This post is the second of three in a debate I had with a Facebook friend on the existence of God.

Resolved: Biblical prophecy offers evidence for God

In Psalm 22 we read of One . . .

• Who says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
• Who becomes sin for us and dies on a tree.
• Who is scored and mocked.
• Who is assaulted by evil spiritual forces.
• Whose life is poured out.
• Who has His bones out of joint.
• Whose heart melts and strength removed.
• Whose tongue sticks to His mouth.
• Who is encompassed by evil doers and Gentiles.
• Who has His hands and feet pierced.
• Who is exposed and his bones counted.
• Whose clothing is divided and lots are cast for the rest.
• Who is delivered by God.
• Who brings Jews and Gentiles togethers as King of all the earth.

If these things remind you of the crucifixion and the New Testament presentation of Christ you would not be alone. However, all of these things are found in Psalm 22, written about 1,000 years before the birth of Christ.

If we are to be fair to the text, in order to properly understand it we need to see it, as much as possible, as the original readers and Second Temple Jews would have. The original readers because that is to whom it was originally intended. Second Temple Jews because that is the period in which Christ lived and was crucified and how these things would have been understood.

Here are some highlights from Psalm 22:

Psalm 22:1

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

As with many psalms David is open and honest about his feelings. In a general sense everyone who has ever felt abandoned by God can relate to this. But that is not the totality of the Psalm. As one reads further we find that God is not hidden from those who love Him and Who does in fact intervene, “For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard” (vs 24).

But King David was more than a writer of psalms, he was also a prophet. Biblical Israelites certainly saw David as both king and prophet. In 2 Samuel 23:1-2 David writes: “Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, And the man who was raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, And his word was in my tongue.”

This is also how Second Temple Jews saw David, and is why on the Day of Pentecost that Peter, a Jew addressing Jews in Jerusalem says, “David, being a prophet . . . foresaw and spoke of Messiah” (Acts 2:30). Peter would not have said this if the people were not expecting the Messiah, or if they did not believe that David was both prophet and king. The Psalms and other writings found at Qumran demonstrate that the Essenes viewed David as a prophet (1Q16, 4Q171, 4Q173, 4Q177, 11Q5, 11Q13). In 4Q397 the Hebrew canon is divided “so that you may study (carefully) the book of Moses and the books of the Prophets and Dav[id]” which seems to list David with the Prophets, or at least compared with the Prophets and Moses. Likewise, the Pharisees saw David as prophet/king. In a special collection of Pharisaic Psalms (also known as the Psalms of Solomon) David’s line is Messianic and David’s words are viewed as both inspired and prophetic. So a Psalm of David would have been seen by Second Temple Period Jews as prophetic, even if describing something in the life of David. As we have already seen in the last OP, this is the “already, but not yet” Jewish perspective of prophecy.

It is important to note that the introduction of chapter and verse is a fairly recent addition to Scripture. For most of the history of the Hebrew Bible (as well as the Greek New Testament) there were no chapter headings. Ancient Israelites would have known what Psalm was quoted by learning the opening line of each Psalm. So by simply saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” biblical Israelites and Second Temple Jews would have thought of Psalm 22 as a whole and not just the opening phrase.

In a limited sense we do the same. For example, Psalm 23 starts with, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” While the phrase stands alone, it causes most of us to think of the entire 23rd Psalm. We think of God, like a Shepherd, leading us and providing spiritual guidance and rest. We think of the valley of the shadow of death and not fearing evil. That His rod and staff comfort us. We think of how, even in the presence of enemies, God prepares a table for us. We recall that this Psalm tells of God’s goodness and mercy. And the promise that one day we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. All because of the opening of Psalm 23. (I realize that if you are not a Bible reader you may not think in these terms. But for those of us who do read it, a few words from the first verse brings these thoughts and thus the whole Psalm to mind.)

So it was for all of the Psalms for the Jews of the first century. Therefore, when Jesus uttered these words while on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Luke 23:46) to the Jewish mind of the first century, they would have thought of the whole of Psalm 22. Certainly, the Jewish Gospel writers understood this as is evident in how they applied this Psalm. In fact, based on the Gospels, the first person to apply Psalm 22 directly to Christ was Jesus Himself when on the cross.

Psalm 22:6

“But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.”

To the Jewish mind to call someone a “worm” involved sin. Job says, “How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?” (Job 25:6). So we know that to become a worm can be applied to an individual.

A worm is also applied to the nation of Israel when they transgressed in worshipping idols. “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 41:14).

