They divide my garments among them, and
for my clothing they cast lots. Psalm 22:18
If you say, “You covered this verse
before!,” you are right. It is quoted in the New Testament among
the verses of the crucifixion. But Psalm 22 gives us the back story,
more insight into the thoughts and feelings of Jesus while on the
cross. The dividing of the garments was the fulfillment of this
passage of scripture, one more proof that Jesus was the Messiah long
foretold. How David saw this...what kind of vision, what kind of
experience lead him to write this, we don't know. But he nailed it,
literally.
The words of Christ on the cross start
this Psalm. From the beginning we are caught up in the agony,
despair, and torture of the One crying out. If you can envision Jesus
on the cross, whipped into a pulpy mess, crown of thorns tearing at
his face, people jeering and taunting while others look on in
despair, it is hard not to weep with Him. This whole passage, when
read parallel to the gospels points out even to their taunts of if He
is the Son of God, why doesn't God bring Him down and save Him. They
didn't realize that He was saving THEM, not needing saving Himself.
By verse 15, He is dying, with more
accounts to follow of actions taken at His feet, one of which was the
dividing of the only things He could call His own, His clothes. He
was delivered from the sword, as it was only used on Him after He
died. Even though God had turned His face away, God still heard the
cries, which were not cries of pain and agony, but cries to forgive
those who were torturing Him. Cries to be taken back into God's
eternal favor.
And then vs. 25! The eternal
celebration of the resurrection! Nothing, dead or alive, will be able
to keep from bowing the knee and praising God for the awesome ransom
He paid for the sinners who would come to Him, who would seek Him
out! The tale of His amazing grace would be told to the dead and the
dying, to the living and to those who would come after them,
including you and me. The story would never die, the celebration
would never end, and the glory of God would be available to those who
do not resist His drawing love! No kingdom could ever raise up that
would stand before Him, no family, great or small, would be freed
from the impulse to worship Him when they eventually see Him as He
is, great and mighty and seated at the right hand of the Father for
His obedient walk on the earth, going to reclaim them from Satan's
deception. Only those who choose to remain deluded will be, and even
then EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST
IS LORD TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER. NO ONE IN ALL OF THE EARTH
WILL ESCAPE THAT CONFESSION! That is the amazing part of what Christ
did. Though stripped of everything, clothes included, He will never
be stripped of any glory ever again. Those who deny him here will not
have the luxury of denying Him forever. So, if you will confess Him
as Lord someday, why not now? That confession on the Last Day will be
made at the crossroads...some joining Him in His kingdom, and the
rest on their way to eternal doom. If you have to do it anyway, you
might as well give in now. The seriously amazing thing about giving
in to God now is that it leads to blessing! We have been deceived by
Satan into thinking that giving in to God, confessing our need for a
Savior, and giving our lives to Him is somehow a BAD thing. It is a
bad emotion for a period of time, like the crucifixion was a bad
emotion and experience for a few horrible hours. Like childbirth.
Ouch. But once on the other side of confession, of seeing who you are
and who Christ is, the results, like childbirth, are amazing. There
is new life! A new, amazing, conscience clearing, God-guided, Jesus
as big brother life! It is not something we can conjure up...we can't
make ourselves at peace with God. Only He can do that...and if Christ
would have died just to save you, isn't it worth it to take the hand
of someone who would love you that much. HE IS LORD. Like the
president, he is the ruler of the country whether you voted for him
or not, whether you agree with him or not. You can't deny who He is.
So it is a choice of whether you trust Him or not. Believe He loves
you or not. Believe that He died for you or not. You can deny it now,
but that does not make Him less than He is.
And He is GOOD. Good to all. He calls
us to His side, spanks us at times to get our attention focused back
on Him. But He does it BECAUSE He loves us. He wants us. He calls us.
He reckons us righteous when we know we are wretched. And we WILL
proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. Do it now so that when the Day
comes, you will be doing it again with JOY and not terror. With
extreme gratitude and not regret. You won't regret it in this life or
the life to come.
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