From Defeat to Victory : Psalm 22

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Bald Knob, Arkansas

A Cry of Defeat

“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)

These words are a cry of despair, disappointment, and defeat. There appears to be no end in sight. “Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning” is how the first verse concludes. Psalm 22 is considered a psalm of David. He portrays the faithful servant of God enduring pain and humiliation because of his enemies. It is no wonder Jesus quoted the opening words while He was on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

David acknowledges God’s sovereignty and how God is the One who is enthroned above all others (Psalm 22:3, 28). Since the LORD is the one who rules over all people, everyone is obligated to worship and faithfully serve Him. The chief character of Psalm 22, the one who is enduring such agony, is described as someone who serves God faithfully and obediently:

• 22:2 – “O my God, I cry by day…”
• 22:9 – “…You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.”
• 22:10 – “…You have been my God from my mother’s womb.”
• 22:22 – “I will tell of Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.”
• 22:25 – “From You comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.”

The servant of God is so faithful that even his enemies cannot deny it. They mockingly say, “Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let him rescue him, because He delights in him” (Psalm 22:8). A person’s enemies can weaponize someone’s faith against them. Enemies attempt to get people of faith to doubt God’s goodness by urging them to say, “If God loved me, then He would not let me endure this pain.” If thoughts of doubt and fear can creep into people’s minds, then they might turn away from God. Doubt might be planted if we see God responding to and rescuing others out of the hand of their enemies (as the Psalmist acknowledges in 22:3-5), but we ourselves have not yet received a response or rescue. God heard the cries of His people, they trusted God, and God responded. They were not disappointed (Psalm 22:5). As a reader, you should feel the crushing weight of these words because here is the faithful servant of God who is in anguish and on the brink of being disappointed by God.

Despair leads to loneliness. Defeat leads to a sense of abandonment (Psalm 22:1). He fears he is a reproach and despised (Psalm 22:6). Trouble seems to follow him (Psalm 22:11-18).

It is hard to find a better portrayal of the cross than what this psalm does. Jesus’s quotation of Psalm 22:1 shows us how this psalm was fulfilled in the crucifixion of Jesus. There are even more explicit references to Jesus’s crucifixion.

22:16 – “They pierced my hands and my feet.”
22:18 – “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

I would encourage you to take out two different Bibles. Open one to Matthew 27 and the other to Psalm 22. Notice the similarities. There are several allusions and quotations from Psalm 22 in Matthew, well beyond Jesus’s statement on the cross.

Psalm 22 pictures the Son of God’s despair and anguish while He was suffering the cruelty and humiliation of hanging on a cross. Jesus was hearing the mocking cries of those who would argue since He claims to be God’s Son, then God should rescue Him.

A Song of Victory

Up to this point, we have focused on only the first two-thirds of Psalm 22, which paints the horrific picture of suffering defeat at the hands of one’s enemies…but it does not end that way. God hears the faithful servant’s cries, and God answers them!

22:24 – “For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard.”

Psalm 22 ends with a song of victory and praise for God because God does not forsake His faithful children. Jesus did not die on the cross, believing God had turned His back on Him and that the Father no longer heard His prayers. Jesus did not give in to the doubts from those who were mocking Him. His faith had never been stronger (Philippians 2:8). The fact that Jesus quotes from Psalm 22 indicates that Jesus is going through the exact feelings and emotions that Psalm 22 conjures up. Psalm 22 begins with abandonment, humiliation, and anguish, and it ends in victory! Even though the suffering of pain and loneliness were very real for Jesus, there was victory through enduring the cross.

In Psalm 22, the faithful servant tells others about God’s help in crushing his enemies, giving reason to worship and praise the LORD (Psalm 22:22-26). The message of the cross is not a message of despair and defeat — it is the message of hope (1 Corinthians 1:18). God heard Jesus’s cries of despair while on the cross, and the Father saw Christ’s faithfulness through it all. It was because of Jesus’s obedience in suffering death on the cross that God would raise Him from the dead and exalt Jesus to the throne of God (Philippians 2:8-11; Acts 2:31-36).

Jesus, the faithful servant of God, learned to trust in God and be obedient to Him even in the most difficult of circumstances. Jesus realized that sometimes the way to victory does not mean escaping pain. Instead, the path of victory requires absolute obedience and enduring pain.

We can learn from Jesus’s example on the cross. His perfect obedience, even to death upon the cross, displays the meaning of sacrifice. Sacrifice involves setting aside our wants and our priorities to do what God expects of us, even if it involves emotional turmoil (or physical pain). Sacrifice is never easy, and Jesus is the embodiment of the perfect sacrifice.

Another lesson we can learn is that faithful service to God will bring challenges. That’s why Christians were admonished to be faithful until death (Revelation 2:10; Hebrews 10:32-35). Serving God may mean we lose possessions and even our lives. The apostle Paul despaired of his life, having the sentence of death. Still, He trusted in God and God’s ability to raise the dead, and He faithfully endured much pain and anguish (2 Corinthians 1:8-11; 11:23-27). Things might be challenging, causing us despair and discouragement, but we have hope in Jesus. While Jesus endured the humiliation of the cross, He was raised from the dead, and in the process ultimately, finally, and victoriously defeated death! He endured the cross to eventually enjoy the reward of sitting down at God’s right hand (Hebrews 12:2). When you feel despair and abandonment, remember the story of the cross and the faithfulness of Jesus. Remember that God heard His cries and vindicated Him.

We can share in the victory that Jesus has secured for us. Jesus defeated sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). God heard the cries of His Son, and He responded victoriously by raising Him from the dead. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that proclaims the death and resurrection of Jesus. The gospel is God’s power unto salvation. Now, we have the hope of eternal life and eternal victory with the Father and the Son of God.

Psalm 22 begins with the threat of defeat, but it ends with the song of victory! Let us continue to praise the Lord and worship Him.

“Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!” (Psalm 22:26)

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April 2021 | GROW magazine