From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, a lesson about the greatest love possible.

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We've been in a study on the book of Psalms and talking about the ups and downs in life.

In Psalm 22, we have a very vivid picture of the cross of Jesus Christ. Now, this is a psalm of David. And so David, although he was a king, he was also a prophet. He prophesied in Psalm 22 about the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was going to die on a cross.

Psalm 22 teaches us about the love of our Savior from his heart.

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Welcome to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, where today he concludes his inspiring eight-message series that we've been in most of the month entitled "Roller Coaster: Facing the Ups and Downs of Life."

And today we'll learn where no greater love can be found. Pastor, give us some insight into what today's final message in this series is all about.

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Larry from Psalm 22, when David, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaks of the cross of Christ, although he knew nothing about crucifixion, the Lord was leading him to write those words. It just speaks volumes about the pain and the suffering that Jesus endured. And he did it all for us because he really does love us. And that love would take him all the way to Calvary.

The way that changes life is when every day you wake up and you think about the fact that the Lord loves me enough to give his own son for me, Jesus loves me enough to die a brutal, horrible death for me. How can that not change us?

If Jesus would go to the cross for me and God would send his son to the cross for me, then I can know for certain that he will take care of my daily needs because he's already taken care of my greatest need, which is salvation.

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Now, normally when examining the cross of Christ, we go to the Gospels, to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

But as Pastor Jeff has said, today we're going to look at the Psalms, specifically in Psalm 22, for the most vivid accounts of the crucifixion of our Savior, who exhibited no greater love.

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We've been in a study on the book of Psalms and talking about the ups and downs in life. In Psalm 22, we have a very vivid picture of the cross of Jesus Christ. Now, this is a Psalm of David, but the Bible says in Acts, chapter 2, verse 30, that Peter says this about David: he was a prophet. So, although David was a king, he was also a prophet. He prophesied in Psalm 22 about the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was going to die on a cross. Psalm 22 teaches us about the love of our Savior.

The Scripture says this: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning, O my God. I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest. Yet you are holy, O you who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were delivered; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me. They separate with the lip; they wag the head, saying, 'Commit yourself to the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, because he delights in him.' Yet you are he who brought me forth from the womb; you made me trust when upon my mother's breasts. Upon you I was cast from birth; you have been my God from my mother's womb. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open wide their mouth at me like a ravening and a 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 me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; they look, they stare at me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O Lord, be not far off; O you, my help, hasten to my assistance. Deliver my soul from the sword, my only life, from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth, from the horns of the wild oxen. You answer me."

Psalm 22, the first 21 verses that we just read, speaks about suffering and prayer—the suffering and prayer of the Messiah—and then the next 10 verses are about victory and praise. I want you to notice with me three prophecies about the Messiah, the cross, and his love for you and me.

**Prophecy number one:** The Scripture prophesies that the Messiah would be abandoned by the Father. The Savior was going to be abandoned by the Father. Psalm 22, verse 1 states, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" If you have read in the Gospel accounts, namely in Matthew or in Mark, you'll find that Jesus said those exact words when he was on the cross. He was crucified at 9 AM and died at 3 PM. Somewhere around 3 PM, the Bible says it was the ninth hour. They counted from 6 AM, so it was the ninth hour. At 3 PM, Jesus cried out and said, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

I think there were two reasons why he said that. First, he was alerting the people to Psalm 22, saying, "Hey, this is what is happening. It was prophesied in Psalm 22." So he's alerting them to that psalm when he says that. Secondly, he was expressing the cry of his heart: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It's a question, but it's also a comment on the fact that when Jesus was dying on the cross, taking all of the sin of the world upon Himself, the Father abandoned him. The Father turned away from him. When Jesus took our sins, the Father had to turn away. As the song said, he died alone on Calvary.

Why would the Father turn away from the Son? The Scripture says he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. When Jesus became sin on the cross, the Father cannot have fellowship with sin. The Father cannot look upon sin. Habakkuk 1:13 says, "Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and you cannot look on wickedness with favor." When all the wickedness and all the sin of the world was upon Jesus, the Father could not look upon that, even when it was in his own Son, and he had to turn away.

The word "forsaken" means to abandon, to withdraw, to desert—abandoned by the Father. Fellowship between the Son and the Father had existed from eternity past. But now, as Jesus is dying on the cross for the sins of the whole world, that fellowship is broken. The Lord Jesus had never experienced that before, and he cries out to His Father, "Why have you forsaken me?" When Jesus took our sins, he not only was forsaken by the Father, but he experienced the fate of every single sinner. Forsaken on the cross—that's what every sinner who rejects Christ is going to experience for all eternity.

