The Prophecy Of Jesus In Psalm 22

The Messianic Psalm: A Detailed Analysis of Psalm 22

Psalm 22, authored by David, serves as a remarkable parallel to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The text can be found in both the Greek Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were written around 1000 BC, well before Jesus' time.

The opening verse of Psalm 22 is cited in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, representing the first words Jesus spoke while on the cross. During that era, it was common for the initial line of a psalm or text to allude to the entire passage (Carey2009-cz, Albright1950-pa).

Many Christians believe that Psalm 22 prophesies Jesus' crucifixion (Tkacz2008-uf). The Bible refers to the psalm in John 19:24; Luke 23:34; Mark 15:24, Mark 15:29; Matthew 27:35, 39, 43; and Hebrews 2:12 (Kirkpatrick2019-wd). The psalm portrays an individual in immense suffering, pleading to God for assistance. Many details within the psalm align with the New Testament accounts of Jesus' crucifixion. This interpretation has been upheld by numerous Christian scholars throughout history, including early Church fathers (Schaff2017-jn, Schaff2017-mm, Jerome2008-jw , Hippo1990-lx). However, it should be noted that not all scholars agree with this interpretation, and some interpret the Psalm more metaphorically or in the context of the historical situation of the Israelites.

Proponents against the Christian interpretation have shown that Psalm is still considered Messianic and about the future Son of David. One such example is from the Pesikta Rabbati, this eighth-century Midrash associates the words of Psalm 22 with the suffering Messiah stating:

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it was because of the ordeal of the son of David, that David wept, saying: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. (Ps. 22:16 )

And also:

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Afflicted and riding on a donkey (Zech 9:9) that is the Messiah, why is he called "afflicted"? Because he was afflicted during all those years in prison and because the transgressors of Israel laughed at him.

Tradition also holds that Esther quoted this Psalm in Esther 5:1 on her way to the throne room of the king and that the Psalm could also be similarly applied to her (ArtscrollMesorah1991-zz, Tkacz2008-uf).

The Psalm As Applied to Jesus

The repetition within the Psalm conveys the great torment the writer was enduring. The beginning verses are a cry of despair from the author but it is then followed up in verses 3-5 and 9-11 with a remembrance of God's goodness through the gruesome circumstances he was experiencing.

Verse 6 is where parallels start being made to Jesus on the cross. It has been pointed out by some commentators of the Bible that the word 'worm' in the verse is referencing the Middle Eastern worm that was crushed to make red dye, tola . This is also used in Isaiah 41:14 and is consistent with a suffering servant, becoming an atoning sacrifice by dying on a tree. Verses 6-8 also depict what occurred to Jesus on the cross in Matthew; while on the cross, Jesus was hated and mimicked by hateful bystanders.

Psalms 22:12-18 describes the horrific mental and physical hardship that David is undergoing. He refers metaphorically to those persecuting him as bulls, known for their strength.

Bulls At The Cross?

Dr. Michael Heiser, in The Unseen Realm, argues that the “bulls of Bashan” in Psalm 22:12 should not be read merely as a poetic metaphor for strong human enemies but as a deliberate allusion to hostile supernatural powers opposing God’s purposes. In the ancient Israelite worldview, the region of Bashan—associated with Mount Hermon, the Rephaim (giants), and underworld traditions—was considered enemy territory, symbolically linked to death and spiritual darkness. Heiser emphasizes that this connection is especially significant because Jesus was crucified just outside Jerusalem, in the very geographic region the Old Testament associated with Bashan’s spiritual rebellion Thus, to describe the tormentors of the psalmist (and ultimately Christ) as “bulls of Bashan” evokes more than brute strength; it suggests the gathering of malevolent divine beings aligned against God’s Messiah.

The pouring of water is referenced in John 19:34 when Jesus was pierced by a spear and water poured out of him, consistent with modern medical knowledge about pericardial effusion and pleural effusion, the fluid buildup around the lungs and heart (Stroud, W. (1871). Barbet, P. (2018). Maslen, M. W., & Mitchell, P. D. (2006). Ball, D. A. (1989),ed James Patrick Holding). Jesus experienced extreme dehydration and thirst while on the cross (v. 15). He feels desolate, and the soldiers wagered for his clothes right in front of him (v. 18), just as the gospels record the Roman soldiers casting lots for Jesus' clothes (
Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:24).

Was Psalm 22:16 Translated Wrong?

Some argue that the translation of Psalm 22:16 should replace the word "pierced" with "lion," resulting in the verse reading "like a lion my hands and my feet." Critics claim that Christians are reading their theology into the text or that it was altered to fit the Crucifixion narrative. However, even centuries before the Romans invented crucifixions, Psalm 22:16 contains clear symbolism of Jesus' wounds, mentioning the piercing of hands and feet. The confusion regarding the translation arises because the Hebrew word for "pierced" is "כְּאֲרִי" (k’ari), while the word for "lion" is "כָּאֲרוּ" (ka’aru). The words differ only by the length of the vowel stroke. Although the majority of Masoretic texts contain the word "כָּאֲרוּ" ka’aru" (lion), the earliest records, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, and the oldest Syriac, Vulgate, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, indicate that the original manuscript is correctly translated as ""כְּאֲרִי", k’ari" (pierced) (Charlesworth2000-so). Most scholars and researchers concur with this translation, and arguments for tampering lack substantiation (Abegg2012-fb Grappe2011-nr, VanderKam2005-sa, Hegg2008-pa, Burton2020-um ,Hopkin2022-wu. Further evidence for the use of "pierced" is found in Isaiah 53:5 and Zechariah 12:10, where the servants are described as "pierced through" and "pierced" respectively.

The debate over the correct translation of Psalm 22:16, whether it should be "like a lion [are] my hands and my feet" or "they have pierced my hands and my feet," highlights a significant point of contention in biblical scholarship and interpretation. Despite the claims of alteration to fit the Christian narrative of the Crucifixion, extensive evidence from ancient manuscripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and translations like the Septuagint, supports the translation "pierced." This consistency across various early sources, along with scholarly consensus, strengthens the argument that the original text indeed referred to piercing, aligning with the symbolism of Jesus' wounds as prophesied in the Old Testament. The minor discrepancy between Hebrew words due to vowel strokes does not justify a complete reinterpretation of the text, especially when the context of related scriptures in Isaiah and Zechariah is considered. Therefore, the preponderance of historical, linguistic, and textual evidence upholds the "pierced" translation.

The trauma He underwent dislocated His bones (v. 14, 17). He makes a note in verse 17 that his bones were unbroken; this is paralleled in the crucifixion of Jesus that not a single leg would be broken, as required by the levitation requirement for a sacrifice (R. E. Brown).

The next section of verses 23-32 changes tone and is about thanksgiving. Many Christians such as Martin Luther interpreted it to anticipate the Resurrection with the previous section to have been about the Crucifixion (Dieter S'nger). God shows that He did not abandon the Messiah but rescues him in the end and Jesus stands as a whiteness to his brethren (v. 21-25). This victory stands as a remembrance for all the nations, a message of salvation that would even those yet to be born (v. 27-31)

Psalms 22 is an unmistakable allusion to the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus. This psalm is so important because it is a source that dates back hundreds of years before His death and Resurrection and is yet another line of evidence that this event was predicted to occur.