Key Verses: "All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will
bow down before Him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the
nations."
Psalm 22:27-28
"Posterity will serve Him; future
generations will be told about the Lord.
They proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn for He has done
it."
Psalm 22:30-31
While it is true that this Psalm begins in
anguish, it ends with victory. This is Christ's experience on the cross. He was
forsaken, yet He was victorious over His enemy, satan. Alleluia!
This Psalm describes vividly what Christ
endured on the cross. It is true that David is the original author, but there
are references to sufferings endured by Christ on the cross that David could
not have known. Thus David is prophetic here in his poetry.
In David's day, an execution would have most
likely have been achieved by sword, spear or stoning. Crucifixion was a Roman
invention that would not come along for at least another six or seven
centuries. Yet, David writes, "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men
has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet." (Psalm 22:16)
Hands and feet are pierced by spikes during a crucifixion.
"I can count all my bones;" (Psalm
22:17A) During a crucifixion, because the arms are stretched tightly, bones
would become dislocated as the person was hung in place. The soldiers were not
known for being gentle.
"They divide my garments among them and
cast lots for my clothing." (Psalm 22:18) The gospels record that this did
take place. His clothes were divided among the soldiers, except for the
undergarment, which they cast lots for. Imagine the humiliation of having your
under clothes gambled away as you hang naked, unable to do anything about it.
Can anything take away more dignity than that?
"My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; You lay me in the dust of
death." (Psalm 22:15) Jesus suffered dehydration, heat, pain, humiliation
and loneliness. Can you really claim that He doesn't understand what you are
going through?
"I am a worm and not a man, scorned by
men and despised by the people. All who see Me mock Me; they hurl insults
shaking their heads: "He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue
Him." (Psalm 22:6-8A) Our Lord, a "worm?" When He became our
sin, yes. He is fully God, fully man, and for a brief time, He became what we
are without Him, a worm. "Those who passed by hurled insults at Him,
shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple
and build it in three days, save Yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are
the Son of God." (Matthew
27:39-40) The Psalm prophesies it all.
Yet, just as David was eventually victorious
over Saul and went on to be king of a united Israel, Jesus too is victorious.
The Psalm ends with the proclamation of victory. His dominion will rule through
the earth and generation upon generation will tell of the amazing sacrifice of
love and victory over sin that was accomplished through our Lord and King,
Jesus Christ.
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