The Bible says in Second Thessalonians, chapter one, speaks of the return of Christ. He comes back with flaming fire and with his mighty angels, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then it says in verse nine, "And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction." Eternal destruction in hell. The Lord Jesus experienced the fate of every sinner when he died upon the cross. Oh, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The first prophecy: the Messiah would be abandoned by the Father.

**Prophecy number two:** The Messiah would be brutalized by the people. "They pierced my hands and my feet." What's he talking about? He's talking about something he didn't even know about. He's speaking through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit led him to write those words. He is speaking, as we know, of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ—crucifixion, so terrible, so horrible. The Scripture here says that he would experience excruciating physical pain. "They pierced my hands and my feet, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted within me," as it says in verse 14. "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws."

Do you remember one of the last things Jesus said upon the cross? "I thirst." He was on that cross for six hours. You know how people would die on the cross? They would die from asphyxiation; they could no longer hold themselves up. They could no longer push up to get a breath, and so they would just suffocate. That's why the Romans, when they wanted to hasten death, would break the legs. If they broke your legs, then you couldn't push up anymore, and death would come very quickly.

When Jesus died, they didn't break his legs because it was prophesied that none of his bones would be broken. They didn't break his legs, but they pierced his side with a spear, and the blood and the water flowed, and they knew that he was dead, so there was no need to break his legs. There was excruciating physical pain, but not only would the Messiah experience that; he would also experience excruciating emotional pain—the emotional pain of the sinless Son of God taking the sin of the world upon himself while the people for whom he came to die laughed in his face.

It says in Psalm 22, verses 6, 7, and 8, in the Easy to Read Version: "People insult me and look down on me. Everyone who sees me makes fun of me. They shake their heads and stick out their tongues at me. They say, 'Call to the Lord for help; maybe he will save you. If he likes you so much, surely he will rescue you.'" That's just what's recorded in the Gospels. They said those same things. They came up to Jesus and made faces at him. As the Scripture says in another version, they wagged their tongues at him. "Oh, you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, come down from the cross, and we'll believe in you."

Do you understand the price that was paid for your salvation? There's the prophecy that he would be abandoned by the Father, the prophecy that he would be brutalized by the people, but then there's the prophecy that he would be victorious over death. Do you remember what I said about Psalm 22, verses 1 through 21? It's all about suffering and prayer. He's crying out to God, still praising God even in the midst of his suffering because he knows that God inhabits the praises of his people.

But the last thing he says in verse 21 is, "Save me from the lion's mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen, you who hears prayer, you who answers me." Then in verse 22, the scene shifts, and everything changes. He says, "I will tell of your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly, I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him; all you descendants of Jacob, glorify him and stand in awe of him."

Now, you might want to jot down this scripture as a reference: Hebrews 2:12. The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 22:22 when he's talking about the glory of Jesus Christ, the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he was abased, but now he is glorified. He has won the victory. Did the Lord save him from the lion's mouth? Yes, because it says in Psalm 2, "You won't allow your Holy One to undergo decay." He died; he was buried, but he didn't stay dead. He didn't stay buried. He came up on the third day; he rose from the dead, and he conquered death, hell, and the grave. He went to his brethren to tell of his name—God's name to the brethren—and in the midst of the assembly, he praised the Lord. And there is victory.

Now listen. By God's grace, Jesus died for all. By God's grace, it's grace. We sing "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." By God's grace, he could save us because he paid the price that was needed to be paid. It says in Hebrews 2:9, "For a short time, Jesus was made lower than the angels. But now we see him wearing a crown of glory and honor because he suffered and died." Because of God's grace, Jesus died for everyone.

There's a teaching in Christendom that says that Jesus only died for the elect, that he only died for the saved. They say his blood is not going to be wasted, so the blood that he shed was only for the elect. But this verse says that he died for everyone. I believe that Jesus died for every single person. That's why I have confidence that I can talk to any person at any time and say with confidence, "Jesus Christ loves you, and he died for you." Just as it says in Hebrews 2:9, he died for everybody. At the great white throne, the Lord will open up the Lamb's Book of Life and say, "I died for you. I had a place in my book for you, but you rejected me. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness; I never knew you."

