Psalm 22

When we read this Psalm we have no trouble connecting it with the death of our Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary.  Psalm 22 is a Psalm of David.  He wrote by the inspiration of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.  David may have thought he was writing of his own trials and tribulations but if he did think that it was only in some symbolic ways that he referred to himself.  For the great Son of David, the One who will rule forever on David’s throne, these words are literal.  And hundreds of years before it was invented as a cruel form of execution, David described Jesus’ crucifixion.  Note some of the many connections.

Psa. 22	The Gospels
1: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?	Mt. 27:46
6-8: the ridicule; He trusted in the LORD; let Him rescue Him	Mt. 27:39-44
10: From My mother’s womb You have been My God	Lk. 1:35
14: a perfect description of someone being crucified
15: the extreme thirst involved in crucifixion	Jn. 19:28
16: They pierced My hands and My feet	Mt. 27:35
17: They look and stare at Me	Lk. 23:27,35
18: They divide My garments … for My clothing they cast lots	Mt. 27:35

 Again, David, by the Holy Spirit, is describing something in great detail that he has never seen.  And he certainly could not have known what was meant in v21 when the Messiah says, You have answered Me.  The answer of the Father was the resurrection and then all the other exaltations involved in giving the Messiah a name above all names.  It is through the fulfillment of this prophecy, the cross of Christ, that the descendents of Jacob will glorify God (v23) and all the families of the nations shall worship before Him (v27).

Now let us not fail to see the end of the Psalm.  A posterity shall serve Him.  Both for Israel and for the nations to worship the Lord they must hear of the event described in Psalm 22.  Someone must declare His righteousness to these future generations that He has done this.  Today the gospel is going out to the nations more and more; this is the work of Christ through His Body, the Church.  In the future Israel will be saved when they hear the righteousness of God declared through faithful witnesses. 

Paul was doing this when he said: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17).

Psalm 22 gives an amazingly detailed picture of the cross of Christ as well as the opening up of salvation to all who believe after the resurrection of Christ.  Apart from the suffering of the Savior there is nothing to declare.  Again we see something of the Father’s grace and mercy in the cross of His Son.  Praise Him!