Psalm 22 is well-known for being, at least in part, a foretelling of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  His words as he hung on the cross, “Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani” are a direct quote of Psalm 22:1 – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 
This psalm is a stark and vivid reminder that before any of us were born, God knew (and foretold) that He would send His Son to die a most humiliating and painful death.  If any of us ever doubted God’s love for us, it is spelled out for us here. Jesus is far from Him (v. 1) because of our sin, mocked and insulted (v.7), pierced (v.14); he thirsts (v. 15) and finally, suffers (v.24) so that we can escape the punishment for our sin.

 
If that was the end of the story, our condition would still be quite wretched.  Our sins would be paid, but what hope would we have? Instead, David (the psalmist) goes on to tell of what Christ’s suffering has bought.  Jesus has risen! God will not turn away from us because of our sin, but instead, listens to Christ’s cries for help on our behalf.  We, who were poor without God, will be totally satisfied and praise Him.  We will now belong to God, along with everything under Heaven.  His righteousness will be proclaimed all over the Earth.  In fact, everyone will bow down and worship Him, whether willingly or grudgingly.

 
We have faith that every good thing written in scripture will come to be.  Through Jesus, we have a hope that we could never have had before.  We hope for an end to evil and the saving of our family members’ souls, but most of all for God to completely and utterly satisfy our own souls.  This hope is based on the suffering that he had to go through, and the promise of God that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Because his suffering was foretold, and then made a historical fact, we can believe with confidence that God will accomplish all that He said He would do. 

We wait earnestly for God to bring these things about. In fact, He has already accomplished it.  As it says in John 19:30… “it is finished”. 

This entry was posted on Monday, February 19th, 2007 at 5:00 am and is filed under Daily Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.