FEBRUARY Jesus in the Psalms: Psalms 20-22

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” -Psalm 22:1

CHAPTER OF THE WEEK: Psalm 22 You can read it every day or just once, pray it, meditate on it, talk about it, or find other resources about it.

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Psalm 22:1 You can memorize it, read it every day or just once, pray it, meditate on it, talk about it, or find other resources about it.

ON THE LOOKOUT: Over the next few months, we’ll be taking a look at the different categories of the Psalms. There are all sorts of categories and themes in Psalms. Keep looking for attributes of God, but add to your list looking for the theme of the week.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: “Really Specific Prophecy Jesus Fulfilled on the Cross! Amazing!” by Mike Winger, YouTube link (I was really hoping one of his videos would fit into this Psalms study! I cannot recommend Mike Winger enough!)

SONG OF THE WEEK: “Psalm 22: My God, My God, Why have you Abandoned Me?” by Francesca LaRosa YouTube link, Spotify link.

PLAYLIST FOR THE WEEK: Here is a playlist with songs from Psalms 20-22 YouTube link, Spotify link.

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK: As you read Scripture this week, see if you can categorize or find themes in the passages. Especially look for verses about or prophesying about Jesus.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Psalm 22 is the photograph of our Lord’s darkest hours.” – from The Treasury of David by Charles H. Spurgeon

THOUGHTS on Psalms 20-22

Prepare in your mind the answer to the easiest Sunday School questions and you’ll have the theme of this week: Jesus. If you’ve been reading through any of the Psalms, you might have noticed a few verses so far that really feel like they could relate to Jesus. Psalm 2 tells of God anointing His Son to rule the nations. Psalm 15 asks, “Who shall dwell on your [God’s] holy hill?” and the answer given seems to match Jesus perfectly. In Acts 2, Peter confirms that David prophesied about Jesus in Psalm 16:8-11. And the Author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 2:13 that David was speaking of Jesus in Psalm 18:2. But Psalm 22 contains the clearest prophesies about Jesus we’ve encountered so far.

How to find Jesus in Psalms. Let’s backtrack a bit. How can we be sure Jesus is being referenced, foreshadowed, or prophesied about in Psalms? Any time we try to find Jesus in the Old Testament, we should approach a passage with some standards and caution. There are far too many sermons out there claiming weird things because their typology or prophecy went too far. To prevent misinterpretation, let’s start with some definitions.

Prophecy- A prediction of a future event. Example: Psalm 22:18 says, “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots”. That’s exactly what happened 1000 years later at Jesus’ crucifixion (Jn. 19:24; Mt. 27:35; Mk, 15:24; Lk. 23:34) It’s also important to note that prophecies can sometimes be partially fulfilled in the near future with a local event and totally fulfilled by a future event. A good example is Is. 7. The prophecy is likely referring to a child that was born in the time of Isaiah, but it was totally fulfilled in the Birth of Christ because Jesus is the only one who fits every piece of the prophecy.

Foreshadowing- Hints at a future event. This is a little more vague than prophecy and is more like laying the groundwork for the future. Example: Psalm 2. It’s not really David, but it clarifies some things Christ will be.

Typology- When a person in the Bible resembles Christ and foreshadows the ultimate fulfillment to be coming in Christ. Types never completely match Christ, they always fall short because only Christ is perfect. Example: Psalm 21. It is a royal Psalm describing the kingdom of David, but the only king that has length of days forever and ever is Jesus (Ps. 21:4).

Christophany- A preincarnate appearance of Christ, usually indicated by the name “The Angel of the LORD”. Example: Abraham talks to an Angel of the LORD (Genesis 18). There aren’t really events in the book of Psalms, so you won’t really see Christophanies unless you think it’s Jesus every single time the Angel of the LORD shows up, in which case you can use Psalm 34:7; 35:5-6.

The easiest way to find Jesus in the Psalms is by knowing more about Jesus. If you don’t know Jesus died on a cross, it might be hard to believe Psalm 22 is referencing His death. It’s very helpful to read Psalms in tandem with the New Testament. Lots of Bibles (including digital Bibles!) also have cross references so you can easily look up the New Testament passages that quote Psalms. If it’s quoted in the New Testament, that’s the best affirmation that a Psalm is referring to Jesus. With everything else, just be careful and approach with humility.

Jesus in Psalm 22. Now that we’ve laid some groundwork, let’s find Jesus in Psalm 22. Jesus straight up quoted the opening of this Psalm while on the cross, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1; Mt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34). Verses 6-8 and 15-18 also give details of the crucifixion that match the gospels perfectly. Take a look at the side by side:

But it’s not just about the cross. The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 22:22 that Christ was who He said He was (Heb. 2:12). The Psalm also ends with a peak into the future kingdom of God with Jews & Gentiles praising God. But my favorite bit of info I learned this week is that the phrase in the very last verse “He has done it” can also be translated: “It is Finished”. Those were also the final words of Jesus (Jn. 19:30)). It seems He wanted people to take a look at all of Psalm 22 from beginning to end.

It’s been truly amazing to see Jesus in the Psalms this week. It’s incredible that God left these little details in plain site for us. He truly is Sovereign and the true King. Seeing how God fulfilled prophecies even in books of poetry reminded me this week that He puts just as much care and love into the details of my life. How humbling and joyous to know that the God who organized and planned all of history to work perfectly with Jesus is also working in your life. It has caused me to be far more thankful for the little things and less stressed in general. Seek Jesus in not only the Psalms, but also in your everyday life and you will be blessed!