INTRO: As Christ told those dedicated, but remarkably under-informed men, and their lives were about to be forever inextricably CHANGED for Eternity … Get OUT of This Life of Humanity … and I’m Going to Show You HOW to “GO From Here”

Where the Gospels give us a look at Jesus Christ’s crucifixion from the outside, seeing it through the eyes of witnesses to those events, Psalm 22 gives us a view of the crucifixion as seen through the eyes of Jesus Christ Himself—the One actually experiencing it. In this Psalm we see what He is seeing. We feel what He is feeling. Let’s see why Jesus uttered these particular words, what they meant to Him when He said them, and what it means for us today.

Let me also point out that Psalm 22 was one of the most popular Psalms of the culture of that day. Psalm 22 was one that many people had memorized in that day. So when Jesus says the opening words of Psalm 22, many of the people standing there witnessing these events would have immediately begun to mentally fill in the blanks with the rest of that Psalm. So keep that in mind as we go through this psalm.

Also keep in mind that in quoting Psalm 22, Jesus shows that He understood Himself to be fulfilling this prophecy. It foretold both the agony of what He would experience—the mental, emotional and physical anguish—as well as the faith and trust He had that His Heavenly Father would ultimately deliver Him and give Him the victory.

So let’s begin reading here in Psalm 22 and see what it has to teach us about Jesus Christ and why He would quote it on that day of His crucifixion and death.

1  My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?

Based on translations of “Why have you forsaken me?” from Ps 22, and Mt 27. There is a possible sense in these phrases of being left behind longer, or “being left remain over” as if “longer than expected”. A case could be made that the pre-written comment in Ps 22, and the totally faithful Christ could, in fact, question why it was taking longer with such severity.   He certainly knew the general concepts of what would happen, and He was clearly not fighting going through it. This plea may be taken as interrogatory about how long the generally unexpected severity (having to appoint a carrier of His cross; or Pilot being surprised at the short duration of the suffering, for instance) was to be left continuing by the Father?

The New Testament quote in Mt 27 is said to be taken from earlier Chaldean meaning “let remain over”. But the “let remain over” or “take the largest part and let the rest remain” consistently shows up in Greek.

Remember What Christ is Saying is Taken From What He iInstpired to Be Written 1000 Years Earlier. SO, He KNEW (Generally Intellectually) The Intense Suffering He Would Endure, and The Agony of Being Left Over Was Intellectually Known … But NOT in Reality … UNTIL His Day On His Cross.

This is a Psalm of David written about 1,000 years earlier. A number of the Psalms start with very human feelings and emotions like this, with cries and pleas to God. We see this kind of thing quite often in the Psalms. This is one reason the Psalms have brought so much comfort to so many people through the years—because they so accurately describe how we feel and so vividly express our emotions and thoughts in times of trials. We see this emotion and deep feeling flowing out of David during the dark times and trials he was going through in his life – which WE are learning from too.

So let’s continue here in Psalm 22, where we see this psalm now clearly shifting to Jesus’ experiences and what is going through His mind as He is being crucified.

2  O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent.

Now let’s see how this applied to Jesus. He had prayed urgently three times to His Father in Gethsemane the night before, shortly before He was arrested.

Matthew 26:39 (NKJV) 39  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."

Matthew 26:46 (NKJV) 46  Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand." (GO …into LIFE-CHANGE!)

He no doubt cried out to God for Guidance FOR Humanity silently or openly as He went through the events that followed—being brought before Annas and Caiphas, being brought before Herod Antipas, being brought before Pilate, being beaten, being mocked, being spat upon, being humiliated, being scourged, having nails driven through His wrists and feet. He had been crying out for hours at this point, through the night and the day. Continuing—

3  But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.

In spite of all this, Jesus knows that God the Father is in control and in charge—just as He always is. And Jesus has complete faith and trust in that fact.

4  Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them.

5  They cried to You, and were delivered; they trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

What is this about? It’s not an expression of doubt but an expression of faith and trust in His Father. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and many others trusted in and believed in God. Sometimes they were delivered, and sometimes not. We see in Hebrews 11 that they all died in faith, regardless of whether God had delivered them or not. God is faithful, and always knows what’s best. This is Jesus’ attitude as He is going through this excruciating trial of being crucified.

