Part 4: The Jewish View of Psalm 22 | Hyperlinking Easter to Psalm 22 Series

This is Part 4 of a multipart series connecting Jesus to Psalm 22. It is my hope to bring this series to its conclusion on Good Friday. I’ve addressed the erroneous conclusion that God the Father abandoned Jesus on the cross based on the false assumptions that God cannot look upon sin because Jesus literally became sinful in exchanging his righteousness for our unrighteousness.

Since the Father didn’t abandon him on the cross, then there must’ve been a specific purpose Jesus quoted Psalm 22 (Mat 27.46; Mar 15.34). And it’s my thesis that he did so for the benefit of all those stood underneath the cross—his disciples and followers as well as his accusers and executioners.

A Rabbinical Practice

In antiquity, before the invention of books, writings were only scroll form. Further, chapters and verses that divided lengthy texts into segments haven’t been invented yet. Thus, the common rabbinical practice in Jesus’s day was to quote the first line of a passage to direct his audience to a specific text he had in mind. In an oral culture, their pupils would have memorized large portions, if not all, of the Tanakh (or Septuagint). Thus, by reciting the first line of a passage, their students would immediately recognize its reference.

So there he was, pushing aside the searing pain in his arms and legs to fill his collapsed lungs with enough air to speak, he continued to shepherd his people. By combining the gospel accounts (Mar 15.34-39; Mat 27.46-50; Luk 23.46; Joh 19.28-30), we have Jesus’s literal dying words,

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down and save him.”

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he cried out again with a loud voice, “It is finished! Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And he bowed his head and yielded up his spirit.

Jesus (Mar 15.34-39; Mat 27.46-50; Luk 23.46; Joh 19.28-30)

There is no mistake Jesus intentionally directed them to Psalm 22. He used it both to encourage his followers of the coming darkest hours and to condemn his executioners of the judgment to come for crucifying the promised Deliverer of Israel.

Starting with today’s post, I will share my research to provide some biblical and historical context that connect this Davidic psalm that encouraged the Israelites and Jews under foreign oppression and occupation.

A Psalm of Purim

Psalm 22 is a very special psalm to the Jewish people throughout its history, particularly during the Diaspora (the Babylonian exile). The 1896 discovery of the Cairo Genizah—Hebrew for the “hiding place”—in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, Egypt, was one of the greatest Jewish treasures ever excavated. Among the cache of over 400,000 sacred Jewish manuscripts fragments and documents there contained the earliest written custom which designated Psalm 22 as the Psalm of Purim (AD 870). As you may recall, Purim is a Jewish festival first instituted after Esther laid aside her own life, obeyed Mordecai’s challenge which led to the subsequent foiling of Haman’s plot to exterminate all Jews in the Persian Empire (Est 9.26). The Jews saw her as a typological messiah whom God used to deliver his people from extinction. Thus, the Jews celebrate Purim on the 14th (some on the 15th) of the Jewish month of Adar, the last festival of the year, just before the Passover, which begins a new year (in the old Jewish calendar) that corresponds to February and March in our Gregorian calendar.

The Jews made Psalm 22 the psalm of Purim because according to the Babylonian Talmud Megillah (AD 450-550), Queen Esther quoted this psalm when Mordecai disclosed his the overhearing of the plot to eradicate the Jews. Initially, she felt abandoned and without hope, but through fasting and praying, she faithfully obeyed Mordecai’s challenge. As result God came to their rescue and prospered them from the brink of destruction. All through her.

But, this isn’t the earliest known connection between this psalm and Purim. One hundred years earlier, the church father Jerome (AD 349-407) chastised those who made the central figure of the psalm to be anyone other than Christ, implying it was already an established practice,

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Impious are those who think the psalm was voiced in the persona of David or Esther or Mordecai, for by the very testimony of the evangelist, passages from it are understood to be about the savior: “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots,” “They have pierced my hands and feet” (Commentary on Matthew 4.27.46, completed on March 398)

Jerome (Commentary on Matthew 4.27.46, completed on March 398)

And this connection between Psalm 22 and Purim may be even more ancient than the fourth century AD according to Midrash Tehillim (Hebrew commentary on Psalm), perhaps even pre-dating the first century AD, observed during the Maccabean dynasty as “Mordechai Day” (2Ma 15.36). The Jewish historian, Josephus, said the Purim festival was widespread in his day. This means Jesus participated in this annual celebration during his earthly life. More importantly, as he celebrated, he would have known this psalm was all about him as the promised Deliverer of Israel. According to an article published in the Jewish Bible Quarterly, Dr. Raymond Apple suggests this psalm may be a prophetic poem with a messianic promise, it is “an indication of the future, which will bring both suffering and salvation.”

While Jews and Christians continue to debate the identity of the central figure of Psalm 22, one thing is beyond clear—the hero of Psalm 22 is a messianic-figure. Regardless the exact time the Jewish designation of this psalm as the Psalm of Purim, the Jewish belief that the suffering one in this psalm was the Messiah is unmistakable.

A Messianic Psalm

In this psalm David appeared to recall an event in his life that caused a great deal of distress and brought him to the point of death. But, there are no recorded incidents in David’s life that can account for this. As one Bible scholar pointed out, this psalm isn’t describing an illness or abuse but one painting a picture of an execution. Although David was once threatened with stoning (cf. 1Sa 30.6) this psalm details a much more severe scene. The only explanation is that David wrote this psalm as a prophet regarding his ultimate descendant, the Messiah (cf. Act 2.30). And Jesus, by quoting this psalm, identifies himself as the central figure of this psalm, the one whom God promised to send to deliver his people.

In this prophetic psalm, the Messiah appeals to Yahweh, his Great Shepherd, to deliver him from imminent threat and death. He was in agony and restless, but nevertheless he pledges his believing and loving loyalty to the God of Israel because of his faithfulness shown to his ancestors in Egypt—he rescued them, he liberated them and he restored their dignity (22.3-5).

Conclusion

By citing Psalm 22.1 Jesus was reminding all those within earshot that God hasn’t abandoned his faithful servant but rather he will deliver him and execute justice on his enemy, all those who persecuted him.

Your Thoughts

In my next blog post, I will show you the various metaphors used in Psalm 22 all point to Jesus in the hands of his enemies. I’m excited to share my research with you because it deepened my view on the supernatural nature of the Scripture. Of course it’s supernatural since it was the Holy Spirit who inspired the authors to write.

But until then, I’m interested to hear your feedback. What are your thoughts on my conclusion? As always, I would love it and appreciate it if you can share this blog with others.