The Hebrew word for worm in Psalm 22:6 is תוֹלַ֣עַת (towlaat). In the plural form it’s תּוֺלָעִים (towlaim) and is used in Exodus 16:20 when Israel disobeyed God and kept manna longer than commanded. When they did the manna became worm infested. It is elsewhere translated as “oppressor” (Exodus 26:31, 36; 28:5-6; 39:5-8). The original reader knew that תוֹלַ֣עַת was associated with transgression, oppression, and sin. Its root word is תּוֺלָ and is used in Isaiah 1:8, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Here תּוֺלָ is translated as “crimson.” Again, showing that the worm is associated with the stain of sin which only God can make pure and white.

The תוֹלַ֣עַת (towlaat) worms were special worms which look like red grubs and are known as “towla worms” or “crimson worms” (scientific name is coccus ilicis or sometimes kermes ilicis). They were used to produce red dye. In fact, this worm was used in Exodus 26:1 for the red dye of the curtains for the Tabernacle, as well as the red dye used for the garments of the high priests (Exodus 39:3). This dye was also used in the rites of purification from leprosy (Leviticus 14:4-6) and was added to the sin offering of a red heifer (Numbers 19:6). Because this worm was used in the original Temple, it is currently cultured by the Temple Institute (which is dedicated to rebuilding the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Israel) to be used as red dye when the Third Temple is finally built.

The female towal worm inches up a tree in order to lay her eggs under her body. It produces a hard shall so that removing the worm would tear it apart. Under her body, the larvae hatch and for three days feed off the mother until the mother dies. When she dies she excretes a crimson dye that stains the tree as well as the larvae, who remain red their whole lives. After the larvae leave the hard shell body of the mother towal worm turns snow-white which look like patches of wool.

The Biblical Israelites and Second Temple period Jews would have known that this worm dies on a tree, turning from crimson to wool. So those around hearing Jesus invoke Psalm 22 would have been reminded of their transgressions, one dying on a tree for the sake of others, and that their scarlet/crimson sins could be made as white as snow/wool. Or as the New Testament reminds us, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13) because Jesus became a worm (sin) for us and died on a cross (tree) – despised so that we would have redemption.

Psalm 22:8

“He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”

Certainly one could argue that when David pretended to be insane before Achish the king of Gath that people mocked him. But this is a special mocking where the children of Israel mock the psalmist saying that if this one trusted in God then God would deliver him. However, prophecy, even in the Psalms, would still have been viewed as “already, but not yet.” So what was the “not yet”?

Imagine what a Second Temple Jew watching the crucifixion of Christ would have thought when Jesus cried out the beginning of Psalm 22, reminding them of this passage. They knew it invoked images of sin, death, and cleansing from transgressions. They knew it involved the death of one on a tree. They would have known that this Psalm also invokes images of mockery. With this in mind, those Second Temple Jews who were watching Jesus die on a cross (tree) then heard those in the crowd say, “And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him” (Mark 15:29-32; also Matthew 27:38-44; Luke 23:35-38).

Psalm 22:12-13

“Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.”

The Biblical Israelite and Second Temple Jews would know that the next few verses describe a spiritual battle.

Bulls of Bashan and a roaring lion would cause the reader to see spiritual forces agains God’s afflicted. Both physical creatures (bulls and lions) are extremely dangerous, but they also represent spiritual beings to the ancient mindset. Archeological discoveries show that both of these creatures are frequently found in ancient societies as seen in their carvings and statues. And, are often associated with various gods. However, these are not just cattle or a pride, they are specifically associated with Bashan.

In Deuteronomy 3:11 we are told of “Og the king of Bashan who was left of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The Raphaim were, like the Nephilim of Genesis 6:4 in that they were giants. Og, for example, was a giant whose iron bed “was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide” (vs. 11 NLT). In the Hebrew Bible as well Second Temple Period writings, the Rephaim were Canaanite giants associated with departed spirits in Sheol (Deuteronomy 2:10-11; Isaiah 26:14; Psalm 88:1; Proverbs 9:18). So when David writes in Psalm 22 about the Bulls of Bashan, Biblical Israelites and Second Temple Jews would have thought of demonic creatures and false gods. It is the equivalent of saying, “the gates of Hell.” The Jewish New Testament imagery is picked up in comparing the Devil to a lion (1 Peter 5:8). This is important because the Second Temple Period Jews who witnessed the crucifixion, hearing Christ invoke Psalm 22, would have known that in the midst of His suffering there was an immense spiritual battle occurring in the unseen realm between the forces of good and evil. A battle also found in Second Temple literature (such as the War Scroll in the Dead Sea Scrolls) as well as the New Testament (Ephesians 4:7-10; 6:12). Paul, as a Pharisee, tells us of this spiritual battle and that Christ “shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross” (Colossians 2:15).