The next verse is very puzzling to us. It makes no sense at all unless we understand the background. When we understand the background, it tells an amazing story.

6  But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.

Why would David prophetically write of the crucified Messiah as “a worm, and no man”? Why would Jesus inspire David to write such words? We certainly would never think of Jesus Christ as being like a worm. But there’s actually a fascinating background here that has deep meaning when we understand it.

The Hebrew word translated “worm” is towla.  It’s translated “worm,” “scarlet” or “crimson.” We can easily see the connection between “scarlet” and “crimson,” because those are both deep red colors. But what connection does that have with a worm? Let’s notice a passage back in Exodus 25:4-6, which is talking about the tabernacle and the building of the tabernacle and the materials.

4  And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying:

5  ‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;

6  ‘blue, purple, and scarlet [towla], fine linen, and goats’ hair . . .

This is describing the materials used for the Tabernacle and its furnishings. The word “worm” from Psalm 22 and “scarlet” here in Exodus 25 are the same Hebrew word. But what’s the connection? The word is used of a type of worm or grub, coccus ilicis, also known as the scarlet worm or crimson worm.  More of a grub that a worm. And in the ancient world, people would collect these grubs and grind them up into a paste or powder to make scarlet dye for dyeing yarn a deep red color. So the Hebrew word towla was used for both the worm and the red dye or coloring made from its body.

So what does this have to do with Jesus Christ and Him being called a worm? The answer is really pretty simple. What has happened to Jesus before He was crucified? He has been arrested, He has been beaten, He has had a crown of thorns pressed down on His head, and He has been brutally scourged with His flesh ripped to shreds as He hangs there being crucified. What color is He as He hangs there? He is scarlet. He is crimson. He is a bloody, lacerated mess from the dried blood and the fresh blood oozing from all over His body. He is the color of the scarlet worm. He looks more like the worm than a human being. That is why He says here in Psalm 22—

6  But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.

It’s graphic, it’s disgusting, it’s horrifying, but it’s the reality of what Jesus was experiencing in taking on Himself the penalty that we deserved. He was the color of blood all over His body.

But there’s something else incredible here about the life cycle of this scarlet worm or crimson worm. The female crimson worm lays eggs only once in her lifetime. When the crimson worm is ready to lay her eggs, she climbs up a tree and attaches herself to it. With its body attached to the wood of the tree, a hard shell forms—a shell so hard and so tightly bound to the wood that it can only be removed by tearing apart the body which would kill the worm.  

The female worm lays her eggs under her body, under the protective shell. The larvae hatch and remain under the mother’s protective shell while they develop. The baby worms feed on the living body of the mother worm for several days. The mother worm then dies, and her body excretes a crimson or scarlet dye that permanently stains the baby worms, which remain crimson-colored for their entire life.

After this, the mother worm’s body is no longer crimson, but turns into a white waxy substance, looking like a patch of wool on the tree. It then begins to flake off and drop to the ground looking like snow. Does this remind you of any scripture?

Isaiah 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be [white] as wool.

Think of some of the parallels.

• The scarlet worm attaches itself to a tree to die. That’s what happened to Jesus Christ—He was attached to a tree to die.

•  The scarlet worm excretes a red liquid. Jesus Christ excreted a red liquid also—shedding His blood for us.

•  The scarlet worm gives its life so that others may live. That’s exactly what Jesus Christ did for us.

•  The scarlet worm dies so that its “family” might live on. Again, that’s exactly what Jesus Christ did for us so that we might become part of the family of God.

When He prophetically described himself as “a worm, and no man,” there’s a lot more there than meets the eye. And it tells an amazing story.

Continuing in verse Ps 22:7—

7  All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8  “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

Do these words sound familiar? They should. Notice Matthew 27:41, 43—

41  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said . . .

43  “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said,
‘I am the Son of God.’”

These same words were written down by David about a thousand years before they would be uttered by those mocking Jesus Christ as He was dying. How incredible!

Continuing in verse 9 of Psalm 22—

9  But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.

10  I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.

Of course, we know that Jesus was divinely and miraculously conceived by God in Mary’s womb. And God was working with Him as the Messiah from birth, throughout His childhood, and through His entire life to this point.

