It is this bond of trust in God that the scoffers try to undermine. Lamenting is not a failure of faith but an act of faith. If God seems far off, the enemies are very near.
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They are described in animal imagery: The only activity we can clearly identify is one of mocking and gloating 7, When we recall that the ancient biblical culture was very much an honor-shame culture, we can appreciate how much suffering this would bring to the psalmist. The constant attack of the enemies takes its toll on the psalmist. He suffers physical and psychological breakdown and approaches death , 16c Many different body parts are mentioned: The ancients did not make the sharp distinction that we do between physical and emotional suffering.
The last three verses contain urgent pleas for God to come close 19 , deliver 20 and save The change in tone from part one to part two is quite pronounced. This sudden shift is typical of the lament psalms see Psalms 6: Scholars have offered various explanations. Perhaps the most common is that the psalmist has heard an oracle of salvation, perhaps from a priest at the Temple. This gives him assurance that God has heard the prayer and that deliverance is on the way.
- Psalm 22: ‘My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?’.
- Why did Jesus cry out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?".
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He fulfills his vows with a thanksgiving sacrifice which involves the eating of a meal. All offer praise to God because God heard the cry of the afflicted and brought deliverance The circle of praise now moves from the psalmist and Israel to all nations on the earth verses , as well as people before us in time 29 and those who will come after us At the beginning of the psalm, the psalmist felt isolated and alone in space and time.
Psalm ‘My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?’ – Franciscan Media
Here at the end, the praise of God goes out to fill all space and time. Psalm 22 is, thus, the prayer of a just one who suffers innocently, of one who is surrounded by enemies and mocked precisely because of his fidelity to God. When God hears this cry and delivers, the just one offers praise and thanksgiving to God. We are so used to seeing Jesus on the cross that a lot of the shock of it has worn off.
As one observer has noted, if Jesus were to come to earth today and be sentenced to death, he would most likely be electrocuted. Then Christians all over the world would wear around their necks little silver and gold electric chairs! The Passion narratives, then, were perhaps the first Gospel materials to have taken shape. And like all the Gospel material, the Passion story is not a bare chronicle of past events but is filled with the faith of the earliest Christians who struggled to understand and explain the tragic death of Jesus.
Nothing happened by chance or misfortune. The Book of Wisdom 2: A further comment is called for regarding an allusion which we might expect to find but, in fact, is not there. It is, however, not used in the New Testament. The original Hebrew of this verse is quite obscure, and its absence in the New Testament suggests that at this point the earliest Christians were not using the Greek.
Can we still affirm this today? It would be wrong to consider the prophecies of the Old Testament as some kind of photographic anticipations of future events. As I have already explained, these are not words of despair but an expression of faith. The Gospel of John shows us a more exalted Jesus who is more or less in control during his Passion; the darker elements are removed. But Matthew and Mark show us more the human Jesus who entered fully into our human condition.
This is not a sentimental kind of piety. But this question has it backwards. For us, as human beings, death is dark and scary and real. Even though we believe and trust in God, death can cause anxiety and anguish.
Sayings of Jesus on the cross
We live in a culture which, in many ways, is death-denying; it is afraid to take a clear look at the fact and the meaning of mortality. The cry of the psalmist is a profoundly human cry. Perhaps it is a witness our society could benefit from hearing. Many, including both political and religious leaders, found this offensive and threatening. If we show fidelity to the teaching and example of Jesus, we can face similar reactions.
We may not face actual death. Nevertheless, Jesus is pointing to the scriptures to substantiate His messianic mission. It says in Hab. Therefore, it is possible that when Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross 1 Pet. At that time, the Son may have cried out.
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One thing is for sure. We have no capacity to appreciate the utterly horrific experience of having the sins of the world put upon the Lord Jesus as He hung in excruciating pain from that cross.
Lament: Part One (verses 1-11)
The physical pain was immense. The spiritual one must have been even greater. A further comment 2 Cor. That shows us clearly how much God loves us. Related Articles Augustine on the Psalms. Psalms 19 - Did Jesus stop being God when He was forsaken on the cross?