Psalm 22:16

“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.”

I will have more to say about this verse in the Possible Objections section below. But the image of the “dogs” encompassing here needs to be addressed. The Gentiles were called “dogs” by Second Temple Israelites. It is so used in the New Testament, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers” (Philippians 3:2). It’s not meant as an insult as we would take it, but rather to distinguish between Jews and Gentiles (Matthew 7:6; 15:25-27). The Biblical Israelite and Second Temple Jews would have understood the “dogs” as Gentiles who pierce his hands and feet. This is exactly what happened when the Roman soldiers (Gentiles) nailed Christ to the cross. This passage is an amazing foretelling of the crucifixion written at a time when Rome was not in power over Israel, and when crucifixion was not a Jewish means of capital punishment. Yet this verse, as well as verses 14-15, depict what a crucified victim would experience, dehydration, bones out of joint (when a crucified man on a cross is dropped into the cross’s supporting hole their arms and shoulders were often pulled out of joint), the heart melting like wax filling it with fluid due to the stress of crucifixion, and demonstrated when His side was pierced with a lance and out came water and blood. “All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me” (Psalms 22:17 NIV). A crucified man was naked on the cross so that all his bones were on display. As a sidebar, the Shroud of Turin, bears the image of a crucified man. It not only shows that he was naked, but his bones can be seen in the image. In this way the image on the Shroud not only acts as a photograph but also an x-ray (https://www.magiscenter.com/…/how-did-shroud-turin-get…).

Psalm 22:18

“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”

There is no record of this ever happening in the life of David. But it is recorded to have happened to Christ. John, a Second Temple Jew, tells us that Christ’s “garments were divided into four parts” (John 19:23), an event also recorded in the other three Gospels (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34); and that for the seamless garment Christ had the Roman soldiers cast lots for it. John even references Psalm 22:18 in describing this, “‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it.’ This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, ‘They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.’” (John 19:24 NIV). Likewise it is recorded in the other three Gospels. The casting of lots for items was called cleromancy and was practiced by the Romans, not only as a means of fortune telling but also to decide who received spoils of war, or in this case the fine linen tunic of Christ. Josephus tells us that:

“Now this vesture was not composed of two pieces, nor was it sewed together upon the shoulders and the sides, but it was one long vestment so woven as to have an aperture for the neck; not an oblique one, but parted all along the breast and the back.” (Flavius Josephus, Antiquites, 3.7.4:203)

Imagine a Second Temple Jew witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus the Messiah. He cries out the opening of Psalm 22 bringing all the events recorded in that Psalm to mind. They would have thought of the dying worm on a tree, of the spiritual battle being fought, of the torment of crucifixion. They would have seen the Roman “dogs” around Him as the Jewish leaders mocked Him. They would have seen the hands and feet of Jesus “pierced.” They would have witnessed the garments of Jesus divided among the soldiers, and his only valuable piece of clothing gambled on by the soldiers as they cast lots for it.

Other events would have been witnessed as well, as is found elsewhere in prophecy and in what happened the day Jesus was crucified. But for now, these six things found in Psalm 22 written hundreds of years before the event is a powerful Psalm. It’s why Psalm 22 is sometimes called “the fifth Gospel.” And, this being so then, like Daniel 9, we have events told before they happened in reference to the Messiah and thus evidence for God’s existence.

POSSIBLE OBJECTIONS:

Psalm 22 only refers to David or the Jewish People.

This is another example of the “already, but not yet” that was discussed in my last OP on Daniel, and which is common in Biblical prophecy. While David is credited with writing this Psalm, and it can be in some fashion applied to David and the Jewish People (and all who suffer), the Psalm itself is clearly Messianic in that it reflects a great deal of Christological events that occurred at the crucifixion that cannot be applied to David, Israel, or anyone who suffers. It is precisely because this Psalm so vividly describes the events of the crucifixion hundreds of years before crucifixion was invented by the Persians (then adapted by the Greeks and finally by the Romans) and a thousand years before Jesus was crucified that some have sought other interpretations of this Psalm in order to deny the Messianic comparison this Psalm illustrates. The foretelling of Christ as Messiah fulfilling this passage is clearly seen by comparing the Psalm to the Gospel’s account of Jesus’s death:

• Psalm 22:1

“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?”