As Jesus is hanging there dying, is He mentally or physically reciting this Psalm? He starts off quoting the first verse. Is He whispering this psalm between gasps of pain as He is dying? We have recorded for us several things among Jesus Christ’s final words. Let’s notice some of them in

John 19:26-27—

26  When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved [John] standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”

27  Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

When did Jesus say to Mary, “Woman, behold your son!” and to John, “Behold your mother!”  Was it as He was reciting Psalm 22 to Himself, and He came to this verse about His beloved mother who had given birth to Him? We can’t know for sure, but I think this is probably what happened. He starts His words with verse 1 of Psalm 22 and as we’ll see later, He ends His words with the last verse of Psalm 22 plus those added commending His Spirit to the Faher. So it’s logical that He is reciting this Psalm as He is dying, and when He comes to this part He looks to see His mother sobbing nearby and He says, “Woman, behold your son!” and to John He says, “Behold your mother!” And He entrusts to John the care of His mother.

Continuing in verse 11 of Psalm 22—

11  Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

He has been abandoned by those who were closest to Him. As was prophesied, He is the shepherd was struck and the sheep were scattered. All of His disciples had fled, with the exception of John who was there with Mary and the other women. Of His four half-brothers, none of them are there. They don’t believe in Him. Only later, after He has been raised from the dead and they see Him alive again, will His brothers Jacob and Judah come to believe. But for now, there was no one to help him. He was all alone except for His Heavenly Father.

12  Many bulls have surrounded Me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.

Why this talk about “strong bulls of Bashan”? What’s this about? Bashan is the area that  today would be called the Golan Heights and northern Jordan. It was an area that received more rainfall than most of Israel, and as a result it was agriculturally very fertile. It was well known for its strong and healthy cattle, particularly the powerful bulls that grazed there.

And what is this symbolic of? It’s a prophecy of the Roman soldiers surrounding Him. These were strong and powerful men, just as the Roman empire was strong and powerful. When these soldiers weren’t fighting, they were building roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals and things like that. They were big, burly men that you didn’t mess with. So David’s prophecy likens them to strong bulls, and that’s probably what they resembled—powerful, brutal soldiers with bodies built like bulls. These are the men surrounding Jesus in His last few minutes overseeing His execution.

13  They gape at Me with their mouths, like a raging and roaring lion.

Here they are likened to another powerful and frightening creature, raging and roaring lions. And as lions attack and claw and rip apart their prey, so the Roman soldiers attacked and brutalized and scourged and ripped Jesus’ skin apart before crucifying Him. He continues—

14  I am poured out like water,

If you have ever been totally exhausted, you feel like you have been completely drained of energy and strength. This is probably how Jesus felt at this point. At the same time He had been literally poured out because He had so many cuts and lacerations and slashes that He was bleeding from every part of His body. He would be dehydrated from blood and fluid loss. And He would yet be poured out even more as a soldier stabbed Him in one last brutal blow and His blood and water poured out, ending His life.

and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me.

As He hung there by His arms it’s quite possible that by now His shoulders were out of joint, which is extremely painful. Other bones may have been out of joint because of the beating that He had endured and the scourging and the brutalization the Roman soldiers had inflicted on Him. Yet through all of this a remarkable prophecy was fulfilled that none of His bones would be broken. In Exodus 12 it says of the Passover lamb that not a bone of its body was to be broken. None of Jesus Christ’s bones were broken. Yes, some were out of joint but they were not broken.

Notice

John 19:33, 36—
33  But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs . . 

36  For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”

This refers back to the instructions regarding the Passover lambs in Exodus 12:46—

46  In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.

The Roman soldiers who were part of the crucifixion squad broke the legs of the men who were crucified with Jesus to hasten their deaths, but they didn’t break Jesus’ legs because at that point He was already dead from the spear wound.

Continuing in verse 15 of Psalm 22—

15  My strength is dried up like a potsherd,

Broken potsherds. They’re broken, useless, worn out and thrown out because they serve no useful purpose any longer. And that’s the point. Jesus’ strength was irreparably broken at this point. The release of death would come soon.

and My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.

