From the Rev. Deacon Larry Barnhill Todays Thought~ Visions from the Cross; an Exegetical Look at Psalm 22 as viewed through the Cross of Christ. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” This short sentence has been one that has echoed down the ages, especially for followers of Christ Jesus. A good number of Christians today when they hear these words are immediately drawn to the crucifixion of Christ and remember these as some of his last words. Moreover many see these as the spiritual break and separation that had to occur so that the death of Jesus would fulfill the sacrifice that would set mankind free. I won’t argue the point that this had to occur; however, many people have either forgotten or do not know where this sentence is actually from. Today we are going to take a look into this part of Scripture and how that can apply to our lives today. The key thought, or idea, that I want everyone to remember as we move forward in this reflection is that no matter what, despite our apparent circumstances, that God is in control and his ultimate plan and will shall be accomplished. This will become more evident as you read further. Now let us set the background scene in which this scenario with Christ is taking place. Christ has had his trial, been sentenced to death by the urging of the Sanhedrin, and is now on the cross. These details are well known by most individuals who call themselves Christian. What most forget, or simply have never been taught, is the events outside of Jesus’ crucifixion that were taking place within Israel at the time. The crucifixion of Jesus occurs as the people of Israel were preparing for the Passover Feast. The timing and reason for this will become clear as we move forward. Psalm 22 was written by David and many mistakenly thought it was just his crying out to God when he was running for his life from Saul. However, if you look closely at it, the Psalm has a deep Messianic overtone to it. Also we must remember that Jesus was well versed in what we call the Old Testament. The Jewish men around him at the time of his crucifixion would have been well versed in the Old Testament as well. Jesus often quoted or referenced Old Testament scriptures in his teachings. When he calls out the first line of this Psalm while hanging on the cross, he is not bemoaning the separation that was needed to fulfill his role as our savior. No, in my opinion what he was doing was calling out to those around him to recall this Psalm as he once again lets people know who he truly is, his mission, and God’s redeeming love. What is fascinating with this Psalm is that it very well sums up what Jesus has endured during the events of his Passion. Yet despite what he is suffering, he remains true to God the Father, and reminds the people of Israel that they need to return to God, and reminds them of the trust their forefathers had in God, and how he had delivered them, and is now working to deliver their descendants to something even better. In verses 6 – 8, Jesus calls the people to remember that they have rejected the Savior and have piled insults upon part of the Trinity, and how in man’s blindness and power hungry sinful nature they have despised that which can give eternal life. Verse 8 is very interesting in light of the Pharisees and Sadducees and their mocking of Jesus. In this verse David pens how they say if the Lord delights in him, then let the Lord rescue him. We find a very similar thread of words ushered at Jesus, yet Jesus does not give in to their demands. As we move forward to verses 14 to 18 we see written out how Jesus has been poured out like water and how all of his bones are out of joint. David wrote these lines not knowing what was to come, yet with the crucifixion we see Jesus’ bones out of joint, as was a common occurrence to those who were crucified. We also can see a clear reference to the piercing in Jesus’ side with the pouring out. When Jesus was pierced, it was water that squirted out. In verse 16 we see clearly how with Jesus he has been encircled by the Sanhedrin, which for the most part had become a band of evil men. One of the most interesting verses in that of verse 18, here we have a reference to garments being divided and lots being cast for them. We will see this image repeated a few times by the prophets in reference to the Messiah, most notably by the prophet Isaiah. The real “meat” of this Psalm is in the ending, and it is one of the last jabs at the Sanhedrin and a call to put faith in him, that Jesus gives to the masses. From verse 25 to the end of the Psalm, David basically summarizes who Jesus is and what his role will be. People, families, and nations will return to the Lord and recognize Jesus for who he is and at the end, all peoples, past, present, and future, will knee before Jesus knowing it is only he who can keep them alive eternally. The best parts of this psalm are the last 2 verses. I find them interesting in light of one of the last sentences that are attributed to Jesus: “It is finished.” Or as in some translations “it is done.” The last two lines of the Psalm read as “Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn—for he has done it.” Indeed he has done it. As I stated earlier, Jesus was not in anguish over what was to come. He knew what was needed well before he came to earth. As he was using up the last of his human strength upon the cross, he muttered out the first line of this Psalm to call all, both those present and those yet to be born, to remember what had taken place and what he was doing for all of mankind. So how does this tie into what was happening in Israel and the time of the Passover that was occurring? What most people don’t know is that the temple priests in Jerusalem would prepare the lambs for the sacrifice and they would give the meat to the Hebrew people to have with their Seder meal. Think about that, it was the priests who killed the lambs. It was the priests who forced Pontius Pilate’s hands and sentenced Jesus to death. Thus it can be extrapolated that the priests of the Jerusalem Temple where the ones who actually sacrificed the Lamb of God. Under Jewish Levitical law, the people had to make a yearly sacrifice to God seeking forgiveness and the removal of any curses so that they may be blessed for the coming year. This is known today as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is also from this practice that we get the idea of the scapegoat. This sacrifice had to be done every year as nothing was worthy enough for permanent forgiveness. That changed with the Lamb of God, Jesus. His sacrifice would render the sacrifices of Yom Kippur over. Again “he has done it.” What is also interesting to note is that during this time frame that Jesus was upon the cross was the time that the priests of the Temple traditionally prepared and sacrificed the lambs for the Passover meal. If you look at John’s Gospel, the Last Supper takes place a few days before the arrest of Jesus in the garden. If you remember, the Passover meal celebrated how the Holy Spirit came through Egypt and spared the Hebrews and in doing so they were freed to come to the Promised Land. As Jesus is hanging upon the cross and calling for all to remember Psalm 22, he also has offered himself as our Passover. Think about it . At the Eucharist we echo Christ’s words “this is my body broken for you” and “this is my blood poured out for you” as we prepare the bread and the wine. Just before the priest ends he breaks the host and says “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us”. Christ our Passover. Christ became our Passover meal. He who feeds upon the spiritual food that Christ provides shall live and be saved to life eternal with God the Father. It is Christ that has dominion over the earth and it is only he that can bring we fallen humans home. Psalm 22 was written in the time of David, but as we look at it through the cross, it clearly is a summary of what Jesus came to do, the events of the Passion of the Christ, and the Glory and role he has now and shall have until the end of time. So therefore as we go about our lives, we must take pause to look beyond the mere surface of things and instead go deeper into their true meaning. Jesus does not want fans; he wants fully committed followers and disciples. He has become our sacrifice and made atonement for our sins. We must thank him daily and seek to honor what he did for us in how we live our lives. We belong to him and our lives should reflect that. “For he has done it.”, this is the last line of the Psalm and it says it all. Jesus has done it for us, and he has gone down the path before us. Therefore the next time you partake of the bread and the wine at the Eucharist, remember the words and actions involved in Psalm 22 and just what you truly are partaking of and then bask in the warm glow of God’s love knowing that you have just partaken of the ultimate Passover and then go forth and proclaim that love to a people yet unborn. Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 00:07:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015