Jesus fulfilled the words of King David

You who fear the Lord, praise Him!  All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!  Revere Him, all you descendants of Israel!  For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him, but has listened to his cry for help.  --Psalm 22:23-24

Last week we talked about the matchless grace of God as manifested through Jesus Christ.  We discussed the fulfillment of the Law through the Messiah.

That same Messiah, that same Jesus, has been the hope of the oppressed for over two millennia. Because Jesus humbled himself and became a man, he was subject to ridicule, persecution, and even death.  He identified with us and our sufferings, so that in our sufferings, we might identify with him.

In no other scripture is this more apparent than in the prophetic Psalm of David that we call Psalm 22.  In almost every line, we see a foretelling of what would happen to the ultimate heir of King David's throne.  It is almost impossible to believe that this psalm was written one thousand years before Christ's birth.

Today I want to go verse by verse, and show evidence in the life of Jesus that he was the fulfillment of this prophetic word.  Even though David was not known as a prophet, his writings showed remarkable prescience and foresight.  Let's look a bit closer.

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

Matthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me."

Jesus was hanging on the cross, his life slowly ebbing away.  For a period of about 3 hours the sun refused to shine, as the Bible says there was darkness over the whole land.  After 3 hours of hanging on the cross, Jesus uttered these words in Aramaic, the common language of the day, so that those nearby could hear and understand.  His message, however, may be lost in translation, as we look at the English words and think how could God forsake His only Son.  I believe the message given to those who heard him speak it, the religious leaders and experts in the Jewish law, was to point back to Psalm 22.  And, as we shall see, this was a Psalm of deliverance not disdain; it was one of victory, not defeat.

Psalm 22:3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.

Mark 1:23-24 Just then a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are--The Holy One of God!"

In this situation, Jesus was visiting the city of Capernaum.  On the Sabbath Day, Jesus went to the synagogue, and began teaching there.  A man was there who was known to be possessed by a demon.  The demon, obviously familiar with the spirit world, had known from the day of Creation who Jesus was.  He spoke through this man in the physical world, yet he spoke a spiritual truth:  Jesus is the Holy One of God.  This confession was probably lost on the rulers of the synagogue and experts in the Law.  They knew that the man was possessed.  They considered the source, and dismissed this statement as a lie from the Pit.  But James, the half-brother of Jesus, made this point in his letter to the churches (maybe even recalling this very incident): "You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that--and shudder." (James 2:19).

Psalm 22:7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

Mark 15:29-30 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!"

Again, Jesus was hanging on a cross, taking on the sins of the world.  In excruciating physical pain, he was subject to mocking by those who came to watch.  He suffered emotional abuse by those who threw his own words back at him.  Of course, the mockers did not understand that when Jesus had spoken those words, He was speaking about His body. in 3 days, He would rise again.

Psalm 22:8 "He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him.  Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."

Matthew 27:41-43  In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.  "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!  He's the King of Israel!  Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God.  Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God'."

I wonder if the priests and teachers and elders knew they were fulfilling prophetic scripture?  Somehow I doubt it.

Psalm 22: 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

John 20:24-25  Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"  But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

We all know the method of capital punishment used by the Romans was nailing an offender to a cross, nailing both hands and both feet.  This method of killing was unknown in David's time.  Yet David predicted that the One who would fulfill the Scriptures would be pierced in both hands and both feet.  After Jesus' resurrection, the one now known as Doubting Thomas knew how he would recognize Jesus:  by seeing and feeling the wounds He had endured on the cross.

Psalm 22:18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Matthew 27:35  When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The Roman soldiers were bored by all this.  This wasn't their first rodeo.  Although they may have been surprised at the crowds who came to watch this particular execution, they really couldn't have cared less.  To pass the time, they gambled for the possessions of those condemned to die.  Just as the Holy Spirit through King David had predicted a thousand years beforehand.  Simply amazing.

So with all this in mind, is there any question about whom David referred in the rest of his Psalm?

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.  The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise Him--may your hearts live forever!  All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations.  All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him--those who cannot keep themselves alive.  Posterity will serve Him; future generations will be told about the Lord.  They will proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn--for he has done it.   --Psalm 22: 26-31.

There is no difference between the rich and the poor before the Lord; He died for them all.  He will feed the poor, and the rich will feast, but all will worship.  No matter how rich men may become, they cannot buy immortality.  But in Christ, they will live forever in Him.  Their posterity will know of Him because of all the works of His hand, in the past, the present, and the future.

This is why we will praise the Lord all our days,even to those yet unborn.