Psalm 22

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent. But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; they trusted in You, and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ‘He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!’ But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb, You have been My God.” Psalm 22:1-10 (NKJV)

It is a fairly common occurrence that whenever I discuss the idea of Messiah with Jewish non-believers, in order to get the conversation started, I propose some ground rules. They will not speak from the Talmud (a collection of extra-Biblical rabbinic opinions), and I will not speak from the New Testament. After all, if Jesus is the Messiah, then He should be clearly seen in the TANAKH (Hebrew Old Testament). “Fair enough,” they say, and off we go. But it never fails that whenever I read Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, the Jewish non-believer says, “STOP! You said you would not speak from the New Testament, and you are obviously talking about Jesus!”  I simply turn the Bible around and show them that King David could describe Messiah Jesus more clearly hundreds of years before His crucifixion than their rabbi can see Him today, 2000 years after the fact.

One of the most misunderstood statements that Jesus made from the cross was, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Often, so-called “experts” put forth that in the midst of the trauma of crucifixion, Jesus stammered in His faith and lost sight of the goal. I overheard (and quickly corrected) one Israeli non-believing tour guide who taught his tour group, “Every prayer Jesus prayed, God answered, except for His selfish prayer that the “cup would be removed” from Him in the garden. Then Jesus caught Himself and said, ‘Nevertheless…’ Even on the cross, He was unsure of God’s deliverance and asked, ‘Why have You forsaken Me…?’”  Let me say, that guide was not at all happy when I stepped in to give the proper Biblical understanding of the passage.

So, what did Jesus mean when He asked, “Why…?” Well, what is the subject matter of the psalm? It is the prophetic confession of Messiah, Who would bear the sin of both Israel and the world. Jesus was not confused, and His faith had not faltered. He was quoting a psalm about Himself - not only His unjust punishment but also the hope of His resurrection! Anyone who knew the first part of the psalm knew the rest.  

“You have answered Me. I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You. You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! Psalm 22:21b-24