Lesson 14 – The Messiah’s Mistreatment, Part 1

“… He humbled Himself, and took mortality upon Him. As a member of the human family, He was mortal; but as a God, He was the fountain of life to the world. He could, in His divine person, ever have withstood the advances of death, and refused to come under its dominion; but He voluntarily laid down His life, that in so doing He might give life and bring immortality to light. He bore the sins of the world, and endured the penalty, which rolled like a mountain upon His divine soul. He yielded up His life a sacrifice, that man should not eternally die. He died, not through being compelled to die, but by His own free will. This was humility. The whole treasure of heaven was poured out in one gift to save fallen man. He brought into His human nature all the life-giving energies that human beings will need and must receive.” –(Review and Herald, September 4, 1900) Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1127.

1. According to the prophetic psalm, what exclamation of severe anguish would come from the lips of the suffering, dying Messiah? Receiving no answer from His Father, did He stop praying? What made it possible for Him to endure that most terrible hour?

Psalm 22:1-3 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 2O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

“It was to redeem us that Jesus lived and suffered and died. He became ‘a Man of Sorrows,’ that we might be made partakers of everlasting joy. God permitted His beloved Son, full of grace and truth, to come from a world of indescribable glory, to a world marred and blighted with sin, darkened with the shadow of death and the curse. He permitted Him to leave the bosom of His love, the adoration of the angels, to suffer shame, insult, humiliation, hatred, and death. ‘The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.’ Isaiah 53:5. Behold Him in the wilderness, in Gethsemane, upon the cross! The spotless Son of God took upon Himself the burden of sin. He who had been one with God, felt in His soul the awful separation that sin makes between God and man…. It was the burden of sin, the sense of its terrible enormity, of its separation of the soul from God–it was this that broke the heart of the Son of God.” –Steps to Christ, p. 13

SELF-AWARENESS WHILE SURROUNDED BY CONTEMPT

2. Although the Saviour was the Son of God, how did He consider Himself? What did He endure? How does a person naturally feel when he is despised?

Psalm 22:4-7 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 5They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.

Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Mark 15:29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days.

“Yet this glorious Being loved the poor sinner and took upon Himself the form of a servant, that He might suffer and die in man’s behalf. Jesus might have remained at His Father’s right hand, wearing His kingly crown and royal robes. But He chose to exchange all the riches, honor, and glory of heaven for the poverty of humanity, and His station of high command for the horrors of Gethsemane and the humiliation and agony of Calvary. He became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, that by His baptism of suffering and blood He might purify and redeem a guilty world. ‘Lo, I come,’ was the joyful assent, ‘to do Thy will, O My God.’” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 121.

3. Did His critics believe that the Messiah would truly trust in God, not in men? With what disparaging expressions did they speak of Him, viewing Him as weak and in need of help?

Psalm 22:8-11 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. 9But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. 10I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly. 11Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

Matthew 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

“In their mockery of the Saviour, the men who professed to be the expounders of prophecy were repeating the very words which Inspiration had foretold they would utter upon this occasion. Yet in their blindness they did not see that they were fulfilling the prophecy. Those who in derision uttered the words, ‘He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He said, I am the Son of God,’ little thought that their testimony would sound down the ages. But although spoken in mockery, these words led men to search the Scriptures as they had never done before. Wise men heard, searched, pondered, and prayed. There were those who never rested until, by comparing scripture with scripture, they saw the meaning of Christ’s mission. Never before was there such a general knowledge of Jesus as when He hung upon the cross. Into the hearts of many who beheld the crucifixion scene, and who heard Christ’s words, the light of truth was shining.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 749.

AS PREY IN THE MOUTHS OF LIONS

4. What image did the psalmist use to describe those who sided against Jesus? How vividly did His words to His disciples depict His state of mind as He passed through one terrible event after another?

Psalm 22:12-14 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. 13They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

Matthew 26:3, 4, 38 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him…. 38Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

“There stood the Son of God, wearing the robe of mockery and the crown of thorns. Stripped to the waist, His back showed the long, cruel stripes, from which the blood flowed freely. His face was stained with blood, and bore the marks of exhaustion and pain; but never had it appeared more beautiful than now. The Saviour’s visage was not marred before His enemies. Every feature expressed gentleness and resignation and the tenderest pity for His cruel foes. In His manner there was no cowardly weakness, but the strength and dignity of longsuffering. In striking contrast was the prisoner at His side. Every line of the countenance of Barabbas proclaimed him the hardened ruffian that he was. The contrast spoke to every beholder. Some of the spectators were weeping. As they looked upon Jesus, their hearts were full of sympathy. Even the priests and rulers were convicted that He was all that He claimed to be.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 735.

5. What did the prophetic psalm portray about the physical weakness and thirst that the Messiah would suffer?

Psalm 22:15 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.

John 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

“The mission of Christ’s earthly life was now nearly accomplished. His tongue was parched, and He said, ‘I thirst.’ They saturated a sponge with vinegar and gall, and offered it Him to drink; and when He had tasted it, he refused it. And now the Lord of life and glory was dying, a ransom for the race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.” –The Story of Redemption, p. 224.

HIS WOUNDS

6. To what wounds inflicted by the Messiah’s executioners did prophecy draw attention?

Psalm 22:16, 17 For dogs have com- passed me: the assembly of the wick- ed have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

Zachariah 13:6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have

“In the sufferings of Christ upon the cross prophecy was fulfilled. Centuries before the crucifixion, the Saviour had foretold the treatment He was to receive. He said, ‘Dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced 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.’ Psalm 22:16-18.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 746. “The enemies of Jesus awaited His death with impatient hope. That event they imagined would forever hush the rumors of His divine power and the wonders of His miracles. They flattered themselves that they would then no longer tremble because of His influence.” –The Present Truth, January 21, 1886.

7. How accurate was the prophecy concerning what would happen to His clothing? What are we moved to exclaim in view of the great divine wisdom that told ahead of time in minute detail what would happen to the world’s Redeemer?

Psalm 22:18-21 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 19But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. 20Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. 21Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

Mark 15:24 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.

John 19:23, 24 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

Revelation 15:3 Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Al- mighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

“The prophecy concerning His garments was carried out without counsel or interference from the friends or the enemies of the Crucified One. To the soldiers who had placed Him upon the cross, His clothing was given. Christ heard the men’s contention as they parted the garments among them. His tunic was woven throughout without seam, and they said, ‘Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.’” –Christ Triumphant, p. 278.

FOR ADDITIONAL STUDY

“Of the suffering Saviour Jehovah Himself declared through Zechariah, ‘Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My Fellow.’ Zechariah 13:7. As the substitute and surety for sinful man, Christ was to suffer under divine justice. He was to understand what justice meant. He was to know what it means for sinners to stand before God without an intercessor.” –Prophets and Kings, p. 691.

“If the sufferings of Christ consisted in physical pain alone, then His death was no more painful than that of some of the martyrs. But bodily pain was but a small part of the agony of God’s dear Son. The sins of the world were upon Him, also the sense of His Father’s wrath as He suffered the penalty of the law transgressed. It was these that crushed His divine soul…. The separation that sin makes between God and man was fully realized and keenly felt by the innocent, suffering Man of Calvary. He was oppressed by the powers of darkness. He had not one ray of light to brighten the future…. It was in this terrible hour of darkness, the face of His Father hidden, legions of evil angels enshrouding Him, the sins of the world upon Him, that the words were wrenched from His lips: ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’” –God’s Amazing Grace, p. 171.