Psalm 21-22
Psalm 22 was quoted by Jesus on the cross. “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”(22:1) Many of those standing around thought He was feeling deserted by God, but I don’t think that was true. When Jesus spoke those words on the cross, He spoke Hebrew, and the translation stays in Hebrew. (The rest of the chapter is written in Greek). To the Jews, He was telling them that this Psalm was being fulfilled in their time.
“I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by men.”(22:6) When you see what was happening to Jesus on the cross, you see that this was happening. He was not only crucified, but He was mocked and jeered by those around Him.
“Dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evildoers has encompassed Me. They pierce My hands and My feet.”(22:16)
“They divide their garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”(22:18)
You can easily see these verses being fulfilled during the crucifixion.
At the end of the Psalm, however, we get to the good part. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will worship before the Lord.”(V.27).
“Posterity will serve Him; it will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that he has performed it.”(V.30-31)
This Psalm is clearly prophesying of a day when God’s covenant will be available to all. During the time of David, the Jewish mindset was on their own nation. They weren’t concerned with the “ends of the earth.” In fact, they were to stay away from those other nations.
Yet right in the middle of God’s first covenant, He was looking forward to the day when His people would come from nations all over the world. The New Covenant, to be cut through His Son Jesus, would make salvation available to all mankind.
So God would give a glimpse of the future to his prophets. (David operated in this gift from time to time). I wonder what he thought when some of these words would come forth. I’m sure that he would ponder them. He was speaking of a future time which no one from his era could totally understand.
God was just giving hints and clues so that we could recognize the day. There are lots more hints and clues concerning our time and God’s final wrap up of our era. For those who want to hear from Him, He gives understanding about things to come.
Acts 21: 1-26
We have watched Paul as he has encountered evil men, fleeing so that he would not be put in jail. Now, all of a sudden, he has a change of attitude. Many have warned Paul that he will be bound by the Jewish leaders when he gets to Jerusalem, but he’s determined to go. Even saying that he “is willing to die for the Name of the Lord.”(V.13)
Why this change? I think I know. Do you remember when Paul first had his encounter with Jesus and was blinded for three days? The Lord told Ananias to go to him and lay his hands upon him for his regaining of sight. The Lord said, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”(Acts 9:16).
I think that Paul had seen himself bound in Jerusalem and sent to Rome. The goal was to have the gospel preached even to the citizens of Rome, and the Lord was going to use this method to get him there.
So even though Paul had avoided being jailed in the other cities, he knew that this was to be God’s will for him. So he goes gladly, telling his friends to stop crying. He is ready for this newest aspect of his mission.
Paul has a purpose and he will fulfill it at any cost.
Are we willing to fulfill our purposes at any cost? I hope so.
