![*EASTER* Psalm 22 [Messianic: Forsaken For You] - PDF](https://www.podcastworld.io/podcast-images/ramsey-creek-baptist-church-sermons-pgslsb14.webp)
Everything hinges on the atoning death of Christ and on His resurrection. But we can’t rightly celebrate the empty tomb without first understanding the cross.
When Jesus quoted the first line of Psalm 22 on the cross, the minds of the Jews listening would have immediately gone back to that psalm. Psalm 22 was coming to life in the death of Jesus.
The resurrection celebrates Jesus’ triumph over sin and death, which are both things that He only experienced because of us – for us. If we as individuals, families, or churches focus people’s attention on the commercial aspects of Easter, then we need to stop and think longer and harder on the reality of the crucifixion.
Jesus' cry, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" was a cry of identification with mankind’s suffering because of sin, with the deliberate hope of looking through the painful circumstances to the faithfulness of the Father.
The cross reveals the consequences of sin, but it screams the love of God.
The empty tomb stands as the paid receipt of God’s purchase of His children.
If Christ has been raised, then everything changes. Sinners can be made clean. Enemies of God can be made His friends. The dead can be given new life. When Jesus said "It is finished", He was really just getting started. He still seeks and saves the lost today.
