ARCHIVE: Reason to Believe: Ps. 22

Turbo

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The following is the first half or so of Pslam 22, written approximately 1000 years before Christ was born. Also, it should be noted that the first historical record of crucifixion is from the 6th century B.C., so it is likely that this psalm was written hundreds of years before anyone was ever crucified.

Studying this Psalm was one of the final steps that convinced me that the Bible is true, and that Jesus is who He says He is. I can think of no other rational conclusion, given the content of this psalm. To anyone who is unsure whether the Bible truly is the Word of God or simply a collection of books written by men, please take a few minutes to read this study of Psalm 22.

In Christ,
Turbo



(Passages from the Gospels are inserted in a smaller font, echoing the portion of the psalm that is above them, particularly the bold phrases. All scriptures quoted are from NKJV)

Psalm 22:
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?

Matthew 27:46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Mark 15:34
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"


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

3 But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

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

Matthew 27:39-43
And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."
Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, "I am the Son of God."'

Luke 23:35
And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."


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

12 Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13 They gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart
is like wax;
It has melted within Me.

John 19:34
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.


15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

John 19:28
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!"


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

Matthew 27
2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"
Jesus said to him, "It is as you say." 12And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.
13 Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" 14But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. 28And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.


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


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

Luke 23:35
And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."


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


Matthew 27:35
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."


Mark 15:24
And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

Luke 23:34
Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."
And they divided His garments and cast lots.

John 19:24
They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
"They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots."
Therefore the soldiers did these things.


19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,

John 19:34
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.


My precious life from the power of the dog*. (Roman Empire)

Luke 3:1
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

Luke 23:24
So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.


21 Save Me from the lion's mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!


(* “dog” is a pejorative term for Gentile. See Mat 15:22-28; also Rev. 21:12, 22:15; Ps. 59:5-7,13-15, 1 Sam. 17:43, and 2 Ki. 8:13)
 

7thwatch

New member
great stuff there. I really enjoyed the read and I will use it in future bible studies I give.

This one is going in my files for sure!

peace
7thwatch
 

LightSon

New member
Great analysis Turbo! Thanks.

These prophecies were uniquely fulfilled by the Lord Jesus. I don’t understand how anyone (including an atheist) could consider this love of Christ for us and not be moved to surrender. Why are they so entrenched in darkness? Perhaps the Evil One has blinded them.
 

SteveT

New member
Turbo:

I agree with your post entirely. However, having tried the argument myself several times, I can tell you that most atheists will say the gospel accounts, written decades after the events described (if they accept that the events ever happened at all), were composed to put the words of the psalmist on Jesus' lips and the words and actions of the people were "made up" to conform to the prophecy. It's all good stuff, but unfortunately none of this will persuade an atheist.

Anyway, here's another great prophecy, dating to +/- 250 years before Christ:

[12] "Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
[13] He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child of the Lord.
[14] He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
[15] the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
[16] We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy,
and boasts that God is his father.
[17] Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
[18] for if the righteous man is God's son, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
[19] Let us test him with insult and torture,
that we may find out how gentle he is,
and make trial of his forbearance.
[20] Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected."
[21] Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
[22] and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hope for the wages of holiness,
nor discern the prize for blameless souls;
[23] for God created man for incorruption,
and made him in the image of his own eternity,
[24] but through the devil's envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his party experience it." Wisdom 2
 

shilohproject

New member
Originally posted by SteveT
Turbo:

I agree with your post entirely. However, having tried the argument myself several times, I can tell you that most atheists will say the gospel accounts, written decades after the events described (if they accept that the events ever happened at all), were composed to put the words of the psalmist on Jesus' lips and the words and actions of the people were "made up" to conform to the prophecy. It's all good stuff, but unfortunately none of this will persuade an atheist.
This concern is probably quite true. However, no amount of religious skepticism can refute the fact that the Psalm fairly records the horrors of crucifiction long before it was in vougue for executing folks. This is a point I've had the most staunch athiests concede.:cool:
 

Nathon Detroit

LIFETIME MEMBER
LIFETIME MEMBER
Originally posted by SteveT
It's all good stuff, but unfortunately none of this will persuade an atheist.
Isn't that demonstrably false?

IF...
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. - Romans 10:17
And.... if Turbo wasn't lying when he wrote...
Studying this Psalm was one of the final steps that convinced me that the Bible is true, and that Jesus is who He says He is.
Then.... I would say that's just more evidence that supports the following...
Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
My guess is Psalm 22 has been a very effective verse for our Lord.
 

