death. You say, I don't understand that.
Well, my dear friend, when Jesus Christ became the sin-bearer, Then Jesus Christ took the sin penalty. And the sin penalty is death. The wages of sin is death. You can read in Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 10 concerning the Lord Jesus. It pleased the Lord to bruise him.
It pleased Jehovah to bruise the Lord Jesus Christ. And I read there in Romans chapter 8 and verse 32 that God spared not his own son, but delivered him up. Who delivered him? God delivered him. Who failed to spare him?
God failed to spare him. Who forsook him? God forsook him. Who delivered him to the dust of death? God, the Father, and he who had been in the bosom of the Father from eternity past now is forsaken of the Father and has become the object, the object of the Father's wrath.
and the center of the father's loathing. The Son of God. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought what Jesus Christ took for you, my dear friend? That Jesus Christ took your hell.
Jesus took your punishment. Jesus took the wrath, the fire of God upon himself. No wonder he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Let it pass from me. Who crucified Jesus?
Number one, my dear friend, the agony of the cross. He died at the hands of God, but not only at the hands of God. My dear friend, the holy hand of God, but also the hateful hand of man. Look, if you will, in verses 6 and following here. The Bible says, but I'm a worm.
and no man a reproach of men. And despised of all of the people. I am a worm. Who is a worm? Jesus.
Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made of himself no reputation. Have you ever gotten that low? Have you ever said to yourself, I am a One. A worm? A worm?
He who made everything Hang on. You step on a snake, you'll strike back. You step on a worm. You just stepped on him. I am a worm.
Yeah. The worm spoken of here probably was the crimson crocus. A worm when crushed. May die. Crimson die.
It's the same word that is used for worm is used in Isaiah 1.18, yea, though you come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as crimson. Same word is used there. They shall be as wool. Thank God his crimson blood for our crimson sin, that we might be washed whiter than snow. I am a worm.
He suffered at the hands of men. They stepped on him like he was a worm. Like he was a worm. And the very Son of God. He shed his blood.
You know, the Bible tells us we better be very careful we don't trample under our feet the precious blood of Jesus Christ. I don't know of a greater sin. than to deal lightly with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Some years ago. I heard of a father who was a businessman. At his desk, he received a phone call. They said, sir, we hate to tell you this, but... There's been an accident.
A young man has been hit by an automobile. We don't have all of the details, but we believe he's your son. He said. Where is he? And they gave him the street corner.
It was near his office. He said, I'll be right there. He ran out of his office, got in his automobile, and drove to this particular place where his son, according to the report, had been hit by an automobile. When he got there, he saw the crowds as they were starting to disperse. He said, where's the boy that was hit?
Where's my son?
Someone not knowing the situation said, oh, you mean the boy? Who was killed? He said, what? Oh, yes, the boy who was killed, he said, is he dead? He said, yes, he's dead.
He said, tell me about it. What happened? He said, well, the car hit him. Where did he hit him? Right there.
And he looked, and there was a pool of blood right there in the street. A pool of blood that he knew it was his son's blood. And the automobiles there on that busy street were driving right through that blood, one car after another, driving through that pool of blood. When that father looked at it and realized that was the blood of his own dear son, he couldn't take it. He ripped off his coat and he stood in front of it and said, stop, stop, stop, stop.
You'll not drive through. My son's blood like that. You can't do it! It's the blood of my son. I wonder, my dear friend, what we do.
With the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't understand the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of how much sore punishment, suppose ye shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the spirit of grace. Oh, my friend, Jesus, the Son of God, suffered at the hands of God, at the holy hands of God, he suffered at the hateful hands of men, and he suffered at the hellish hands. of Satan.
My dear friend, look if you will in verses 19 and following of this same psalm. We see here Oh, he says. Be thou not far from me. O Lord, my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul.
From the sword, my darling, from the power of the dog. Hell's dogs. Save me from the lions. A mouth. Who is the lion?
Who is the roaring lion? It is Satan himself who goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. All of the artilleries of hell were let loose upon the Lord Jesus when he was on that cross. All of the powers of the pit were concentrated upon the Lord Jesus. Luke chapter 22 verse 53, Jesus said when he was facing the cross, but this is your hour.
And then he said, and the power of darkness. What he meant was the power of Satan. The power of the enemy. And hell had a holiday. and demons taunted and tormented.
The Lord Jesus, when he was on the cross, God-forsaken, attacked by Satan, abused by men. Jesus suffered, Jesus bled, Jesus died for you. At the holy hand of God, the hateful hand of man, the hellish hand of Satan. That's the agony of the cross. And how can we sit unmoved?
