Psalm 22 is a popular place to look for Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by the life of Jesus. Christian apologists (that is, defenders of Christianity) claim that it closely parallels the crucifixion story, even though it preceded Jesus by roughly a thousand years.
This argument is compelling only if we examine verses that support it and ignore others. Taken as a whole, this chapter is no prophecy of the crucifixion.
Let’s first consider verses that support the argument.
• The very first verse of Psalm 22 is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” which are the last words of Jesus according to the gospels of Matthew and Mark.
• “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. ‘He trusts in the Lord,’ they say, ‘Let the Lord rescue him.’” Sure enough, Mark records the onlookers insulting Jesus and mocking his inability to free himself.
• “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing,” as noted in Mark.
The author of Mark was surely familiar with Psalm 22 and could have added the distribution of clothes, the mocking from the crowd, and the last words to his gospel. No supernatural prophecy is needed if Mark lifted these elements from Psalm 22.
Let’s reconsider those last words, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Not only does forsaking Jesus not sound like part of God’s plan, this doesn’t sound like the cool-headed Jesus we find in the crucifixion stories in Luke and John.
The apologetic argument points to intriguing little fragments, but taken as a whole this doesn’t look at all like the crucifixion story. Consider the entire chapter, and we find verses that paint a different picture.
• “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you”—again, this sounds like an ordinary man. The first person of the Trinity wouldn’t need to make the second person of the Trinity trust him.
• “Many bulls surround me…. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.” Bulls and lions? That sounds like a spectacle in an arena, not crucifixion.
• “I can count all my bones.” This unfortunate man must be starving, but (again) this isn’t the gospel story.
• “Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.” Yet again, not the gospel story.
A final problem with shoehorning Psalm 22 into the gospel story is that there’s no reference to the resurrection. This can hardly be the story of the sacrifice of Jesus if it omits the conclusion.
When read completely and without presupposition, Psalm 22 doesn’t sound at all like a summary of the crucifixion story.
Continue to chapter 8.
Image credit: Manik Roy via Unsplash
Notes
the last words of Jesus according to the gospels of Matthew and Mark: Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34.
Mark records the onlookers insulting Jesus: Mark 15:29–32.
“They divide my garments” … as noted in Mark: Mark 15:24.
2-Minute Christianity 
Pingback: 6 Argument from Desire: Can Desire Prove God’s Existence? | 2-Minute Christianity
Consider how shocking it would be for a well known rabbi to be preaching from a cross starting with the psalm that inspired him and describes a vision of a serving hero that would be remembered by generations not yet born. Moses seems to have done something similar by walking up an active volcano and surviving where others died. If you wanted to be remembered in the ancient world, you had to be BOLD!
Here we are all these years later in societies with justice and freedoms, healthcare and houses the people of the time would have considered hard to believe. The biggest and most real supernatural things are not supernatural at all. Thousands died during the Roman persecution secure in the knowledge they would be remembered and followed by equally bold people who would eventually give rise to the world we know today.
Is this finished? Of course not and it never will be. One must struggle with the boldest vision of God of the living and life to really be of service. Do this properly and we will inspire another generation to follow us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Consider how shocking it would be”
Religions get started all the time. We can agree that people have invented religions by the thousands, right? I don’t see how Judaism’s beginnings are startling.
How do you know Mt. Sinai was an active volcano?
“Here we are all these years later in societies with justice and freedoms, healthcare and houses the people of the time would have considered hard to believe.”
I agree–marvelous progress. God could’ve really helped out, but he taught us nothing about the science on which modern society was built.
“Do this properly and we will inspire another generation to follow us.”
Inspire? To do what? We’re living our lives, hopefully to their fullest. Are you adding evangelism to that?
LikeLike
You are correct that religions get started all the time. The older ones often have much more detailed and time tested theological ideas and dynamics. The description in Exodus suggests to me with geological training that Moses was farther East than is traditionally thought where there is significant volcanism. There was a lot of tension and fractiousness and this shows up in ritual and the golden calf. Moses would logically benefit by worshipping at a natural alter as surviving this would give him the attention needed to make his commandments memorable.
A good test of the notion of “God” is to replace it with “Life” and see if your statement makes sense. Life and those that loved it really did help out. The personification of life helps some people emotionally grasp this love and feel like they have more of it. I would liken this to adding a turbocharger to an engine. Science is after all the careful recording and analysis of observations and is rather devoid of emotions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
zarhoth: science delivers. Religion, by contrast, has taught us nothing about the natural world.
How is replacing “God” with “life” helpful? God is supposed to be a supernatural creator who is omnipotent. Yes, dropping that definition makes for an easier argument, but then we’ve left behind what most Christians think of when they say “God.”
LikeLike
No dispute on how “most” American Christians think when they say “God”. Do you have a sense of wonder about the world and universe we live in? I find it amazing how life has shaped this planet and the gene that allows us to be mammals likely came from a virus.
The crazier story is how many natural events shaped the thinking of the ancient people. There is evidence a shard of the Burckle Crater meteor hit in the Mediterranean Sea and splashed salt water all over the Sahara which at that time was grasslands. The explosion of Thera destabilized the whole region and lead to an unknown people with chariots conquering Egypt. The area around Sodom has micro diamonds in a char layer indicating it was hit by a comet. The opening and closing of the Red sea may in fact be a battle that was played out in the sea of reeds with the Israelites correctly reading the signs of a massive volcanic eruption and how this would result in a tsunami.
If you compare indigenous American stories they have a similar feel about them. People in the Amazon flocked to hear missionaries after having witnessed a small asteroid bounce a few times at a shallow angle in the 1920’s. Religion is often more about how average people understand things rather than us who are highly educated. This doesn’t negate the underlying meaning.
LikeLiked by 1 person