WHY PSALM 22?

To become a Rabbi in Israel, one had to have so studied the Scriptures that when tested by being given a specific verse of God’s Word, they could recite what came before and what came after. In fact, the way that Rabbis argued theologically about the interpretation of a text. They would use a means called “remez”. The word means “hinting” because in the question posed by a Rabbin was his opinion. They would then be answered by the other Rabbis with other questions. Discussions then were questions answered by a question and each question contained the belief or perspective of the Rabbi posing the question.

When discussing this way, as one Rabbi posed their question with a verse or part of a verse from the Old Testament texts, the whole context would immediately come to mind in the listening Rabbis. All it took was one verse and a whole chunk of the biblical text was brought to the forefront of their thinking.

Matthew and Mark record in their Gospels (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34) that Jesus cried out from the cross these Words, “At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

That is the first verse of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Was Jesus crying out from the Psalms like a good Hebrew would in distress? Possibly, but something much more powerful was actually taking place. Jesus Christ, from the cross in all-consuming agony, speaks from the Word of God a sentence that would have caused the whole of Psalm 22 to come to mind in the Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the Law. Jesus “nailed” them to the Word of God that, 300 years prior described crucifixion before it was invented and revealed before their eyes, the very things transpiring at hand that they were participating in!

Psalm 22:7-8 “⁷ Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
⁸ “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the LORD save him! If the LORD loves him so much, let the LORD rescue him!”

Mark 15:29-31 “²⁹ The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. ³⁰ Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!” ³¹ The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but He can’t save himself! ³² Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe Him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.

Psalm 22:12-18 “¹² My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls; fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in! ¹³ Like lions they open their jaws against me, roaring and tearing into their prey.
¹⁴ My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. ¹⁵ My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. ¹⁶ My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. ¹⁷ I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. ¹⁸ They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.”

Matthew 27:35-36, “³⁵ After they had nailed Him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice. ³⁶ Then they sat around and kept guard as He hung there.

 

Gentiles were called “dogs” by the Jews. When a person was crucified, they were hanging by nails with no other support. Gravity would pull their bones out of joint. Because of the brutal scourging, the loss of blood to near the point of death, the mouth of the crucified felt like a desert. Their tongue would stick to the roof of their mouth. It is all there, written down and the religious leaders were slapped in the face and pierced to the heart to see themselves fulfilling the very Word of God written in Psalm 22.

 

Psalm 22:19-24, “¹⁹ O LORD, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
²⁰ Save me from the sword; spare my precious life from these dogs. ²¹ Snatch me from the lion’s jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen. ²² I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people. ²³ Praise the LORD, all you who fear him! Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel! ²⁴ For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.

 

God saw our desperate need for salvation and our inability to rescue ourselves from the grip and tyranny of our own sin and rebellion. He heard our cry and sent Jesus to die for us and as us.

 

Psalm 22:24-31 ²⁵ I will praise you in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you. ²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. ²⁷ The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. ²⁸ For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations. ²⁹ Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust. ³⁰ Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. ³¹ His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done.”

 

The rest of the Psalm declares that the death of Jesus Christ on a Roman cross was not the end. What Jesus had promised, vowed, would come to pass three days later; He rose from the dead defeating sin, death, hell, and the grave. The salvation of God had been accomplished for all time and eternity. The whole earth would be affected. Every knee would one day bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; all to God’s glory. Through the church, generations to come, yet unborn would hear of the wonders of the Lord, His righteous acts, everything He had done through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

 

God was so gracious to the religious leaders of Israel that as Jesus Christ was nailed to that cross, Jesus would speak and nail them to the Word of God so that they would see clearly what they were doing. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both members of the Jewish High Council let that Word pierce their hearts and change them forever. Tragically, most of the religious leaders refused to let what they saw and heard soften or change their stone-hard hearts.

 

Please do not harden your hearts. Believe, repent, and be saved.