How can we ignore such love? Jesus paid that price for us. You say well. Did he really take my hell? He was only there.
for six hours on the cross. My dear friend, in six hours, Jesus suffered everything you'd suffer for eternity. He being infinite suffered in a finite period of time, what you being finite would suffer in an infinite period of time. The sins of the world were distilled upon Jesus and the eternities were compressed upon the Lord Jesus. And the Bible says concerning him, there is no sorrow like my sorrow.
No one ever suffered. No one ever suffered. No one ever suffered like Jesus. No one. There's the prophecy of the cross.
My dear friend, there's the agony of the cross. But I thank God for Psalm 22 that tells us of the victory of the cross. It's all there. It's all there. What a psalm it is.
Now in Psalm 22 in verse 22, the tone changes. In the first 21 verses, the psalm is going down, down, down, down. And then all of a sudden, it begins to rise and come up. Because there's a resurrection. Look, if you will, he says, I will declare thy name unto my brethren.
In the midst of the congregation, I will praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him. All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him and fear him. All the seed of Israel. Jesus Christ It's presented in the Bible.
as prophet Priest and King. And right here in these verses, you're going to see Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, and king. As prophet, He declares the Father. Look in verse 22, if you will, again. He says, I will declare thy name.
God the Son is speaking to God the Father. I will declare thy name to my brethren. Do you know who he's talking about, folks? Us. Us?
Oh. Bless his name. In the midst of the congregation, I will praise thee. Jesus says, I'll praise thee, Father, ye that fear the Lord. Praise him.
Jesus is talking to you now. I hope you know how to praise him. Jesus is saying, Ye that fear the Lord, praise him. All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him and fear him, all ye seed of Israel. And then he says in verse 25: My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation.
What is all of this talking about? The writer of the book of Hebrews knew what he was talking about. Just put in your margin Hebrews 2, verses 11 and 12. For both he that sanctifieth, that's Jesus, and he that are sanctified are all of one. That's us.
We're the ones who are sanctified. For which cause he's not ashamed to call them. Brethren. He's not ashamed to call you his brother. I'm next of kin to the Holy Trinity.
Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren.
Now he's quoting Psalm 22: In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. Did you know when you gather here this morning to sing? That Jesus is out there singing? Did you know that? When I'm preaching, Jesus is preaching.
When you're singing, Jesus is singing. He says, in the midst of the church, I will sing praises. If people only knew what was happening in a song service, Jesus said in Matthew 18, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Christ meets with his people. Christ sings with his people.
Christ praises with his people. He's the one who declares the Father. He's the one who makes God the Father real. He said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.
So he is the prophet, and as the prophet, He declares the Father, but not only is he a prophet, he's a priest, and as a priest. He delivers the faithful. Look in verse 26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise the Lord that seek him.
Your heart shall live forever. What does a priest do? He offers the showbread that represents Jesus, who is the bread of life. And Jesus feeds his people. Oh my dear friend, Jesus delivers his people.
He is here today to give you the bread of life, this one who died for you. He is prophet, he is priest, and I love this next part. Oh, my dear friend, he has came. As prophet, he declares the Father. As priest, he delivers the faithful.
But oh my dear friend as prince He dominates the future. Look, if you will, in verse 27, all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord. Listen to it, listen, and all of the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee for the kingdom. He is the Lord's. The kingdom.
is the Lord's. He is prophet to declare the Father. He is priest. Oh my friend, to deliver the faithful. But he is a prince and a potentate.
Oh, my dear friend, to dominate. The future. People say, what's the world coming to? I'll tell you what the world's coming to, it's coming to Jesus. Jesus.
Owns this world. It was made by him and for him, and the Bible says it's coming back to him. You read Colossians chapter 1. and the kingdoms of this world. will become The kingdoms of our Lord in his Christ.
And Jesus shall reign where the Son doth his successive journeys run, and his kingdom spread from shore to shore. Till moon shall wax. And wane no more. He is prophet. to declare the Father.
He is priest to the priest. to deliver the faithful. He is prince to dominate the future. His name Is what? Jesus.
Don't you love him? Don't you love him? He who did so much for you And my dear friend, it was written in a book. Almost a thousand years. before he ever got here.
What a savior. What a savior. Let's pray. Father. I pray today.
Lord, that you would just speak to our hearts. Help us, Lord, to understand. What a great salvation we have. And Lloyd? I pray for those today who may not be saved.
That Lord they might trust in you. You have come, Lord, to declare the Father. Father, may they come. Through you. To the Father.
For Lord, there is one God and one mediator. between God and man. Christ Jesus. May many be saved. For we pray in his dear name.
Amen. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.
