Psalm 22

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  Possibly the most famous Easter weekend quote comes from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark as Jesus last words before his death.  Afterwards, he gave a loud cry and gave up his spirit. 

If there is one thing that I have learned about Biblical literature, it is that no word or verse in the Bible is without meaning.  In this case, Jesus was referring us future believers back to Psalm 22, which is a lovely psalm full of symbolism and meaning for the Christian.

Verses 1 and 2 of this psalm proclaim total desperation and hopelessness.  In contrast, verses 3 through 5 show a bit more hope.

"Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the praise of Israel.
In you our fathers put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not disappointed."

Verse 8 gives us another reference to the Gospels.  Do you recognize it?

"He trusts in the Lord;
    let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him."

Compare this to Matthew 27:43: "He trusts in God.  Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God'."

Let's look at verses 12 through 18 of the same passage, Psalm 22.

"Many strong bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me."  (Could this be a reference to Jesus' arrest in the garden?)
"Roaring lions tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me."  (Possibly the crowds crying for Jesus' crucifixion?)
"I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint."  (His shoulders and elbows would certianly be literally out of joint from hanging on the cross.)
"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."  (Referring both to Jesus' thirst and subsequent request for a drink - see John 19:28-29 - as well as his eventual bodily death.)
"Dogs have surrounded me;
    a band of evil men has encircled me,
    they have pierced my hands and feet."  (Jesus hands and feet were literally pierced.)
"I can count all my bones;
   people stare and gloat over me."  (Matthew 27:27-31, 39-44; Mark 15:16-20, 29-32; Luke 23:35-39)
"They divide my garments among them
    and cast lots for my clothing." (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; John 19:23-24)

Finally, I would like to quote verse 31 of the same psalm.

"They will proclaim his righteousness
    to a people yet unborn -
   for he has done it."

I thought a lot about the last line of this psalm: "for he has done it."  Matthew and Mark both have Jesus' last words before his death as the first line of Psalm 22, but John wrote Jesus last pre-death quote as "It is finished."  Granted, it was in a different language from the scriptures (Greek vs. Hebrew).  However, I cannot get over the similarity of content between the two statements. The only substantive difference is the active vs. passive voice used.  Could this also have been Jesus referring back to Psalm 22?

(Luke's quoted Jesus' final words before his death as "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit," which is a reference to Psalm 31.)

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