| THE SONG OF THE CROSS |
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| Jesus was dying on the cross, he had this psalm on his lips (Matthew 27:46). Afterwards, when his disciples wanted to explain Jesus' life and sufferings, they turned to this psalm and others like it. In them the disciples saw a pattern and a foreshadowing. The pattern is redemptive suffering. If good guys do not always win, if God seems actually to desert them - if David himself, the great leader and true man of God, knew these pains - then surely no one is exempt. And this suffering has a point. After it (and because of it) come victory and power, and the salvation of the world. This pattern helped Jesus' followers appreciate why Jesus, along with his followers, had to suffer. A Fulfillment of Prophecy Psalm 22 also helped the New Testament writers to see Jesus' life as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Jews had expected a warrior-Messian, a son of David, who, like David, would lead his people to victory through battle. In Psalm 22 they saw that David had left another legacy: victory through suffering. The Messiah would lead his followers in suffering. Only Isaiah had put it more clearly, in his famous "servant" passages (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-7; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). Psalm 22 stretches beyond the time of David; Jesus fits it perfectly. Life Questions: Have you ever seen good come out of suffering for your friends or family? |