We are still in 2 Samuel 22 and hopefully you have open Psalm 18.

These next few verses (vs 5-7) are evocative and a prophetic account of the suffering of Jesus. Yes they arose from David’s persecution by Saul but the meaning goes much deeper. The wonder of it all is, how accurate the prophecy was when we read it alongside the gospels. Does it not thrill your hearts that God’s magnificent plan of salvation runs throughout scripture?

Look at the descriptions we see in the passage, “waves of death” “torrents of destruction” “cords of Sheol” “snares of death” all for me, all for you, I find myself very moved! From the moment of Jesus’ conception in Mary’s womb, in fact, from before the foundation of the world, there was set in motion this incredible plan of obedience that would lead to death, even death on a cross (Hebrews 2:17). The whole of Jesus’ life is leading towards this magnificent death. In the process of that death he physically and emotionally suffered as described here in these few verses. He came to die, to take upon himself the sin of the world and having done so he cried out “it is finished.” He died and his dead and battered body lay in a tomb on our account. Jesus experienced death, the wages of sin is death and he paid the price for our sin. Then we read,

“In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears. 2 Samuel 22:7

We will deal with this in two parts. Firstly: “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called.”

You can understand David asking God for deliverance, but how could Jesus ask God to remove his suffering when he knew that God had laid upon him the iniquity of us all? (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus did, in the garden, ask that the cup be removed from him but not his will but the will of the Father mattered to him most. It’s the submission, the obedience, the humiliation that makes the torrents of death so wonder filled. Jesus reminded us that there is no greater love than that of a man who lays down his life for his friends. How much greater is that love when that same man lays down his life for his enemies.

Secondly: “From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.”

Jesus cried out to his father during his final moments on the cross. His body was crushed by the physical punishments of the process of crucifixion and the torment upon his soul of the weight of sin. Listen to the agony.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46

I would love to go into this in more detail but it’s a blog not a paper or a lecture, so please forgive me for being short. These words come straight from Psalm 22, another wonderful prophesy fulfilled

This was real forsakenness. That is why he cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” That’s what it felt like. He is bearing our sin. He is bearing our judgment. The judgment was to have God the Father pour out his wrath, and instead of pouring it out on us, he pours it out on him. The depth of that, which we will never fully understand, caused Jesus to feel a kind of abandonment. Don’t see it technically, see it personally. He is doing this for you.

Jesus knew ahead of time what he was doing and what would happen to him and why he was doing it. His Father had sent him for this, for this very moment. He had agreed to come, knowing all that would happen. Listen to these words, “Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’” (John 18:4)

As I have said above, that moment on the cross was one of agony.  For me it’s not so much that he is asking a question but rather expressing the horror of what’s about to take place.

Jesus in his humanity didn’t just coldly quote scripture. When hanging on the cross, he didn’t coldly think, “Oh, I am going to fulfil some Scripture here.” Scripture is either in you at the very essence of your messianic calling or it is not. I think that here, Jesus is giving vent at the very worst moment of his life, as was described he would do in scripture.

If you read further in Psalm 22 you get  a fuller picture of what’s going on

I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:  You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!   For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.  Psalm 22:22-24

In other words, the psalm ends with a note of triumph. Jesus isn’t wondering how this is all going to turn out, but rather he had embedded in his heart both the horrors of the moment of abandonment, and he had embedded in his heart “for the joy that was set before him.” He knows there will be a resurrection and exaltation and a second coming. It was all going according to plan. Let’s finish with a hymn written by Issac Watts in 1707.

When I survey the wonderous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the cross of Christ my God:
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and Sorrow meet?
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.