By: A.T. Walker
The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah
Psalm 22:1-31
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
“He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
They gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.
I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.
Let your heart live forever!
All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
For the kingdom is the LORD’s,
And He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.
In the past, I’ve thought that Jesus saying “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) while hanging on the cross was Him pointing back to Psalm 22 for us to see David describe the crucifixion hundreds of years before the event happened. I saw it as this moment of Jesus saying “See! I am the Messiah! He’s talking about Me!” And this is true to a certain extent, I mean, Jesus knew Psalm 22 was about Him, right? He knew.
But by only looking at this verse from that point of view, I missed the deeper, darker, more heart-wrenching truth behind the reference. It wasn’t that Jesus was having an “I told you so” moment, but rather, David is prophesying the most agonizing and terrible cry that Jesus had ever or would ever make. David is telling us about the worst moment…ever!
Past. Present. Future.
The One who had only known perfect relationship with the Father, now is separated from Him because of sin.
Not His…ours.
Jesus knew all that would happen but that doesn’t mean that He did not suffer. Jesus knew the suffering would come, but Jesus also felt the suffering when it came. Jesus is crying out through David hundreds of years before He would cry out on the cross. He really cried out because He was really forsaken (Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46), He was really scorned and mocked (Psalm 22:6-7, Matthew 27:39), He was really thirsty (Psalm 22:15), He was really surrounded by ruthless men (Psalm 22:16, Matthew 27:27), His hands and feet were really pierced (Psalm 22:16, Matthew 27:35), and His garments were really divided and lots were cast for His clothing (Psalm 22:18, Matthew 27:35).
It was horrific.
It was shameful.
It was agonizing.
When His suffering was complete, then came His reward. Hebrews 12:2 says “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” But what was the “joy” that was set before Him? Read Isaiah 53:11. Now, don’t rush through this. Read it slowly:
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Read that first part again…
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be…satisfied
Satisfied?
As a result of bearing our sins, being forsaken, being scorned and mocked, being surrounded by ruthless men, and having his hands and feet pierced, many were justified. Christ atoned for the sins of countless men, women, and children throughout the ages. Jesus saw this and was satisfied. This brought Him joy. This is the love, grace, and mercy of Christ. This is the gospel! But what happens now?
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born
What did they disciples do with the gospel? They preached it. And throughout the generations since, it has been preached by faithful saints. So, what do we do with the gospel? We preach it. It’s our turn. Preach it to the next generation so that they can declare His righteousness to a people who will be born.
The final line in this psalm is a simple, definitive promise…
“He has done this”
Before Jesus took his final breath, Jesus made another simple, definitive promise…
“It is finished”
In Psalm 22:31, the Hebrew word for the phrase “He has done this” is ‘ā·śāh (asah).
In John 19:30, the Greek word for the phrase “it is finished” is Τετέλεσται (tetelestai).
We know that ‘ā·śāh, because Τετέλεσται.
We know that Jesus has done this, because it is finished.
Done.
Finished.
Glorious!
Lux Post 
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