Shortly after Jesus rose from the dead, He told two disciples on the road to Emmaus, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”… He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:25, 27).
One Scripture prophesying about the Messiah is Psalm 22, which David wrote a thousand years before Christ was born. It begins with, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” These are the very words Jesus spoke on the cross in Matthew 27:46.
Verses 7-8 describe what people would say as the Messiah was dying: All those who see Me ridicule Me … they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
This prophecy accurately foretells what happens in Matthew 27:41, 43: Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said…. “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
Verse 12 says, Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. Bashan is a place in Israel with good pastureland, where cattle can grow big and strong. The Hebrew word for “encircled” can be translated “crowned.” Matthew 27:27- 29 records how this was fulfilled as tough Roman soldiers surrounded Jesus and mockingly put a crown of thorns on His head.
An accurate description of Jesus’ suffering is found in verse 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. A human body on the cross literally dries out. The tongue sticks to the roof of the mouth and the thirst is unimaginable. John 19:28 tells us, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”
It is simply astounding to think that David prophesied in verse 16, They pierced My hands and My feet—centuries before crucifixion was invented.
Verse 18 is a prophecy of what would happen to Jesus’ clothes: They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. John 19:23-24 describes how the soldiers divided Jesus’ garments; but instead of tearing His tunic, which was valuable because it was woven in one piece, they cast lots for it.
Yet part of the psalm’s prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. Verse 27 says, All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.
Jesus has given this commission to us, saying in Mark 16:15, Go into all the world and preach the gospel. This is our task—to share what the Lord has done on the cross, that all the world may come to know and worship Him. God bless you this Easter season and always.
