Easter Advent Day 3: A Psalm From the Cross Part 1

Then I said, "Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. Psalm 40:7

And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. Luke 24:25-27

 Psalm 22 is one of those chapters in the Bible that makes you wonder how it was possible for anyone after the Resurrection to miss the fact that Jesus was the One spoken of in this passage, as well as other Old Testament passages with prophecy. Psalm 22  makes you feel like someone was standing at the foot of the cross as an eyewitness, reporting on the things they were seeing and hearing happen, instead of it being a Psalm written by Jesus' ancestor King David over a thousand years before the crucifixion. There are many of David's Psalms that have prophecy in them, but this one could be called the Psalm from the Cross. David was prophesying about his descendant, his Lord, as He hung on the Cross. The whole Psalm can be seen from the perspective of the Cross, but today we will focus on some of the key prophecies in the passage and their fulfillment or what they meant. It would be wonderful for each of us to read the whole Psalm with a heart of prayer, praise, reverence, and thanksgiving.

The Psalm:
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. - Psa 22:1

The Fulfillment on the Cross:
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" - Mat 27:46 

I cannot fathom what this must have been like for Jesus. I can't even begin to imagine what was going on, or the depths of His sorrow and grief,  as He hung on the cross forsaken for us. The significance of how Jesus addresses God as He hung there must not to be missed. Jesus always addressed God as "Father" when He was speaking to Him or about Him. Even as a twelve year old boy in the Temple, He asked His mother, "Did you not know I would be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). But not this time. This time He does not call God "Father." He calls Him "God". For our sake - an eternal relationship was broken for the first time in eternity when Jesus became sin on our behalf. He had taken this upon Himself. In order to reconcile us to God, to bring us to a place where we could call God "Father," Jesus had to come to a place where He could not call Him Father, but had to call Him "God". I will never be able to  comprehend what this was like for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit during this time of broken communion with one another. It will not be until we see Him face to face that facets of the atonement and the cross will become more clear to us, but this is one of the things I don't think we will EVER be able to emotionally, spiritually, or physically comprehend the depths of. Just what I can comprehend, makes me want to weep with thankfulness.
  
The Psalm:
But I am a worm and not a man. Psalm 22:6a 
There is so much packed in this little portion of Scripture, it will be explored in a post of its own.   

The Psalm: 
A reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, wag their head, saying, "Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him. Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him." Psalm 22:6b-8 

The Fulfillment on The Cross:
And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build [it] in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross." - Mat 27:40 

"He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.' " - Mat 27:42-43 

The Psalm:
Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong [bulls] of Bashan have encircled me. They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion. - Psa 22:12-13 

This also needs a post of its own, but to summarize, these verses point back to elements from the Old Testament that let us know there were spiritual forces of darkness present at the crucifixion unlike anything we can imagine. Imagine what it would have been like on that day when the enemy thought he had accomplished killing Jesus and had won. The enemy thought it was only a matter of time before he could consume and devour.  

The Psalm:
I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. - Psa 22:14 NASB

The Fulfillment at the Arrest and Crucifixion:
Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck [Him] with the palms of their hands, - Mat 26:67 

Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, - Luke 22:63 

Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. - Jhn 19:1
 
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. - Jhn 19:34



The Psalm:
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. - Psa 22:15 NASB

The Fulfillment on The Cross:
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put [it] on hyssop, and put [it] to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. - Jhn 19:28-30 

The Psalm:
I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; - Psa 22:17

The Fulfillment During His Trials:
Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified. - Mat 27:26 

The Psalm:
They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots. - Psa 22:18 

The Fulfillment at the Cross:
Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." - Mat 27:35


Psalm 22 is not the only Messianic prophecy in Scripture. There are hundreds of prophecies in Scripture that foretell the birth, life, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus. The Old Testament is full of these prophecies that tell us about the coming Redeemer. It is so awesome, and I am in awe of our God who laid out in advance what would happen down to the smallest of details, and then told people about it in advance. What confidence and trust we can have in Him, and in our Redeemer, our Lord Jesus. We have such awesome security in knowing there is NOTHING blind about our faith. It is built on a solid foundation of truth and actual events, real people, and most importantly THE LIVING GOD. Our Holy God laid out the end from the beginning, and we can see His plan and promises laid out and then being fulfilled in His Word. Prophecy is like God's built in validation system. We can have such confidence that He is Who He says He is, and we can trust He will accomplish what He says He will. His track record is perfect so far!

 I pray that as we continue to look to Resurrection Sunday and our planned celebrations with family, we will keep our focus fully on the One who is worthy of our praise and worship. and what He has done for us and who He is in our day to day, not just our times of remembrance and celebration.