• Matthew 27:46

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is to say, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (also Mark 15:34; Luke 23:46)

• Psalm 22:6

“But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.”

• Matthew 27:30-31

“And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.”

• Psalm 22:7

“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,”

• Matthew 27:39

“And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,” (also Mark 15:29)

• Psalm 22:8

“He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”

• Luke 23:35

“And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.”

• Psalm 22:14

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”

• John 19:34

“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”

• Psalm 22:15

“My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.”

• John 19:28

“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.”

• Psalm 22:16a

“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me:”

• Matthew 27:27-30

“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.”

• Psalm 22:16b

“they pierced my hands and my feet.”

• John 19:37

“And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.” (see Zechariah 12:10)

• Matthew 27:35

“And they crucified him.”

• Psalm 22:17

“I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.“

• John 19:33

“But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:”

• Psalm 22:18

“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”

• Matthew 27:35

“And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.”

• Psalm 22:22

“I will declare thy name unto my brethren: In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.”

• Matthew 28:10

“Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”

• Hebrews 2:11-12

“For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.”

• Psalm 22:27

“For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations.”

• John 12:32

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

The idea of a suffering Messiah is a later Christian invention.

It is trues that many at the time of Christ, as well as those beforehand, only saw the conquering Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures and not the Messiah who would first suffer. With the findings at Qumran with the Dead Sea Scrolls we know that many Second Temple Jews looked for two Messiah’s, one who would conquer Rome and one who would suffer. Christians recognized that both depictions of the Messiah were true, the suffering Messiah with Christ’s first coming and atonement for sin, and Christ’s Second Coming as King of kings. But the concept of a suffering Messiah was not a Christian invention as some have claimed.

In 4Q541 of the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the Testament of Levi, we read:

“ . . . His word shall be as the word of Heaven and his teaching shall be according to the will of God. His eternal sun shall burn brilliantly. The fire shall be kindled in all the corners of the earth. Upon the Darkness it will shine . . . They will speak many words against him. There will be many lies. They will invent stories about him. They will say shameful things about him . . . God will set right errors… He will judge revealed sins . . . Investigate and seek and know how Jonah wept. Thus, you shall not destroy the weak by wasting away or by crucifixion . . . Let not the nail touch him. Then you shall raise up for your father a name of rejoicing and for all your brothers a firm Foundation . . . You shall see and you shall rejoice in the Eternal Light and you will not be one who is hated (of God).”

It is clear here that the coming Messiah would speak the word of God, that the Messiah would be light in darkness and that others would speak against him, lie about him, invent untrue stories discrediting him, and speak shameful things about the Messiah. It is also interesting that this passage says of Messiah that he would not be “destroy(ed) by the weak by wasting away or by crucifixion . . . Let not the nail touch him.” Although this is not a Biblical prophecy it was clear to the writer that crucifixion was a possibility and the writer’s prayer was that no nail (as in crucifixion) would touch him. And, even though Jesus died by crucifixion the New Testament reveals that God raised Him so Jesus was not destroyed or wasted away. Regardless, this Scroll shows that Messiah would suffer.

Also in caves 4 and 11 at Qumran another fragment which literally reads:

בספר ]ישעיהו נביא

וניקפ [ו סבכי היער בברזל ולבנון מגחוטר זע ישי באדיר י ]פול צא וי צמח ד דוי ונשפטו את

והמיתו נשיא העדה צמ [ח דויד ם ובמחוללות ה

כתיים ][ ל

הוצו כוהן [ רואש ח ]לל[י ]

ה

. . . Isaiah the Prophet . . .

. . . The septer shall go forth from the root of Jesse . . .

. . . branch of David and they shall be judges . . .

. . . and they put to death the leader of the community, the branch . . .

. . . with piercings and the priest shall command . . .

. . . the slain of the Romans . . .

This fragment certainly seems to reinforce what we read in both Psalm 22 as well as the New Testament.

Besides the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament, later rabbinical readings also allowed for a suffering Messiah, which would hardly be a Christian invention. For example:

“The Messiah will say: ‘Master of the universe with joy in my soul and gladness in my heart I take this suffering upon myself provided that not one person in Israel shall perish, so that not only those who are alive be saved in my days, but also those who are dead, who died from the days of Adam up to the time of redemption’” (Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 36.1; Zohar II. 212a).

There are other examples, but these demonstrate that later rabbinic teachings showed the Messiah as one who suffered and carries our transgressions. If this had simply been the invention of Christians the Rabbis would not have so closely applied Biblical prophecy of a suffering-sin atoning Messiah.

