The Songs of Israel: A Second Look at Familiar Words

The Songs of Israel: A Second Look at Familiar Words
Psalm 22
Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo
August 21, 2011


One day a man came home from work and walked into the kitchen. He saw the cat on the floor covered in red. He looked up and saw his wife who was holding a knife and also covered in red. His thoughts were dire....but then the cat stood up and began to walk across the room....

His wife explained that she was cutting vegetables for the salad and spilled a bowl of spaghetti sauce on herself and the cat. What the man thought he was looking at turned out to be something very different.

Which brings us to a scene in the Bible we are all very familiar with.

Jesus is dying on the cross and he says the words:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

We read the words and presume something. Jesus appears to be saying he feels abandoned and forsaken by God. And it seems shocking.

Jesus could have fled Jerusalem or hidden, but he made no effort to flee and he made no effort to hide.

Jesus could have stood before Pilate and offered a defense, but he offered no defense. He even seemed to goad Pilate into crucifying him.

He professed his willingness to die and predicted that he would suffer and die.

So why is he professing a belief that God has abandoned him?

Or maybe he is not. What if he said these words:
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
shall Worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.


To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.

Now, if Jesus had said these words we’d say, he was proclaiming that he was victorious and his death on the cross was a victory for God and him as the Savior of the world.

Which brings us to Psalm 22. This Psalm begins with the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” and ends with the words I just read, “future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.”

Jesus, as he hangs from the cross, is not professing a belief that God has abandoned him. In fact, it is quite the opposite. He is proclaiming citing a Psalm that begins with a sense that there is apparent defeat, but ends in triumph and victory. He is making a statement-----this death on the cross is not a defeat, but a triumph.

Psalm 22 is a victory Psalm. The words of Jesus on the cross are a direct reference to this Psalm.

Truthfully, we don’t always see that because we don’t know the words to all the Psalms. But ponder a moment:

If I said the words, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,” fill in the next line of words.

Or if I said, “Silent night, holy night,” fill in the next line of words.

Or if I said the words, “O beautiful for spacious skies,” fill in the next line of words.

They are songs and we know them. There are things we do each week that we do not need the words for. We pray the Lord’s Prayer each Sunday and the words are not printed in the bulletin. We know them. The Commission is printed in the bulletin but the majority of people do not read them. We know them.

When Jesus said these words from the cross the people around him would have known the words of the Psalm as well as we know the words of familiar hymns. Actually, they would have known them better. The average person did not read, they memorized. Every Jewish child would be taught the Psalms and would know how to sing every single Psalm in the Bible by heart.

So when Jesus said the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” they would not have heard words of despair but would have known Jesus was declaring victory.

Which is why we have to have this second look at familiar words. Often what we think we are seeing may not be what is really there.

A second point that needs to be made is context. You probably read stories and have listened to sermons or gone to Bible studies and listened to me talk about ‘context.’

Here is what context is.

Perhaps you read a restaurant review.

“If your idea of a wonderful meal is eating canned ravioli that was burned, and canned green beans that were obviously on sale 10 cans for a dollar, then come to John’s Bistro for an amazing meal.”

So John’s Bistro advertises the next day quoting the restaurant review: “Come to John’s Bistro for an amazing meal.”

Or you read a movie review: “Adventures with John is one of the most tedious and boring movies ever made. John’s endless puns destroy any sense of enjoyment you can ever have. If your idea of a great evening is listening to bad puns and being bored, go see Adventures with John for a great time.”

And of course, the next day on an Adventures with John ad, it says, “Go see Adventures with John for a great time.”

One word. Context. Context is taking something and editing it or moving it, or using some words out of money, to make a point or prove a point.

The Bible is a library of books and songs, like the Psalms, that exist together in a coherent fashion. It is, however, not unusual for people to list a series of Bible verses, very often taken out of context to prove a point and demonstrate that this is what the Bible says. Often, however, if you put the verse back into the Bible, and read it as part of the larger whole, you see something else.

That’s the case with the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” when spoken on the cross. Taken strictly by themselves we say Jesus feels abandoned by God. But placing them back into the context of where those words are originally found in Psalm 22, we find Jesus declaring victory from the cross instead of expressing abandonment. Context is important.

The last thing that needs to be said is this. With God there is always hope and there is always victory. God’s love always comes through and God’s love and goodness always win. Always.

The four Gospels can be very different from one another in many ways. They all, however, lead to the cross and seeming defeat-----and to the resurrection where there is the ultimate victory and the ultimate triumph.

The four Gospels mirror Psalm 22. From apparent defeat and abandonment by God, there is a proclamation of victory. There is always hope and even in death there is life.

These opening words of Psalm 22 are familiar words and many people do not know where they are from and what they mean. When taken in context they are triumphant and loving words of hope spoken when there is apparent despair. They are the ultimate reminder that as long as there is God, there is always love, and always hope, and always, ultimate triumph.