“My tongue clings to My jaws”—Have you ever been so thirsty that your tongue sticks to the inside of your mouth and you can’t talk plainly? That’s what’s happening here. Jesus was so dehydrated. He had been awake for at least a day and a half. It had been hours since He’d had anything to eat or drink. He had experienced major blood loss, which also dehydrates the body. So His tongue is swollen and His mouth feels like it’s full of dust. He has no saliva left to be able to swallow. It’s very hard for Him to speak. And yet He does manage to gasp out a few other words.

As we read in

John 19:28—

28  After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Or as we would say, “I’m thirsty!”

Did He gasp out these words as He is reciting this Psalm to Himself, as He had said to Mary, “Woman, behold your son!” and to John, “Behold your mother!” when He came to the verse in Psalm 22 that mentioned His mother? In this Psalm He had memorized, did He say, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws . . . I’m thirsty!” Think about it. I think this makes perfect sense.

Continuing in verse 16 of Psalm 22—

16  For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;

Dogs in that day weren’t cute cuddly cocker spaniels. They were mongrels that survived by what they could steal from people or other animals. Wild dogs ran in packs and were threats to man and beast alike. They weren’t man’s best friend at this time in human history. They could be dangerous to a human being, particularly if that human being were injured and bleeding. They could attack and kill him as we know happened with Jezebel in the Bible. This is the kind of word picture that is being drawn here. Dogs could surround a person and devour and kill him, particularly if he were bloody and badly injured as Jesus was at this point.

This prophecy also says of Jesus, “They pierced My hands and My feet.” This is a remarkable prophecy of crucifixion because when David wrote this, crucifixion would not be invented until many centuries later when it came to be used first by the Greeks, and then became common in the Roman Empire. Yet about a thousand years before Jesus was crucified, David wrote that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced.

Consider something for a moment. Think about the people who were standing around watching what’s going on here. They know Psalm 22—they have it memorized. They know Jesus has quoted the first verse of Psalm 22. If they are thinking at all, they see a man who clearly loves and teaches about God, they see a man colored red like the scarlet worm, they see a man surrounded by Roman soldiers like strong bulls, they see a man suffering extreme dehydration, and they see a man with his hands and feet pierced by the nails of the Romans. They are seeing this prophetic Psalm fulfilled right before their eyes! Do any of them realize it? Were any of them among the 3,000 baptized about two months later at the Feast of Pentecost? We don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me. If they had any perception at all, they had to realize they were seeing Psalm 22 playing out right before their eyes.

Continuing in verse 17 of Psalm 22—

17  I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.

What does this mean, that He could count all of His bones? To be blunt, it means He could see them. In scourging, which He had gone through, the Roman scourge was a short whip with several leather strips that had pieces of metal, glass or bone imbedded in the strips. As a person was lashed with the scourge, it literally ripped his flesh to shreds. On Jesus’ hands, arms, legs, ribcage and face, you could no doubt literally see and count the bones through His shredded flesh. And people would look and stare at Him because of this. This is why Isaiah prophesied of Him:

Isaiah 52:14 (NIV)
14  Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness—
 

He was whipped with scourges, beaten, and used as a punching bag by these brutal soldiers. His body was bruised, swollen, gouged, lacerated and bleeding all over from head to toe. He no longer looked like a human being, but more like red, raw meat.

Continuing in verse 18 of Psalm 22—

18  They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.

We see this fulfilled in Matthew 27:35—
 

35  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” Matthew here gives a direct quote of Psalm 22:18.

Continuing in verse 19 of Psalm 22—

19  But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20  Deliver Me from the sword [from a violent death], My precious life from the power of the dog.
21  Save Me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen!

Again, He is surrounded by a violent and brutal men who have already been compared to lions, strong bulls and wild dogs who are devouring and killing Him.

And then, as I read this, a quiet calmness and assurance envelopes Him as the release of death draws near.  David’s prophecy says in the latter part of verse 21—

You have answered Me.

22  I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

Who are the “brethren” to whom Jesus declares God the Father? It’s His disciples whom He called and trained in the first century, revealing to them God the Father. But it’s also His disciples called through the centuries to whom He has also revealed God the Father through the Gospels and the other books of the Bible. And it’s also us, to whom He has revealed the Father and the Father’s great plan that we are to be a part of His family forever! And of course, “assembly” is the meaning of the Greek word ekklesia, translated “church” in the New Testament. Jesus is the Head of His Church, pointing His brethren to our Heavenly Father.

