Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
Back by popular demand is the fourth and last “Psalm Summer.” Then, when the frost is on the pumpkin, and if you want this series to intermittently continue as “Psalm Fall,” “Psalm Autumn,” or “Psalm Fourth Quarter,” please comment or email.
Also, review Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 for a light summer reading. I felt called to write Part 4 about Psalm 22 after a verse was quoted in church. Due to its 31-verse length, the entire Psalm will not be requoted, so please read it here.
Psalm 22 is best known for its opening question cried out by Jesus on the cross:
“‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?’” (Psalm 22:1). Matthew's gospel records Jesus’s last moments of suffering:
“From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli,lemasabachthani?’ (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) (Matthew 27: 45-46). And from Mark’s gospel:
“At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)” (Mark 15:33-34).
Both accounts were requoted because I wanted to stress their similarity. Usually, most gospel verses describing the same event often record or emphasize different aspects, but these two are practically identical. That said, what was the significance of Jesus quoting Psalm 22 before his death?
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The answer is twofold. First are the personal circumstances surrounding David, the writer, and David as a Messianic prophet. Let’s examine the beginning:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest” (Psalm 22: 1-2).
David’s tumultuous life was filled with highs and lows — some self-inflicted. (See Vol. 99.) In anguish while writing Psalm 22, David prayed to God about feeling abandoned. Have you ever felt abandoned by God? If yes, you know it is a disheartening state of mind. The truth is God never abandons us, but He allows tragic or challenging circumstances to occur that test our faith and every fiber of our being. Then, later in His time (sometimes MUCH later), believers often understand why these trials happened or were necessary in the context of St. Paul’s explanation, “all things work..”:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Believers also know that for our sake, Jesus suffered and died on the cross. Then, three days later, he would defeat death through His Resurrection, offering us redemption, salvation from sin, and eternal life with Him for those who believe. Let’s proceed with the following three verses of Psalm 22, written 1,000 years before the birth of Christ:
“Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”
Is David channeling Jesus the Messiah? It sure reads like that. First, David writes that God has abandoned him, asking God why he was being forsaken, and then, “My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer.” However, now David proclaims this suffering servant has a title: “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises,” Therefore, most assuredly, David was not writing about himself because David was humble and knew he was not “the Holy One.”
Indeed, Psalm 22 is a Messianic prophecy because, through Jesus’s suffering on the cross and subsequent Resurrection, He redeemed Israel and the world. Furthermore, since Jesus quoted the first sentence of Psalm 22, He was sending a message about His identity to the Jewish leaders who were familiar with this Psalm.
Continuing with Psalm 22, the following three verses record more prophecy, mirroring the mocking that Jesus experienced on the cross:
“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. ‘He trusts in the Lord,’ they say, let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him since he delights in him” (Psalm 22: 6-8).
Mirroring the previous Psalm verses, read how Mark’s gospel reports the crowd's reaction to Jesus on the cross:
“They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!’ In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’ Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him” (Mark 15:27-32).
It is truly profound that David’s 1000-year-old Psalm foretold the crowd mocking Jesus while hanging on the cross. Now, we skip to Psalm 22, verses 13 –18, for another prophetic description of what Jesus experienced on the cross that sounds like Jesus is narrating in real-time:
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment” (Psalm 22: 13-18).
Do you believe God guided David’s hand to write about the future Messiah in Psalm 22? I hope this brief study has inspired you to learn more. I think Psalm 22 was a Messianic prophecy, another example of how the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament.
Amen to that!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” with the same title, reprints Vols. 57-113. Order it here.
Myra is also a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. She is the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit, dedicated to building a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C. The National Shroud of Turin Exhibit recently hosted a four-day exhibit with a VIP guest at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, IN. Contact: <MyraAdams01@gmail.com>
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