A Closer Look At Psalm 22

(June 3, 2007) More About Psalm 22
I wrote about Psalm 22...specifically, the seven last statements of Jesus while on the cross. Psalm 22 is such an amazing chapter, that I decided to stay on that subject longer. As most of you already know, the Bible is separated into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament contains the Law, the 10 Commandments, and the sacrificial system that went along with the Law. The New Testament began a new sacrificial system. It discusses the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and how all of those have created a new sacrificial system for us all. In Galatians, Paul writes to us about the purpose of the Law:

19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Galatians 3:19-25 (NKJV)

To us, the sacrificial system seems archaic, but it was God's way of giving us forgiveness of sin. Even as far back as the first book of the Bible, Genesis, God covered sin with the spilling of innocent blood. When Adam and Eve sinned, God sent them from the Garden of Eden, but first He gave us a model of what was to come.

21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 3:21-24 (NKJV)

It doesn't tell us what kind of animal God killed to make the tunics for Adam and Eve, but it doesn't take a professor of logic to decipher that it would have been an unblemished male lamb, a ram. Why do I think this? Because later in the Book of Genesis, another father was asked by God to sacrifice his son on the same spot where years later Jesus would die on the cross. That is the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22. These two models in the Old Testament are also tutors for us of what was to come. When Jesus died on the cross, He was sacrificed for our sins. He was unblemished, having committed no sins, and was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. It was the only way for our sins to be covered by the spilling of a man's innocent blood, as Jesus was the only innocent man to ever live. He was the only One without sin. He was brutally sacrificed. Remember, salvation is a free gift, but by no means did it come cheaply. The cost was one we will not grasp until we stand in front of Jesus, and even then, I doubt we will ever fully grasp it all.
As I was saying, the Old Testament shows us the specifics of the Law, but there are places in the Old Testament where we see more about the life and death of Jesus than in the New Testament. Psalm 22 is one of those places. Many of the verses I touched on in the last blog entry, but others seemed to slip through the cracks. Instead of letting that happen, I will comment on those here. In verse 2, we see that Jesus cried day and night. Why? He knew what He came to do. He knew how difficult it would be. And He knew that those He came to save would reject Him. He was heartbroken.
Verse 3, 4 and 5 highlight that He came to save the Israelites.

"Our Fathers trusted in You; They trusted and You delivered them."

This Psalm was written by King David, and his fathers were Jewish people of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

6 But I am a worm, and no man;A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
Psalms 22:6 (NKJV)

I think this is an interesting juxtaposition. In Genesis, Satan was a snake, who caused Adam and Eve (and the rest of us) to fall into sin. Jesus is described as being a worm, and no man. Think of the attributes of a worm. I can't think of a creature in a lower form, crawling on its belly in the dirt. That is the same as a snake, and we know God punished the serpent by taking away its ability to walk for causing Adam and Eve's sin. But how is a worm different from a snake? A snake bites, but a worm has no bite, even if you step on it by mistake. Jesus had no bite! He did nothing wrong, and still, was a reproach of men and despised by the people. We discussed verse 7 in the last statements of Jesus on the cross, in another blog.

8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"
Psalms 22:8 (NKJV)

For those of you who don't believe in the triune nature of God, or have trouble comprehending it, this verse might lose you. Try reading it this way:
"Jesus trusted in God the Father, let God the Father rescue Jesus; Let God the Father deliver Jesus, since God the Father delights in Jesus."
Don't get lost in the pronouns. God the Father could have rescued Jesus. Jesus could have rescued Jesus, but never forget, as much as God delights in Jesus, He also delights in us, and without the death of our Lord on the cross, there was no relationship for us with God! I discussed verses 9 and 10 in the previous blog, too.

11 Be not far from Me,For trouble is near;For there is none to help.12 Many bulls have surrounded Me;Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.13 They gape at Me with their mouths,Like a raging and roaring lion.
Psalms 22:11-13 (NKJV)

Jesus knew that trouble was near. It was approaching Him for most of His ministry, as the Pharisees kept trying to lay hands on Him to harm Him. God kept allowing Jesus to escape as "His time had not yet come." At the cross, His time had come, and the bulls of Bashan have encircled Him. Bashan was east of the Jordan River. This fertile land of giants was known for the physical strength of its people. What a great description of the people crucifying our Lord (Us!) as being like raging and roaring lions. They wanted to tear Him to pieces, and once again, He could have rescued Himself from the lion's den as He rescued Daniel!

