Psalm 22

In my ongoing read through of the Bible, I have reached Psalm 22, arguably my favorite and one of the most important (to me anyway) Psalms.  The book of Matthew, the Gospel which convinced me when I was younger that Jesus is God and that the Bible speaks Truth, records that just before Jesus dies on the cross he speaks "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Each Gospel ends slightly differently and I should note that each Gospel READS differently.  All share some similarities but parts of the text (not just the end) vary in sequence and in content.  Some people believe this is a problem (those who tend not to believe in Jesus, really) but remember, these are written accounts from different eye witnesses and it is PERFECTLY natural for each account to vary quite a bit.  People focus on what is important to THEM or what catches their eye or ear.  But back on topic.

At the end of Matthew it is written that Jesus references Psalm 22.  Back then, people did not reference books, chapters and verses, they simply indicated a section of scripture by stating the first verse.  SOME people believe that Jesus actually recited all of Psalm 22 on the cross and the writer was simply referencing that instead of writing the entire Psalm, but I think it likely he was simply referencing the verse as he was hung on a cross and such a long Psalm would be difficult to recite in His state.

So what did Jesus say with his dying breath?

I won't post up Psalm 22 here... you can look it up and read it for yourself (is that rude?  Sorry I am not trying to be rude).  But BASICALLY it is both descriptive of His end and a statement as to the present and future when He dies.  If you've read Psalm 22 you understand what I mean.  It is as if the writer sat at the foot of the cross writing the Psalm.  The end of the Psalm is indicative of what happened next:  Jesus arose, and fulfilled God's purpose, and the Word was shared from generation to generation.  Really, it's Jesus final footnote on who He really is.

O.K.  Maybe I will post Psalm 22 (a Psalm written by Kind David) for your reading pleasure (HCSB version):

¹ My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from my deliverance
and from my words of groaning?
² My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer,
by night, yet I have no rest.
³ But You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ Our fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You rescued them.
⁵ They cried to You and were set free;
they trusted in You and were not disgraced.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by people.
⁷ Everyone who sees me mocks me;
they sneer and shake their heads:
⁸ “He relies on the Lord;
let Him rescue him;
let the Lord deliver him,
since He takes pleasure in him.”

⁹ You took me from the womb,
making me secure while at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ I was given over to You at birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.

¹¹ Do not be far from me, because distress is near
and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
strong ones of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ They open their mouths against me—
lions, mauling and roaring.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are disjointed;
my heart is like wax,
melting within me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like baked clay;
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You put me into the dust of death.
¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ I can count all my bones;
people look and stare at me.
¹⁸ They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹ But You, Lord, don’t be far away.
My strength, come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver my life from the sword,
my only life from the power of these dogs.
²¹ Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me
from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
I will praise You in the congregation.
²³ You who fear Yahweh, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere Him!
²⁴ For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.
He did not hide His face from him
but listened when he cried to Him for help.

²⁵ I will give praise in the great congregation
because of You;
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear You.
²⁶ The humble 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.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before You,
²⁸ for kingship belongs to the Lord;
He rules over the nations.
²⁹ All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;
all those who go down to the dust
will kneel before Him—
even the one who cannot preserve his life.
³⁰ Their descendants will serve Him;
the next generation will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will come and tell a people yet to be born
about His righteousness—
what He has done.