A Teaching of the Cross
During his crucifixion, Jesus hung on the cross in darkness for three hours. On the closing verge of the darkness, Jesus echoed the great question of David, recorded in Psalms (22) (Mark 15:33-34, Mtt 27:45-46, Lk 23:44): “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psa 22:1). In order to understand why Jesus repeated David’s question, his crucifixion must be understood in light of Psalm 22. By quoting the Psalm, Jesus made an intentional appeal to the Psalm’s content and a personal connection to it’s spirit of agony. The circumstances in which David penned the Psalm are unknown; however, the message of the poetic prayer clearly portrayed suffering. Much of the suffering language David used can be applied directly to Jesus’ death and was regarded as a direct fulfillment by the authors of the Gospels. Verses 6-8 of the Psalm (Ps 22:6-8) seem to describe the exact situation Jesus was in. As he hung on the wood, the spectators jeered Jesus. Matthew and Mark both describe the spectato