Psalm 22:16 is mistranslated and should be “like a lion” not “pierced”.

Some modern Rabbis have argued that the translation “pierced” was added by the King James Bible. This is, as will be demonstrated, completely false because the reading “pierced” predates the King James Bible.

Before addressing the textual variant, we should note that even if the true reading is “like a lion” something is done to the hands and feet mentioned in Psalm 22:16. A lion would not lick their hands and feet, they would gnaw on them with their their teeth, thus piercing them.

The issue is not Christian verses Jewish theology, it’s an issue of a Hebrew textual variant. The majority of the Masoretic Text read: כארי ידי ורגלי, which may be read literally as “like a lion my hands and my feet.” However, the oldest known Hebrew manuscript found in the Dead Sea Scrolls reads כארו and not כארי (pierced verses lion). The difference is one letter at the end of the word (remember Hebrew is read from right to left), and is transliterated as ka’aru (pierced) and ka’ari (like a lion). It’s like in English the words “mayor” and “major” are almost alike and even look similar, they mean two different things. So it is here in the Hebrew. In addition to the oldest Hebrew manuscript reading “pierced” so does the oldest Jewish translation, which is the Greek Septuagint. It uses the Greek word ὀρύσσω (o- res-so) which means “to dig” or “pierced.” So the oldest Hebrew manuscript, predating others by about a thousand years, and the oldest Greek translation, translated by Second Temple Jews, both agree with the reading found in the King James Bible (as well as the NKJV, ESV, RSV, NIV, NLT, and almost all other English versions). In the Orthodox Jewish Bible the verse reads, “Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.” Likewise, the Syriac, Vulgate, AEthiopic and Arabic read, “they pierced my hands and feet.” Additionally, there are about a dozen Hebrew Masoretic texts that read, “they pierced my hands and feet.”

To claim “they pierced my hands and feet” is a mistranslation or a deliberate Christian alteration simply does not agree with the textual evidence and the fact that the oldest Hebrew and oldest Jewish translation predating Christianity read “they pierced.” Likewise, the grammatical structure in Hebrew is more congruent with the reading “they pierced” than “like a lion” because in the latter there is no verb, but in the former there is action. And, as mentioned at the beginning of this objection, it does not matter because if “lion” is used the lion is doing something to Messiah’s hands and feet.

The New Testament writers made it look like this was Jesus.

If this were true then it would further strengthen the argument that Second Temple Judaism recognized a suffering Messiah as mentioned in the second objection above.

However, the New Testament writers did not make up the crucifixion and certainly had no influence on David prophetically describing it in Psalm 22. Death by crucifixion was invented by the Persians and later adopted by the Romans. Therefore, historically this objection is extremely weak. That Jesus died by Roman crucifixion is historically sound.

The Psalm says he would be delivered, but Jesus died.

This objection actually establishes the Messiahship of Christ. The Messiah, according to the Psalm, would save and unite Israel (Psalm 22:22-23) and bring all the world unto Himself (Psalm 22:27-31). It is true that Jesus died. But that is not the end of the story, nor the end of Biblical prophecy. Jesus, according to the Gospels, conquered death and was raised Sunday morning following Friday’s crucifixion. In Psalm 16:10-11 David writes: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Peter on the Day of Pentecost quotes this stating, “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.” (Acts 2:27-31). This sermon in Acts 2 was the beginning of the Jewish-Christian Church in Jerusalem. The Jews hearing Peter’s message had no problem connecting Psalm 16 (as well as Psalm 22) with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Conclusion:

• This Psalm was invoked by Jesus while on the cross (vs 1).
• The description is that of a crucified man (vs 14-15)
• The crowds mocked him (vs 6-8).
• His garments are divided and lots are cast (vs 18).
• Something horrendous happens to his hands and feet. He dies and yet is victorious (vs 16)
• There is an allusion to resurrection (vs 22).
• And his death (vs 15) will bring all nations to him (vs 27-28).

None of the objections to the Messianic application of Psalm 22 and Christ are valid defeaters. The weight of the historical and textual evidence supports Psalm 22 as a prophetic description of the crucifixion of Christ. Finally, a plain reading of the text and compared with the Gospel accounts show events foretold and fulfilled.

But for the Second Temple Jews who witnessed this event, the message was unmistakable – Psalm 22 as referenced by Christ and events witnessed by those watching the crucifixion offered prophecy displayed and redemption purchased by Jesus the Messiah.

Thus Psalm 22 offers evidence for the existence of God.