Crow

New member
Psalms 22 is a good one, Isaiah 53 is also one that I find particularly illustrative in predicting Christ. From NKJV

Isaiah 53


The Sin-Bearing Messiah
1 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.


4Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.


7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9And theymade His grave with the wicked--
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.


10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
11He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
 

Turbo

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Ah, Crow... That was going to be the subject of my next thread. ;)

I've got a couple others waiting in the bullpen. Maybe I'll do one of those first.
 

OMEGA

New member
TURBO

TURBO

You forgot this one.

(Joel 2:28 KJV) "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:"

(Acts 2:17 KJV) "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:"

(Acts 2:18 KJV) "And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:"
-----------------------------------------------------------

PEOPLE GET READY FOR THAT DAY IS COMING !

:thumb:
 

Ferelixe

New member
Hi LightSon,

These prophecies were uniquely fulfilled by the Lord Jesus. I don’t understand how anyone (including an atheist) could consider this love of Christ for us and not be moved to surrender. Why are they so entrenched in darkness? Perhaps the Evil One has blinded them.

Well being the Bible Illiterate that I am I can't really comment of Bible prophecies. Before I can accept any scriptures I need to find the human soul. Maybe that's a strange thing on my part, I think it comes from the reading I've done on the human brain. :)

Until I can find some indestructible part to us all the scriptures in the world are meaningless to me. Think about it, if there is no continuation after our physical bodies die then what meaning can any scripture possibly have other than to give us certain insights in this life? And if that's all scripture can do then who cares? I can go to my local bookstore and find books by the hundreds that will give me insights into this life...
 

Mateo

New member
Re: Psalm 22,

To paraphrase Spurgeon, "When reading Psalm 22 one should remove one's shoes, for if there is holy ground anywhere in the Bible, it is here".

I refrain from reading this Psalm in public to save myself the embarassment of public crying.

I can only shake my head in disbelief everytime I hear some learned theologian utter the canard that Jesus said what He did on the cross because God, who could not look upon sin, had turned His back on His Son. What utter compost.
 
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LightSon

New member
Originally posted by Ferelixe
Until I can find some indestructible part to us all the scriptures in the world are meaningless to me. Think about it, if there is no continuation after our physical bodies die then what meaning can any scripture possibly have other than to give us certain insights in this life? And if that's all scripture can do then who cares? I can go to my local bookstore and find books by the hundreds that will give me insights into this life...
Greetings Ferelixe,
You are correct in observing that "if there is no continuation after our physical bodies die," then scripture has little or no value. We do have a non-corporeal aspect to us, but you will not find it in a test tube.

In the oldest book of the Bible, Job said
Job 19:25,26
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Here Job was expressing faith in God and God’s power over death. The resurrection of Christ is such a demonstration. The death of our bodies is not the final word.

All throughout the Bible, God holds out to us the promise of life and of spending eternity with Him. Because God has demonstrated His power over sin and of death, I know, like Job, that God has the power to raise me up too despite the fact that “worms [will] destroy this body”.

Consider the New Testament record. In Christ’s darkest hour, Peter denied Him and went out into the darkness. What was it that Peter later saw that convinced him to “buck up”, change course and take on perilous challenges. Peter and 9 of the other disciples became stalwarts for Christ and eventually gave their lives for His cause. A man might give His life in hopes that he believes the truth. But what man would give his life for that which he knows to be a lie? Peter saw Christ executed and laid in a tomb. Why would Peter die to perpetuate a lie, if he knew Christ was dead? This is a question skeptics stumble over to answer. A man might lie to perpetuate a lie for gain. But when faced with the sword, such a lie looses value quickly.

Peter said,
2nd Peter 1:16
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty
Peter saw the risen Christ, and it changed his life forever.

Study the scriptures. In them you will see that you were created for more than just this short and often unsatisfying physical life. God reveals His mind in the Bible. If you study His Word diligently, He will reveal His truth to you.
 

LightSon

New member
Originally posted by Mateo
Re: Psalm 22,

To paraphrase Spurgeon, "When reading Psalm 22 one should remove one's shoes, for if there is holy ground anywhere in the Bible, it is here".

I refrain from reading this Psalm in public to save myself the embarassment of public crying.

I can only shake my head in disbelief everytime I hear some learned theologian utter the canard that Jesus said what He did on the cross because God, who could not look upon sin, had turned His back on His Son. What utter compost.
I don't really understand your objections Mateo.

Jesus cried, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Since you reject the standard explanation, I have two questions for you.

Did God forsake Jesus while He was on the cross? and if so, why would God do that?
 
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