See Your Suffering Savior
Psalm 22 shows us the suffering Savior who was forsaken, mocked, pierced, and laid in the dust of death for our salvation.
Psalm 22 begins with words Jesus Himself would later cry from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” David wrote from his own suffering, but the Holy Spirit was also pointing beyond David to the suffering of Christ. The details of this psalm lead us again and again to Calvary.
Jesus was forsaken, mocked, humiliated, pierced, and laid in the dust of death. He bore our sin and the wrath our sin deserved so that those who turn from sin and trust in Him can be forgiven and made right with God. Psalm 22 calls us to look with worshipful awe at our suffering Savior.
Forsaken for Us
Jesus took the opening words of Psalm 22 on His lips from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46). He had never known separation from the Father, yet there on the cross He bore our sin and the wrath our sin deserved. Our sin separates us from God, and as Jesus bore our sin, He felt that separation as God poured out His wrath upon His Son. Jesus did not become a sinner, but God laid our sin on Him, and He became the curse for us (2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13). He stood in our place as our substitute and our propitiation, bearing God’s just judgment so that those who trust in Him may receive forgiveness instead of condemnation (1 John 4:9–10). He experienced abandonment so we would never have to. What a Savior.
Because Jesus was condemned in our place, there is no condemnation for those who are in Him. He paid the debt our sin created and drank the cup of God’s wrath dry. His resurrection showed that His sacrifice was enough and that death itself had been defeated. Everyone who turns from sin and trusts in Christ can be forgiven, declared righteous, and made right with God.
Trusting God When He Seems Distant
Even while David felt forsaken, he remembered that God was holy, faithful, and worthy of praise (Psalm 22:3–5). His suffering did not change God’s character. In the same way, Jesus continued to trust His Father even while experiencing the agony of the cross. He who had known the Father’s nearness all His life still prayed for Him to be near in His hour of greatest suffering. What faith. But also, what suffering to have known the Father's nearness for all eternity, yet feeling forsaken at this dark hour. All for our salvation. What a Savior.
There will be times when God seems distant to us as well. The question is whether our suffering will cause us to lose sight of who He is or whether we will continue to remember His faithfulness. God’s silence does not mean that He has become unfaithful, and our circumstances do not diminish His worthiness to be praised. Psalm 22 teaches us to keep trusting the God we know even when we cannot understand what He is doing.
Despised and Rejected
Psalm 22 describes one who is scorned, mocked, and treated as a worm, less than a man (Psalm 22:6–8). Jesus experienced that humiliation in full. Soldiers mocked Him, spit on Him, struck Him, and placed a crown of thorns on His head. Those passing by the cross wagged their heads and mocked Him, challenging Him as if He did not trust God or if He claimed to, He was a hypocrite. They implied that God did not regard Him as worthy of deliverance (see Matthew 27:27–44).
The One worthy of heaven’s highest praise allowed Himself to be treated as a worm and trampled underfoot. Jesus, the great “I AM,” humbled Himself by taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:6–8). The "I AM" was also "I am a worm." He truly trusted God, and the Father truly delighted in His Son, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him for our salvation (Isaiah 53:5, 10). He willingly endured humiliation for you. What a Savior.
Remembering God's Faithfulness
Even in His isolation and humiliating suffering, Jesus continued to trust the Father. He had known God’s care from His conception, birth, and throughout His life. He had trusted Him since His birth and He did not stop trusting Him when the suffering came (Psalm 22:9–11). He felt forsaken, but He still looked to the Father. What faith. He looked to the Father, but still felt forsaken. What suffering. What a Savior.
Surrounded by His Enemies
David pictures his enemies as powerful bulls and ravenous lions surrounding him (Psalm 22:12–13). At Calvary, Jesus was surrounded by those who hated Him, mocked Him, and wanted Him dead. He deserved to be surrounded by the praises of heaven, yet He was encircled by murderous enemies and left to suffer alone. The Savior who was surrounded by hatred endured it so that His people might one day be surrounded by His glorious presence forever. What a Savior.
Intense Suffering for Our Salvation
In Psalm 22:14-18, the description of suffering becomes especially striking. The psalm speaks of one poured out like water, with life and energy leaving Him. His blood was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28). His bones were out of joint, either from collapsing suffering or a body stretched on the cross. His heart melted like wax as He lost the will to fight. His heart was melting in the fire of God's wrath for sin. His strength was dried up like a broken piece of pottery, His mouth parched with thirst, maybe unable to speak. He was dry and broken as the fire of God's judgment rained down on Him, being laid into the dry dust of death by His Father (Acts 2:23, Isaiah 53:10). He was laid in the dust of death in such agonizing torture that we may be raised from the dust of death to forever life. What a Savior.
Jesus' enemies surrounded Him like a pack of dogs ready to attack. His hands and feet were pierced (Psalm 22:14–16), a clear description of crucifixion long before it happened. His bones were visible in His emaciated form, stretched out unclothed on the cross. His enemies would stare at Him and gloat over Him. They would divide His garments and cast lots for His clothing as if they were the spoils of war. These words of David were fulfilled in Christ's death exactly as he described centuries earlier (see John 19:23–24). Jesus hung unclothed on the cross in humiliating shame that the shame of our sin might be removed and so that we could be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. What a Savior.
See Your Suffering Savior
As we look at Psalm 22, we should not look at the cross with a gloating stare but with worshipful awe. See Jesus forsaken by God so that His people may never be forsaken. See Him treated as a worm so that we may be received as God’s own children. See Him laid in the dust of death so that we may be raised to eternal life.
See your Savior hanging on the cross bearing your sin and shame. He suffered so that your sin could be forgiven and you could be clothed in His righteousness. The cross shows us both the seriousness of our sin and the greatness of Christ’s love. What suffering. What a Savior.
Questions for Reflection
- What details in Psalm 22:1–18 most clearly point you to the suffering of Jesus?
- When God seems distant, what does this psalm teach you about continuing to trust Him?
- How does Christ bearing God’s wrath in our place deepen your understanding of the seriousness of sin?
- What does the humiliation Jesus endured teach you about His willingness to save sinners?
- How should seeing your suffering Savior shape your worship, repentance, and gratitude this week?
Psalm 22 calls us to look again at the cross and see what our salvation cost. Jesus was forsaken, mocked, pierced, and laid in the dust of death so that His people could be forgiven, declared righteous, and raised to eternal life. May seeing the suffering Savior move us to deeper trust, repentance, gratitude, and worship.
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