RBV: Psalm 22:1

I wrote this essay, “The Prophecy in Psalm 22,” for CGG Weekly on April 19, 2024.

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?”
— Psalm 22:1

Most people who are familiar with the Old Testament know that, as Jesus Christ hung on the stake (Greek stauros, “any kind of wooden pole”) about to die, He cried out, “‘Eloi, Eloi, lama Sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'” (Mark 15:34; see Matthew 27:46). Our Savior is quoting Scripture, Psalm 22:1, drawing attention both to His fulfillment of David’s prophecy in that verse and to a significant spiritual event, the Father placing the totality of humanity’s sins upon Him. In just a few minutes, Jesus would die, paying the penalty for those sins with His blood.

While Psalm 22:1 may be the best-known of that psalm’s Messianic prophecies, it is not the only one. Psalm 22 is the most extensive Messianic prophecy in Psalms, rivaling Isaiah 53 in describing the sacrifice of the Suffering Servant. Apparently, King David wrote this psalm as a description of his own terrible sufferings at the hands of rivals. From a New Testament standpoint, however, it is almost exclusively focused on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It reflects His thoughts and emotions in the last moments before His death.

The gospels—particularly in the crucifixion accounts in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19—directly quote or allude to several of this psalm’s verses. It is so clearly Messianic—and the fulfillments so obvious—that it requires little commentary. In fact, some commentators wonder if David was prophesying directly about his greater Descendant, as the descriptions are difficult to place in David’s biblically well-documented life.

The gospel record of Christ’s crucifixion notes the fulfillment of seven distinct prophecies from Psalm 22.

1. Psalm 22:1 – “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me,” mentioned above, appears in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. Psalm 22:2 may allude to His crying out to God in both the daytime (during His crucifixion) and nighttime of that Passover day (in the Garden of Gethsemane; Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-41; Luke 22:39-46).
2. Psalm 22:6 – “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.” The entire paragraph of Matthew 27:39-44 provides examples of people’s reproach and despising of Him (see also Mark 15:29-32; Luke 23:35). Even the criminals hanged with Him reviled Him (Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39).
3. Psalm 22:7 – “All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head . . ..” This verse focuses on ridicule, which includes the mocking by the Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:1-3), Jesus’ Jewish guards (Matthew 26:67-68; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:63-65), and Herod’s guards (Luke 23:11).
4. Psalm 22:8 – “He has trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” David gives an example of what the mockers would say, and indeed, some passersby, chief priests, scribes, and elders of the Jews said near-exact versions of it during His crucifixion (see Matthew 27:39-44; Luke 23:35-37).
5. Psalm 22:15 – “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws . . ..” The apostle John, in particular, notes the necessary fulfillment of this detail of Jesus’ great thirst: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all the things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!'” (John 19:28; see also Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36).
6. Psalm 22:16 – “They pierced My hands and My feet.” The gospel writers record “they crucified Him” or a similar phrase (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24-25; Luke 23:33; John 19:20, 23). At the time of this psalm’s composition, crucifixion was not a common form of execution; a death that included the piercing of hands and feet would have been strange to David’s contemporaries. (Greek historian Herodotus knew of it as a Persian execution method in the early fifth century BC but disapproved of its use.) The Romans adopted it as a ghastly deterrent, as it was a slow, grisly, agonizing (excruciating is literally “out of crucifying,” describing the extreme pain of crucifixion), humiliating, and public way to die. Normally, the executioner would drive nails into the wrists or hands and the feet, usually through the heel. After Jesus’ resurrection, Luke and John mention that He showed His disciples His hands and feet (Luke 24:40; John 20:20, 24-27), confirming He had been crucified and fulfilled Psalm 22:16.
7. Psalm 22:18 – “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” All the gospel writers mention this detail (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24), although John expands on it more than the synoptic writers:

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says, “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

John ensures the reader understands how the soldiers fulfilled both parts of the prophecy. They divided His garments equally among themselves (probably shoes or sandals, turban, girdle or belt, and outer robe), but they threw dice or somehow cast lots for His well-made, likely linen tunic (Greek chitōn, “shirt worn next to the skin,” “a loose-fitting undergarment”; “a garment fitting loosely from shoulder to knee or ankle.”).

Without a doubt, the details of the gospels fit seamlessly with the prophetic psalm.

The psalm pivots on the final sentence of verse 21: “You have answered Me.” The irony of God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer for deliverance is that He must die to save all others. God’s will, seen in His magnificent plan of salvation, was done, costing Jesus Christ everything. The Son of God had to die so God could call others to become His sons and live.

The psalm’s second half, Psalm 22:22-31, focuses on the results of the Messiah’s suffering. Even though the Jews had Him killed to silence Him, their efforts ultimately came to nothing because His crucifixion magnified and multiplied the spread of His teachings through the work of His disciples. He tells His disciples this very thing in John 14:12: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Eventually, all the world will turn to God (Psalm 22:27), and the King of kings and Lord of lords will rule over all nations in His Kingdom (Psalm 22:28). The following verse, Psalm 22:29, hints at the second resurrection, while Psalm 22:30-31 prophesy that those He leaves behind after His death will serve Him by telling His story, not just to the next generation, but to all coming generations, to everyone yet to be born.

Psalm 22 poignantly reminds us of what Jesus endured to become our Passover Lamb and our Atonement for sin. But all that suffering, as terrible as it was, is overshadowed by victory and glory, which He will gladly bestow upon us if we, too, endure to the end (Matthew 24:13).