Psalm 22 Is Not About You
“Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani” in English means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” These were the last words of Jesus/Yeshua as evidenced in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. These words are also the first verse of Psalm 22. The Psalm reads, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me…” (Psalm 22:1 ESV). This is not a coincidence. Jesus/Yeshua was fulfilling the prophesies of the Old Testament. Again, those were the words of Jesus/Yeshua the Christ. Those words are not about you. Psalm 22 is not about you.
Let me repeat, Psalm 22 is not about you. Psalm 22 is not an example of “when times are hard and when we think God isn’t there but in fact, he is so we shouldn’t worry about it because God is there.” This is not an example of “God will never forsake you so don’t worry about anything because he’s got you.” Psalm 22 never has and never will have anything to do with your circumstances. This Psalm is about the sufferings of our Lord and Savior.
A “narcigesis” of Psalm 22 places ourselves in the text. In this style, we are unwittingly comparing our suffering with that of Yahweh Himself. Our sufferings will never compare to the sufferings of Christ. Despite the bleakness of life, you did not suffer like Christ. Jesus/Yeshua bore our sins. You never will. I will repeat that again: you will never suffer as Christ did. You did not bear the sins of the world. You did not receive the fullness of God’s wrath. In case you are wondering, the bearing of God’s wrath took place in Jerusalem in the year 33 A.D. Suffice to say, you are not even old enough to have been around 2000 years ago.
In focusing on the earlier verses, it is simple to overlook the depth of the last 2 verses. It reads: “Their descendants will serve him; the next generation will be told about the Lord. They will come and declare his righteousness; to a people yet to be born they will declare what he has done” (Psalm 22:30–31 CSB). Christ suffered so that we will serve Him, know God’s righteousness, declare His goodness, and be forgiven of our sins. By focusing on yourself, you will miss another foretelling of the Lord.
It is worth repeating that Psalm 22 is not about you. No matter how hard you try to twist the scripture it is not about you. Like the entirety of the Bible, Psalm 22 is about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And as the Apostle Paul closed his letter in 2 Corinthians 13:14, so too will I close by saying, “May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
Unapologetically Christian Apologetics™
