The Suffering Saviour (Psalm 22:1-21)

Psalm 22 is a unique psalm because of the insights it gives to the experience of the Saviour. In verses 1-21, the psalm is about the cross and verses 22 to the end are about the crown. Or in the words of Peter, we have in the psalm an account of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow. Obviously, the psalm is a prophecy and it is on the level of prophecies such as Isaiah 53 concerning the details that it provides of the work of the Saviour.

There is, however, a unique aspect to the psalm in that we see the work of Jesus from his perspective. Isaiah 53 is written from the point of view of an external observer describing what took place whereas Psalm 22 takes us inside, into the thinking and feelings of Jesus when on the cross and shows us his intentions when the subsequent glory appears.

Moreover, the psalm is a conversation between Jesus and the Father. This is a common feature of the Messianic psalms as we can see from Psalms 2, 16, 40 and 45. Yet this is the longest conversation in this type of psalm, and it reveals details not even recorded in the New Testament. Here we have an example of the incredible nature of the Word of God, that such a detailed description could be given of events that would occur far in the future.

In the first section of the psalm, the suffering Speaker uses animals to describe his opponents. There seem to be three enemies in mind. First, there are those likened to wild oxen. From the New Testament accounts of what the Jewish leaders said at the cross we can see that the same words are linked to the wild oxen in the psalm. Therefore, it is straightforward to identify who is depicted by the bulls of Bashan. Second, there are the dogs and the New Testament links their actions mentioned in the psalm to the activities of the Gentile soldiers supervising the crucifixion. Third, there is a third enemy called both a lion and a dog, and it is not difficult to see in the references in the psalm the activities of the devil.

We may wonder why the psalm begins with what is called the fourth of the seven sayings of the cross. The answer is obvious – the situation that caused this cry was the most important stage of the sufferings of Jesus. Indeed, it is possible to take the events recorded in verses 1-21 and work backwards and see a chronological order of events in reverse concerning what occurred at the cross.

Statement of faith (vv. 1-2)

The opening lines of the psalm are a clear expression of confident faith despite the circumstances. Although God is far away from the sufferer’s consciousness, the sufferer affirms his commitment to God. We see here the determination of Jesus to serve the Father even in the darkness of the cross. Jesus did so, even although what he sensed was the absence and silence of God.

We can observe several features of the person of Jesus here. First, we see the reality of his humanity. It is appropriate for him as a man to ask his Father about what is taking place. Second, we see the personal nature of his faith in his use of the personal pronoun ‘my’ to describe his relationship with God the Father.

Third, we see from this statement of faith that it is not correct to divide the life of Jesus into his active and passive obedience. The active is his daily obedience and the passive is what occurred on the cross. Yet we can see that he was not passive in the usual meaning of that term. The statement reveals that he was analysing the situation and expressing a longing for deliverance.

The faithfulness of God (vv. 3-11)

In this section of the psalm, the Sufferer refers to God’s faithfulness in two ways. There is his faithfulness to the people of Israel and there is his faithfulness to the Sufferer at his birth. The Sufferer mentions that God had delivered his people when they called to him in prayer – there are many examples of this in the Old Testament. Of course, none of them, not even Jonah, had plunged to the depths to which Jesus went. Still, he regarded the Father as the One who answers prayer, even although his own prayer for deliverance had not yet been answered.

The Sufferer also mentions the circumstances of his birth. Perhaps, when this part of the psalm was fulfilled at the cross, Jesus could see his mother. The Gospels reveal how difficult the situation surrounding his birth was. Yet the Father had been faithful, and the birth took place as predicted in the Old Testament – he would be born of a virgin and the birth would occur in Bethlehem.

In addition, the Sufferer recalls the faithfulness of God throughout his subsequent life and parallels it with his own commitment to his God. This is a wonderful summary of the childhood, adolescence and adulthood of the Saviour. The Father provided what the Son required, and the Son wholeheartedly and perfectly served the Father. No doubt, recalling those details would have strengthened the faith of the Saviour.