14 I am poured out like water,And all My bones are out of joint;My heart is like wax;It has melted within Me.
Psalms 22:14 (NKJV)

Take a bucket of water and it has many uses. You can drink from the bucket. You can wash in it. You can carry it anywhere you want. But if you empty the contents of that bucket by pouring it out upon the ground it seeps away and has only one use. It can water the seeds. Jesus felt like that water, though His life continues to water the seeds in our lives even to this day. His bones were all out of joint. They had beaten Him so badly, that I'm sure every part of His body hurt. Crucifixion was devised as the most painful death imaginable. His heart was like wax. His heart was broken, melted, soft. Our Savior's heart is still soft to this day. He loves us so much. Verse 15 is in the last blog's discussion.

16 For dogs have surrounded Me;The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.They pierced My hands and My feet;17 I can count all My bones.They look and stare at Me.
Psalms 22:16-17 (NKJV)

How can anyone look at this verse and not see Jesus? "They pierced My hands and My feet." When Jews read this Scripture, they attribute this to David, thinking He is speaking figuratively of a great difficulty in His life. They are right, but the Holy Spirit had a much greater purpose in this verse, seeing Jesus many years in advance. Jesus could count all His bones, and could probably see most of them, as His skin was no longer covering them. In Isaiah 53, we see that none of those bones were broken. They stared at Him, naked on the cross, in an attempt at the worst humiliation.

18 They divide My garments among them,And for My clothing they cast lots.
Psalms 22:18 (NKJV)

The Roman soldiers cast lots for His clothing. I have stood in the Antonio Fortress in Jerusalem where the games these Roman soldiers played so often are etched into the stone. The stone used to be outdoors and now is indoors--you can tell by the striations on the rock to prevent slipping in wet conditions. Another importance of this prophecy is that it involves other people. There are many unbelievers who think that Jesus knew the Bible so well that He merely was acting it out in a self-fulfilling prophecy. So how did He get the soldiers to cast lots, involving them in the "conspiracy?" Crucifixion didn't even exist when the Psalm was written, describing the piercing of his hands and feet. I guess for many people, it is harder to believe the truth for that would involve believing in a God who will judge their sin. Many people believe Jesus was a good man who walked the earth, but don't believe in Him as God. Really, if you have any logic in your brain, it is one way or another. Either He is who He says He is, or He was a raving lunatic! He claimed many times to be God! He made those claims because He is God!

19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;O My Strength, hasten to help Me!20 Deliver Me from the sword,My precious life from the power of the dog.21 Save Me from the lion's mouthAnd from the horns of the wild oxen!You have answered Me.22 I will declare Your name to My brethren;In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him!All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
Psalms 22:19-23 (NKJV)

Jesus is approaching death. He has endured the cross, and all He came to do. He is thinking about His restoration to glory. Don't ever forget, He voluntarily left His place beside God the Father to endure this for us. And though He returns to glory, He retains the wounds for all of eternity. I can only imagine what it will be like to look on the face of our Savior and look on His wounds, the same wounds Thomas put his hands into. They will be the only man-made thing in heaven! Jesus has declared the Father's name to His brethren, to us! Verse 23 highlights God's chosen people, those Jesus came to save. If you forget who the descendants of Jacob are, just remember the name that God gave to Jacob...Israel.

24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;Nor has He hidden His face from Him;But when He cried to Him, He heard.
Psalms 22:24 (NKJV)

This verse tells us that God did hear the cries of Jesus. As I said in the previous blog, both were heartbroken, but it was the only way for us all to have a chance at salvation. There is a similar verse in Isaiah 53, but I think I will talk about that in a blog next week.

25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.Let your heart live forever!27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD,And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.
Psalms 22:25-27 (NKJV)

Jesus speaks of God the Father. The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus. They are all God. It sure isn't about what this world has to offer. Jesus tells us that the poor shall eat and be satisfied. Food that we eat here never satisfies. We are always hungry. He is the Bread of Life and when we taste of the food He has to offer, we will never hunger again. In the Millennium, Jesus will reign on earth and at least in the beginning, every single person on this earth will love Him and worship Him. As children will be born in that time, some of them will choose not to follow Him. That's kind of hard to imagine, if you know Him like I do!

29 All the prosperous of the earthShall eat and worship;All those who go down to the dustShall bow before Him,Even he who cannot keep himself alive.30 A posterity shall serve Him.It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,That He has done this.
Psalms 22:29-31 (NKJV)

We know that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. Who is "Even he who cannot keep himself alive?" I can keep myself alive! Guess how I did it? I asked Jesus into my heart as my Lord and my Savior. Because of that one act, I might know a physical death, but I will never know a spiritual death. Ever heard of being born again? The Bible speaks of it when Jesus teaches Nicodemus. If you have been born twice, you will only die once. If you are only born once, you will die twice. If you have trouble understanding that, email me and I will explain it to you!
Tetelesti! Maranatha!