There are different types of psalms. Some are lament, some are thanksgiving and praise, some are intercessory, and some are prophetic psalms. When a prophetic psalm talks about Jesus Christ and what would happen to him, it is a messianic psalm.
Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm. Although David describes his experience in the psalm, his artistic language goes beyond what actually happened to him. The psalm becomes prophetic words to be fulfilled in Jesus.
Commentary:
Psalm 22:1. No doubt, David might have felt like God had forsaken him. But Jesus, although He had done no wrong, was forsaken by His Father. on the cross, Jesus repeated these words, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34).
Psalm 22:6-8. David was despised by King Saul and his men but not by the people in general. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, David’s words were prophetic and described how Jesus was rejected by the Jews.
Verse 7 and 8 are a scene depicted in Matthew 27:39-43. Verse 7 is described in Matthew 27:39. Verse 8 is quoted in Matthew 27:43.
Psalm 22:15. In extreme thirst, the tongue feels very sticky. Jesus fulfilled the scripture by saying, “I am thirsty” in John 19:28.
Psalm 22:16. Certainly, David was never nailed on his hand and his feet. David was making a prophecy about the Messianic king. This prophetic language is fulfilled when Jesus was nailed on the cross.
Psalm 22:22. Hebrew 2:12 is a quote from this verse. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brother. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, while Christians are children of God because of our faith in Jesus Christ. That makes Jesus and us brothers, albeit Jesus is our Lord and Savior.
Psalm 22:24-31. There will be a great feast in heaven. People of rich and poor or of gentile and Jews will gather to dine with the Lord.
Meditation:
The following questions are from Serendipity Bible for Groups.
Verses 1-21 shift between faith and despair. If “Faith” was on the wall to your right, “Despair” on the wall to your left, where would you position yourself in the room to show where you are spiritually? Why?
Does it help you to recall the past in times of desperation? How would you rephrase verses 3-5 or 9-11?
If you were to host a feast to celebrate God’s grace to you, what’s one thing you would say in proposing a toast to your King?
Since Jews, gentiles, the poor, the rich, people present and people future are all invited to Jesus’ feast (vv. 22-31), how then will you reach out to others? Whom could you invite to Jesus’ feast this week?
The author of Hebrews quotes verse 22, saying Jesus is “not ashamed to call them brothers” (Heb 2:11-12). Do you ever think of Jesus as “brother”? What does this relationship mean to you?
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have prepared Your Son to die for us and to atone for our sins on the cross. We pray that we will spread the good news to others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.