While the circumstances were unique to Jesus, we can draw lessons from the response of Jesus here. One is that we should value the accounts of God’s dealings with his people recorded in the Bible. A second is that our prayers should include arguments and reasons expressed to God as to why he should answer us. Third, when in prayer, we should focus on suitable divine attributes. The Father is described as holy, but that is an all-embracive term, so while we should use it when speaking to God we also can be more specific in our prayers and mention the divine attribute(s) that apply to our situation, and we see Jesus in the psalm take hold of the faithfulness of God.

The enemies of Jesus (vv. 12-19)

We have already suggested who are meant by the wild animals referred to by Jesus. As we consider the attacks, we have a vivid sense of what Paul meant when he said that Jesus was crucified in weakness. The psalm depicts him as under constant attack.

As we consider the descriptions of the actions of the Jews and the Roman soldiers, we should be amazed at the precision of divine prophecy. Words and actions that would not occur until centuries later are detailed. How can a person read this psalm and not deduce that the Bible is of divine origin? The only answer is wilful refusal to accept the obvious.

Not only is the precision amazing, but we have to add the fact that the method of crucifixion was unknown when the psalm was written, yet the author describes it when he says that the hands and feet of the Victim were pierced. Crucifixion was later invented by the Persians and became a common form of execution. But the point here is that God mentions it before it was invented.

Of course, we also see here the callousness of humans in the face of suffering. We would expect that such behaviour would be inappropriate even if the victim deserved to die. Why mock a dying person? Maybe it was customary for people to deride victims of capital punishment. They used to be public events in our own country.

The Sufferer in the psalm links the whipping he received and the gambling of the soldiers. This could be an indication that the same soldiers were involved with both. As we read these verses, we should think about how Jesus felt when he saw those soldiers. The New Testament tells us that he prayed for their forgiveness when they nailed him to the cross, but that later that day they confessed together that he was the Son of God.

The answer comes (vv. 20-21)

The first section of the psalm concludes with more references to the opponents of the Sufferer. In addition to the bulls and the dogs, he mentions two other causes of his distress – the sword and the lion. As mentioned above, the lion is likely a picture of the devil and the New Testament states that this moment was the hour of the power of darkness. Yet he discovered that the Sufferer was much more than a match for him. Instead of experiencing victory, the devil experienced total defeat at the cross, as Paul writes to the Colossians how Jesus stripped the hostile forces of their power.

What about the sword? It could be a reference to the human authorities who had sentenced the Sufferer to death and who had ensured that the sentence would be carried out. Yet it could be a reference to another sword, the sword of divine justice, later mentioned in a prophecy of Zechariah as being raised by God against his Shepherd, which was fulfilled at the cross. Certainly, it was the sword of divine justice, and not the sword of the civil authority, that brought about the state of abandonment that Jesus experienced when he quoted this psalm on the cross.

It is clear from the psalm that the Sufferer was delivered at the last moment, as it were, just as when it seemed that the wild bulls were going to gore him. The Jewish leaders certainly wanted that to happen to him, but suddenly their power became pointless, and that happened because the Sufferer had paid the penalty required by God. Immediately the price was paid, calmness was in the soul of the Sufferer, and we can see that was the case with Jesus on the cross. After he cried out, ‘It is finished,’ he resigned his spirit calmly to his Father, to the One who had forsaken him.

Our response

There are some comments that we can make in conclusion. First, in Psalm 22 we have a ringside seat at the crucifixion and we should make use of it often. The entrance to the seat is free and we are always welcome to see what took place there.

Second, we should do what Count Zinzendorf did when he saw a painting of the cross, with the words below it, ‘All this I did for thee, what hast thou done for me?’ He dedicated his assets and talents to the cause of Christ and the world has not been the same since. Is Jesus calling us to use our talents in his service?

Third, the cause of the cry of the Sufferer in verse 1 is easy to find. It was us who brought this about. Our sins brought him to that awful place, where he suffered the wrath of God. If reading this psalm does not cause us to forsake sin and express devotion, what will?