Continuing in verse 23 of Psalm 22—

23  You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!

24  For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from Him; but when He cried to Him, He heard.

Did God the Father forsake Jesus? As we see here, God the Father heard Jesus’ cries throughout all this. He heard every word. He knew every thought and Jesus’ mind. He knew exactly what Jesus was going through. But it had to be done that way. Instructing US to continue WITH God even when Incompletely informed.

This is finished As the Record of the unspeakably Violent Rejection of Humanity’s Superior and Creator over their Lives is Evident NOW for All The Ages yet to Come. AND How God’s Family reacts

There was no other way for the penalty for our sins to be paid, for without the shedding of blood is no forgiveness of sins. The Father gave up what was most precious to Him for our sakes, and Jesus gave up everything for us. WE too are so tried to beyond our expected limit of endurance. That Overcoming is ONLY possible WITH God’s Gifted active Trusting In and FOR Him and His Purposes.

Continuing in verse 25 of Psalm 22—

25  My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

26  The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!

27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.

This is talking about the wonderful result of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ—that ultimately the entire world will be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and will turn to God and worship Him in spirit and in truth in the Millennium and at the time of the second resurrection. These words will be fulfilled then. Continuing,

28  For the kingdom is the LORD’S, and He rules over the nations.

This is talking, of course, about the reign of Jesus Christ on earth and ultimately of the time after that when the Father comes to earth and dwells with men. This entire plan begins with a sacrifice of Jesus Christ as our Passover lamb, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world through His death.

29  All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship; all those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive.

This is clearly talking about those resurrected to life again in the first and second resurrections.

30  A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, [future generations, in other words]

31  They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has done this.

“He has done this” in the original Hebrew would also be worded something like, “He has completed this” or “He has finished it.” What were Jesus Christ’s very last words? We find them in

John 19:29-30, after He had cried out, “I’m thirsty!”

29  Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, [Why hyssop? What did the Israelites use to splash the blood of the Passover lambs on the tops and sides of their doorways? Hyssop.] and put it to His mouth.

30  So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!”

Among His last words including “Unto You I Commend My Spirit” added by Christ on His Cross, and recorded (Luke 23.46) are the last words of Psalm 22, allowing for the fact that Jesus is speaking Hebrew or Aramaic that’s translated into Greek and then translated into English—

31  They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has done this.—

Or as we would say in English, IT’S FINISHED!   IT’S DONE!   IT’S COMPLETED!

And He died. “It is finished” didn’t mean just that His awful suffering and pain were over. It was much bigger than that. It was finished—all of it. He had done it. His sacrifice was complete—done—finished for all time for all mankind! God’s plan was sure. The sacrifice that would pay for your sins and my sins was complete. God’s plan would now go forward unhindered. The first crucial step was completed. Jesus, the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, had completed His sacrifice.

And it is through that sacrifice, and only through that sacrifice, that we receive God’s gift of salvation. The Passover is a reminder of that sacrifice that makes our salvation possible. Remember that we have a God and a Savior who will never leave us nor forsake us. Remember that we have a true Passover Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world through His sacrifice.

CLOSE:

    We Want Well-Being, Peace, Order, Predictability, Assurance of God’s Protection, Guidance, and Loving Relationship.

            We Don’t Want Unpredictable and Unseen Circumstances, Health, Living Conditions, or Shallow Relationships.   We Want Life to BE All In Order   …   BUT

            Since Our Life is Given To Learn God-LIFE, and to Give It FOR God’s Plan … Our God-Gifted Life, Mind, Heart, and Purpose are BEING Overseen, Guided and Moved Toward God’s Eternal Kingdom and HIS Righteousness … All By and FOR God and His Family …It is Our Called and Chosen of God DUTY to Learn HOW to Endure What We Do Not Yet Understand, and Do It With God!

We Certainly Do Not Want to Change, Have Unpredictability, Be Upset, Move FROM Here, or Not Be Informed Completely of What and Why God Has Me in A State of Not-Peace.  BUT:

John 14:29-31 (NKJV) 29  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

God Knows His Plan, His God-Life, and It is All For Us WITH Him Eternally.  So …  NOW, Christ From His Cross Has Shown Us HOW To Arise and GO From Here!