By God's grace, he died for all. And by God's power, he conquered death and hell. Not only his grace, but his power. It took power to raise Jesus up from the dead. When we talk about the cross, we always have to couple that with the empty tomb. Because the cross without the empty tomb gives a dead Savior, and a dead Savior can't save anybody. The empty tomb without the cross lacks a sacrifice. It took the cross of Christ to pay our sin debt, and it took the empty tomb to make it effective, to make it powerful. Both of those things are evident here.

It says in verses 28 through 31, "The Lord is king, and he rules the nations. All proud people will bow down to Him. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. All mortals will bow down before Him. Future generations will serve Him. They will speak of the Lord to the coming generation. People not yet born will be told, 'The Lord saved his people, saved his people through the cross and through the empty tomb.'"

So it's by God's grace that all men can be saved. It's by God's power that he conquered death and hell. The Bible talks about that in First Corinthians, chapter 15. It says, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, who tasted death for every man so that you and I wouldn't have to taste it. He experienced the forsaking from the Father so you and I wouldn't have to ever experience that. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

And by God's love—this is so cool—and by God's love, he became a scarlet worm. Look at verse six: "But I am a worm," he says, "and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people." Can you imagine the Son of God, the Messiah of God, describing himself and saying of himself, "I am a worm"? People have said, "Well, that just doesn't sound right." They think of a worm, you know, a worm. A worm can be a maggot. Surely the Lord's not saying he's a maggot. No, he's not. The word that's used here for worm is the Hebrew word "tolah" (T-O-L-A-H). It's translated eight times as "worm," one time as "crimson," and 34 times as "scarlet."

You might wonder, "How in the world could you translate a word that means 'worm' into a word that means 'scarlet'?" It's because in the animal world, in the insect world, there's a little worm known as the scarlet worm. It's a little worm that the ancients used to produce scarlet dye because they noticed that if you crush the life out of this worm, a red, scarlet, crimson dye would come out—a substance that they could use in dyeing clothing.

Jesus Christ is the scarlet worm who gave his life, who shed his blood on the cross for you and me. And you know what's very interesting about the scarlet worm? When the female is about ready to lay eggs, she will go to a tree, affix herself to the tree, bore into that tree, and embed herself in the tree. Then she lays her eggs. When the eggs hatch and those little ones are able to fend for themselves, she dies affixed to the tree. When she dies, she releases that red scarlet crimson dye that stains her body and stains the tree. What a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ!

"I am a worm. I'm a scarlet worm who shed my blood on a piece of wood to give life to all those who will come to me."

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Have you given your all to Jesus? He's offering you forgiveness for your sins and freedom to live for Him. And he is asking that you simply confess your need, be willing to turn from your sins, believe that Jesus died for you on the cross and rose from the grave, and through a sincere heartfelt prayer, invite Jesus Christ in to control your life through the Holy Spirit. You can do that with this prayer that echoes the feelings of your heart.

Say, "Dear God, I know I'm a sinner. I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus is your son and I believe that he died for my sin and that you raised him from the dead. I want to trust him as my Savior and follow him as my Lord from this day forward. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen."

If that is the desire of your heart, genuinely speaking, you are a child of God now, and he will never let you go. If you want to know more about what it means to make that surrender and what your life will be like in the future, please go to fromisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link. You'll discover who he is, what he wants for you, and how you can have that peace that passes all understanding. But it starts with a sincere desire to open your heart to the truth. You can also download some free materials there from Pastor Jeff that will help you love the Savior even more.

Now, today you heard the edited version of the last message, "No Greater Love," from the series "Roller Coaster: Facing the Ups and Downs of Life." You can get a copy of the series when you listen to any of the programs you missed online at fromisheart.org; just click the "Listen" link when you go there.

Please consider a gift to From His Heart this month of any amount, and when you make that gift, we'll send you the three-message series "Nothing but the Truth" and Pastor Jeff's booklet "Sticks and Stones: What to Do When the Going Gets Tough." Both of those are our thank you for your support. We could not be here without the support of our listeners, so thank you.

Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart as we conclude this month of truth-filled messages. I'm Larry Nobles, and we pray that you'll be here next time as Pastor Jeff will begin a brand new series providing powerful insights from the Book of Judges. Join us tomorrow as we begin the series "Before There Were Kings" and the lesson "Iron Chariots," when Pastor Jeff Shreve will open the Word of God and share real truth, real love, and real hope. From His Heart, there is truth there.

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Is truth there is bless love There is hope that you always dream love. He can heal every scars of real truth, real love, real from his heart.

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From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world.

Remember that no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out more at fromhisheart.org.