The Pilgrims
first landed in New England 400 years ago. Columbus sailed for the New World
600 years ago. The Crusades were 800 years ago. The Vikings were raiding
medieval Europe 1,000 years ago. Rome was still standing 1600 years ago.
How
different the world was back then! So much has changed, so many differences; it
is hard to draw any meaningful connections between the times back then and
today. But, think of prophecy. Imagine someone telling you that the most
crucial events in your 21st century life were foretold with accuracy
by someone living during the bubonic plague.
Amazingly, the
New Testament authors seem willing and eager to connect the prophecies of
centuries earlier to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. According to some
counts, there are over one thousand Old Testament quotations and allusions in
the New Testament. And, between 200 and 400 specific Old Testament prophecies
fulfilled in the New Testament. Remember, the time gap between the prophecies
and their fulfillment in the first century AD is a minimum of 400 years. Many
of the prophets spoke of Jesus 700 to 1,000 years before the events.
Now, it is
true that some of these prophecies are pretty hard to figure—even after they
are competently explained. Some “prophecies” in the Old Testament appear
obscure. But, by my own figuring, somewhere between 50 and 80 prophecies are so
clear that it is hard NOT to see them fulfilled in Christ: the virgin birth of
Jesus, to be called Immanuel, born in Bethlehem, from Galilee, a light to the
Gentiles, enter riding a donkey, rejected and despised, pierced for
transgressors, numbered among the sinners, buried in wealthy man’s tomb. It is
not hard to find a good long list of these prophecies, and I’d encourage you to
look through them. Again, many will leave you scratching your head wondering;
but, the overwhelming sense you get when you look at these is… WOW!
What is most
enjoyable for me, however, is the unexpected prophecies I run across; that is,
when I find myself surprised in my reading of the Old Testament. Often enough
to still surprise me today, I’ll be reading the Bible when suddenly something
connects so clearly with God’s work in Christ that it is hard to deny that it
is intentional. We know and celebrate that our Lord has providentially shaped
the world to meet His plan for salvation. Yet, often enough when I first see
it, I remain amazed at His work.
One such
text for me is Psalm 22. Jesus directly quotes this text when He was crucified.
Hanging on the cross, Jesus calls out, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken
Me?” While there is tremendous theological power behind Jesus’ words here
(which we will explore in future weeks), one thing that jumps out is that this
is a direct quote from the opening line of Psalm 22. And, I don’t think it is
an accident that Jesus is drawing attention to this psalm. Read it, and see
what you think!
In
preparation for worship this week, read Psalm 22 and ask:
1. How many
direct references can you see to the crucifixion?
2. Why do
you think Jesus called attention to this text?
3. Assuming
that the surrounding crowd knew their psalms (and I think it is a fair
assumption), what do you think they might have thought hearing this crucified
One point to this psalm?
4. If you
were to summarize this psalm to another, how would you do it? Try summarizing
it in a short paragraph, a short sentence.
5. What
might have been going on in the original author’s world that led him to write
this psalm? Just speculate on what might have been happening.
6. The
psalms are often used by modern Christians to capture their current mood or
experience. Why would a modern Christian be attracted to this psalm? What
mood/experience does this psalm capture?
7. What is
the emotional sense of the psalm—is the author happy? Sad? Angry? Depressed?
And, does that emotional mood change throughout the psalm?
