TEXT: Psalm 16

SUBJECT: Christ in the Old Testament #19: Risen Indeed!

Today, with God’s blessing, we’ll continue our study of Christ in the Old Testament. Last time, looking at Psalm 15, we saw the only Man Who’s good enough for God. Only one person deserves to go to heaven. And that’s Jesus Christ! If you go to heaven when you die, it won’t be because of the life you lived for Christ, but because of the life Christ lived for you.

You receive His benefits through faith alone. Faith is not a super-work (better than giving to the poor, for example, or preaching the Gospel). Faith is an anti-work. It’s doing nothing for God, but merely taking what God has done for you in Christ.

We get to heaven on the coattails of Jesus Christ. When God asks, "What are you doing here?", you can only point to His Son and say, "I’m with Him".

Only Jesus Christ

That’s what Psalm 15 is about—Christ going to heaven. Psalm 16 tells us how He got there.

But, before it gets to that, it says some other things about our Lord.

The Psalm opens with a scream,

The Lord is scared. What’s He afraid of? We can’t say for sure, but if you’ve read the Gospels, you know there were plenty of things to scare Him.

You probably had scary moments as a kid. But did a king ever send an army to town to kill you? Herod the Great did just that to the Lord.

At one time, he was part of a hated minority. A black friend told me some rednecks once tried to kill him. I am him how he felt: "Scared". In Egypt, the Lord had His rednecks too.

Later, of course, he had the lawyers to deal with. Has an attorney ever called you with a few questions? They had plenty for Christ.

Finally, He stood before a crooked judge who condemned Him, corrupt soldiers who beat Him, and a cross with His Name written on it (in three languages).

The Lord Jesus Christ is a Real Man. And was subject to all the fears of the human race. In the Garden that night, He was so distraught that He

His problems are so many and so grave that there’s no way He can wiggle out of them; His family can’t help, His friends are useless. So, having no one else to turn to, He cries to The Rock that is Higher than I,

What kind of Man cries out to God for help?

RELIGION

A good man, of course. And more than "good". He begins by telling us something about His religion.

All His life Jesus Christ has trusted God. Psalm 22:9-10 says,

He trusts the Lord. But that’s not all. He seeks the Lord,

The words have been taken in different ways. I think they mean Jesus Christ seeks nothing more than God; The Lord is His Chief Good. It recalls Psalm 73:25,

Because God’s fellowship matters most to Him, the Lord is satisfied with it. Of earthly goods, He’s got nothing—"The Son of Man has no place to lay His head".

But that’s all right with Him. He’s content having God,

The imagery looks back to the conquest of Canaan and dividing up the land among the Twelve Tribes. Ah, make that Eleven! For one Tribe got no land! Look all you want on you Bible maps and you’ll never find the Tribe of Levi. Why not? Were they cheated? Did God shortchange them? No. Just the opposite. They had a better lot than anyone else!

Jesus Christ is satisfied. Having nothing of the world, He has everything. Because He has God.

He’s more than content; He’s down right jubilant!

LIFE

A man’s religion affects His life. If it doesn’t, "That man’s religion is vain"(cf. James 1:26).

What does the Lord’s religion do for Him?

It makes Him love God’s people,

Devotion to God makes a man admire and love God’s People. He enjoys their company; He sees God in them.

The Lord’s religion also makes Him hate sin and avoid those who love it.

Idolatry was abhorrent to the Lord. And not only the crass idolatry of worshiping icons and so on. But the deeper idolatries too. The worship of self, the worship of popularity, the worship ease, the love of money, and so on.

Though He wasn’t cruel to sinners, He wanted no part of them as long as they stubbornly held on to their sins. Read the Gospels and you’ll find a Man who comforted penitent harlots and tax collectors, but was rough on the Hypocrites who wouldn’t turn from their evil ways.

This is the kind of Man our Lord Jesus Christ was. And is. He’s a Man fully devoted to God and to His People, (cf. John 8:29, 13:1).

What a perfect balance He struck! The Man who tore into Peter for hindering Him from doing God’s will is the same Man who washed Peter’s feet! There is no contradiction between loving God with all your heart, soul and mind and Loving your neighbor as yourself. In fact, the former will produce the latter.

This is the Lord’s character.

But isn’t it strange that this kind of Man should have problems? You’d think God would watch over Him so carefully that He wouldn’t have a care in the world!

If you’ve ever thought this way, then let me tell you: You’re not the first. Someone else thought He should jump from the roof the Temple because, after all,

If God loves you, He won’t even let you stub your toe, no less, splatter on the sidewalk!

But the Lord knew better. He read His own writings! One of them said (Psalm 34:19),

Many other verses say, illustrate, or imply the same thing.

Jesus Christ is the Perfect Man, but being good never exempted anyone from the troubles of life. See Job, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, Stephen, Paul, and others for proof.

Do you expect your goodness to keep you out of trouble? Many Christians do. A lot of men think if they’re good husbands, their wives will never have "one of those days". Or, if they work hard, they can’t lose their jobs. Or, if they’re quiet and helpful in the neighborhood, everyone will just love them to pieces!

That’s not the way it works! Job 5:7 says,

If you see a campfire, you’ll see sparks going up. If you see a man, you’ll see trouble on the way. That’s the way it works. The world is under the curse of God, and until it’s removed, you’ll have your problems.

Holiness does not guarantee a carefree life.

The Lord had a lot of problems and they were all big ones!

But they didn’t shake His hope in God. The worst thing that ever happened to Him was that He died. But when His body went limp, His hope remained firm.

They took the Lord’s body down from the cross—dead. They put it in a rich man’s tomb—dead. There it lay for three days and three nights—dead.

But on Sunday Morning, God raised His body from the dead, put His Spirit back into it…

And now, in Body and Soul, Jesus Christ is enjoying a Happiness Unimaginable!

His every tear has been wiped away! Right now, He’s

The God He trusted was faithful…unto death. And beyond.

This means your problems, no matter how terrible they are—or how multiplied—are not final or fatal. They hurt you, but they don’t ruin you. They kill you, but they don’t kill your hope.

For believers—all believers—have been, I Peter 1:3,

Death does not have the Last Word. God does! Man’s first and last enemy will one day be shattered by the Resurrection! The resurrection of Christ was not unique. It was the first of its kind, but not the last!

If God can raise Christ from the dead and give Him an Infinite Happiness, He can do the same for you.

And not only "can" He do it, He will do it for every believer.

This means you’ve got to obey Psalm 131:3,

The love of God be with you. Amen.