Mar 23 (Psalm 22)

Psalm 22

This psalm was written by David, but we see that it's written as if by Jesus on the cross:

(v.1) This has many meanings for us. First, David himself felt abandoned, and because Jesus became sin for us Gal 3:13 on the cross, He was separated from the Father. This is why Jesus literally had blood come out of Him like sweat in the Garden the night before the crucifixion...He knew He would be separated from the Father for the only time in eternity.

Another thing to teach our kids, is in those days, Rabbi's would say a verse of Scripture, and it would be the people's job to look it up and study it. This would be God's way of showing the people that Jesus was fulfilling David's psalm in front of their very eyes! Our Rabbi is pointing us to Him on the cross by this psalm!

(v.6) The Hebrew word for worm is toliath, which was a worm that secreted a red substance used for dying clothes and linens. The toliath worm would go up on a tree and hatch its eggs by exploding, and showering the eggs to the ground below. The worm would leave a red stain on the tree, and amazingly, the stain would turn white in three days!

This is why Jesus compared Himself to this worm...He was birthing His Church, by leaving a blood-red stain on a tree (cross), and when His side was pierced, blood and water came out...like human childbirth!

(v.14) Notice that Jesus says His bones are out of joint, but not broken. Jesus was severely tortured and abused before the cross, and on the cross. However, to fulfill Scripture, He didn't have a bone broken Exodus 12:46 so He could be our perfect Passover Lamb!

The phrase where His heart was like wax, confirms to scholars and medical experts that Jesus was experiencing a fateful condition called hypovolemia. This condition occurs by severe loss of blood, and the heart doesn't have enough blood to pump in the body...it starts to harden and fail.

Depending upon the age and maturity of your kids, the part where it says that Jesus was "poured out like water" is very disturbing. The Hebrew wording used here is the same as in Daniel 5:6 where the king soiled himself out of fear. It may be that Jesus lost control of his bowels on the cross. Imagine the Creator of the universe, soiling Himself in front of all the people watching...we have no idea what shame and humiliation Jesus willingly took on for us!

(v.16) The reference to dogs is typical of that time, to allude to evil surrounding Jesus on the cross. Think about it...Satan was just as interested in these things as you and I. However, as Satan thought that he was defeating God by killing His chosen Messiah for mankind, what he didn't know, was that the Messiah had to die for man, in order that man could be reconciled back to God!

They pierced My hands and My feet is amazing! Crucifixion wasn't invented by the Persians until 700 years after David lived! The Romans took that method, and made it even more lethal a few hundred years later. How could David possibly know of this method of death, unless God had him write it, to point us to the cross?

This also makes me think of the verse in Zech 12:10

(v.17) We don't see a time in David's life, where he is examining his bones and body in front of his enemies...this is a graphic picture of Jesus on the cross, unbroken but suffering, in front of a great assembly of people.

(v.18) There is no record of David's enemies casting lots John 19:24 for his clothing, but there is an exact instance where the Roman guards did this when they crucified Jesus.