Psalm 22

When we think of the Psalms, the 22nd Psalm is not usually the first one that comes to mind. We are much more familiar with the 23rd Psalm --- "The Lord is my shepherd..." 

Psalm 22 is powerful because it presents an Old Testament account of Jesus' New Testament crucifixion. Verse after verse in Psalm 22 foreshadows Jesus' suffering on the cross. Dr. Mears explains it this way in her book What the Bible is All About, "Psalm 22 gives a picture of Calvary. We see the crucifixion portrayed here more clearly than in any other part of the Old Testament" (Mears, 1953).

So many people in the world are wanting proof that they can believe God is real and trust that Jesus is the Savior for the world. It is only natural to want proof. Especially when you consider how many religions are in the world. People want the truth and there is only One truth. It is chapters like Psalm 22 that I think provide people with the proof they need to believe that Jesus is our Savior and Lord. When God provides us with a record of an event that was written hundreds of years before the event actually occurred, we need to see that for the proof it is.

Psalm 22 was written by David. Jesus is of the lineage of David. Matthew 1:17 tells us that King David preceded Jesus' birth by 28 generations in their connecting lineage. (That is a long time.)

I tell you all this to give you a better perspective on how much time passed between the time David wrote Psalm 22 and the time Jesus was crucified.

Over the next week or two we are going to go through almost every verse in Psalm 22. We are going to analyze the verses and then find how that scripture was lived out by Jesus in the New Testament.

We can't predict the future, but God can. God already has. Psalm 22 was God's way of giving a glimpse into the future horrific suffering His Son would suffer on the cross for you and me.