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03/27/2014

POURED OUT

Read Psalm 102.

TEXT: I am poured out like water, and all my bones are
out of joint (see Psalm 22:14).

Jesus is exhausted. He spent the previous night in
prayer, pleading with His Father to take away the cup-the
suffering that was about to befall Him. Jesus didn't fear
death, but He struggled with being forsaken by His Father
and being lashed with His fiery wrath at our sins. Three
hours later He came out of the garden composed and
ready-but physically drained.

That was only the beginnings of His sufferings. After
condemning Him, the Jewish high court punched, slapped
and struck Him. Pilate's soldiers savagely flogged Him,
drove a crown of thorns down over His head, and struck
Him over the head repeatedly with a reed. The heavy cross
bar was placed on His bloody shoulders, and He was forced
to carry it to the place of execution. He was a strong man,
a carpenter, but the abuse He suffered for our sins was so
great He collapsed under the weight. Too weak and weary to
carry it all the way Himself, the Roman soldiers finally
ordered a bystander in the crowd, Simon of Cyrene, to carry
it the rest of the way.

Psalm 22 masterfully describes this exhaustion, "I am
poured out like water."

Then King David adds an incredible prophetic detail, "All my
bones are out of joint." In this grisly form of execution, the
weight of the body hangs on the arms, putting tremendous
strain on the joints in the arms and shoulders. It's as though
He was stretched on the rack. What makes this passage so
remarkable is that King David was completely unfamiliar with
crucifixion, yet he describes it in incredible detail. And those
details will become even more striking in the verses to follow.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus Christ, what sufferings You endured to free me of
my sins and God's wrath. Receive my heartfelt gratitude and
praise forever. Amen.

(Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries)

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