Jesus’ cry from the Cross was not despair without meaning, but the fulfillment of Psalm 22 in suffering, trust, and victory.
With a Subtitle: A Biblical look at why Christ quoted Psalm 22 in anguish, faith, and victory
A brief Excerpt: Jesus’ cry from the Cross was not a confession of defeat, but a declaration that Psalm 22 was being fulfilled before the world’s eyes. His suffering, mockery, and victory all reveal the truth of the Messiah.
The Author is: Zack Duncan
Jesus is in anguish shortly before He takes His final breath on the Cross.
Matthew 27 and Mark 15 have the same record of a few of His final words.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ [Mathew 27: 46]
Some modern scholarly perspectives have argued that this shows a hopeless figure, betrayed by the God He served. This is a view of a supposedly disillusioned Jesus, the failed apocalyptic prophet who remains when the supernatural Son of God is removed.
Some ancient Gnostic thinkers said that this was the specific time that the divine Christ aeon departed from the human Jesus. Leaving only the human to suffer and not a Jesus who was both fully God and fully man. This is the view in the Gospel of Phillip from the 3rd century.¹
These views are wrong. Here’s why.
How to Quote Scripture as a First-Century Jew
The Hebrew Bible wouldn’t get chapters and verses until the early 13th century and the work of Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury.²
This practice wouldn’t begin to be adopted by members of the Jewish faith until the Bomberg Rabbinic Bible³ in the early 16th century.
Second Rabbinic Bible, Venice, Daniel Bomberg, 1525, Photo by Shawn Miller / Library of Congress
So if you were a Jew in the first century AD you couldn’t reference a specific portion of Torah through chapter and verse. Instead, quoting the first line of a passage was how you invoked the entire portion of Scripture.
The same rules applied for the Ketuvim (Writings), the portion of Scripture that includes the 150 Psalms.⁴
That’s how we know that Jesus was proclaiming Psalm 22 as He prepared to die.
Let’s take a look at 5 movements to help us understand what He was saying.
Part 1: Jesus the Forsaken
Psalm 22 is prophecy with dual fulfillment.
It was written by King David to express his personal anguish, while it prophetically looks ahead to a suffering Messiah who would come 1,000 years later.
In verses 1–5 we see its fulfillment in the anguish of Jesus. A Jesus fully in touch with His humanity and suffering.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. [Psalm 22: 1–5]
He feels abandoned, finding no comfort in the God who had walked with Him each day.
Yet despite the feeling of absolute abandonment, Jesus is steadfastly committed to the Father He trusts.
Part 2: Jesus the Mocked and Despised
The Psalm continues to reveal the same Messianic suffering servant that Isaiah foretold.
Earlier in the day Jesus was abandoned by His friends, viciously beaten, spit upon, mocked with a purple robe, and given a crown of twisted thorns to wear.
The taunting only accelerates as He approaches His death, as Psalm 22: 6–10 anticipates.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. [Psalm 22: 6–10]
In Mathew 27:39–43 we see the mocking crowds who say “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him” in direct fulfillment of this psalm.⁵
And once again, we see that the abject feelings of mockery and scorn are answered by Jesus with yet more faith in the Father. He reminds Himself that He has had one God since birth.
Part 3: The Details of the Crucifixion
Verses 11–18 include details that are consistent with Jesus’ death by crucifixion.
It’s worth remembering that Psalm 22 was written many hundreds of years before crucifixion would come to exist.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. [Psalm 22: 11–18]
His bones are out of joint. His hands and feet are pierced. His mouth is dry and he is in desperate thirst.
Even the clothes of Jesus are divided up by the casting of lots. The same way that John records in John 19:23–24.
It’s also worth exploring these “bulls of Bashan” who symbolize powerful and ruthless enemies.
Today, Bashan is the modern-day Golan Heights. In the ancient world it was known for fertile pastureland land which produced strong and well-fed livestock. These bulls become a metaphor for self-indulgent, arrogant, and aggressive oppressors who surround and mock the helpless.
Bashan also represented a supernatural and evil “north” where Yahweh’s spiritual enemies lived. It was thought to be the home of Baal, the source of so much idolatry for the Israelites in the Old Testament.⁶
This area, therefore, is portrayed as the realm of the evil spiritual forces arrayed against God’s people. It is the land of the dead in which they have been taken captive, representing the underworld. [De Young, The Baal Book, pg 70]
Bashan was also associated with the Nephilim (King Og in Deuteronomy 3: 1–11), who were clearly connected to demons in Second Temple Judaism and were the spiritual enemies of Yahweh and His people.
Jesus is surrounded by oppressors, both human and spiritual.
Part 4: Deliverance from Evil
Jesus is suffering, but His eyes are still on the Father.
In verses 19–21 He affirms His hope is in God and pleads for deliverance from supernatural evil. The “power of dogs” and the “lions” and the “horns of the wild oxen” call back to the bulls of Bashan who were encircling Him earlier in the Psalm.
These are the powers and the principalities that will soon be crushed under the feet of Jesus.⁷
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. 21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. [Psalm 22: 19–22]
This is spiritual warfare. Absolute surrender to God who will vindicate the righteous and obedient one.
We see the hope that Jesus has. Rather than the place of His defeat, the Cross is where He is truly victorious.
Part 5: The Enduring Victory and the Kingdom
Verses 22–31 show the victory that has come to humanity through the Cross.
The suffering of the “afflicted one” has been fully redeemed, and the world is blessed as a result.
Just as Yahweh had promised to Abraham,⁸ dominion belongs to the Lord and the nations belong to Him.
22 I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him — may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him — those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it! [Psalm 22: 22–31]
He has done it indeed!
Wrapping Up
Wishing you and yours a blessed Good Friday and a joyful and victorious Easter!
5: 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ [Mathew 27: 42–43]
6: Stephen De Young, The Baal Book: A Biography of the Devil, Chapter 3, pg 70
7: 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. [Colossians 2: 15 ]
8: The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” [Genesis 12: 1–3]
