Pierced and Prophesied

While on the cross, Jesus fulfilled several more prophecies that explicitly demonstrated His identity as the Messiah. Mark records in his gospel which uses the eyewitness account of the apostle Peter that, “at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

‭‭(Mark‬ ‭15:34‬, CSB).

While experiencing the excruciating physical pain from His flogging and crucifixion as well as the most unfathomable emotional pain as the Father turned His face from the Son as He bore the sin of all humanity, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy about the Messiah in Psalms 22. As the Moody Bible Commentary states, by asking “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?,’ Jesus was probably calling to attention His fulfillment of all that is contained in Psalms 22 (Strobel & Mittelberg, 2016). What does Psalm 22 prophesy?

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning?”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22:1‬, CSB

“Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads: “He relies on the Lord; let him save him; let the Lord rescue him, since he takes pleasure in him.””

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22:7-8‬, CSB‬‬

“For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22:16‬, CSB‬‬

“They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22:18‬, CSB‬‬

As the Gospels record, Jesus fulfilled each of these prophecies starting with the first verse of Psalm 22:

“And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭15:34‬, CSB‬‬

“Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross!” In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭15:29-32‬, CSB‬‬

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. This is what the soldiers did.”

‭‭John‬ ‭19:23-24‬, CSB‬‬

As apologist Lee Strobel points out, “this would be a remarkable prediction if it had been written even a few years before the crucifixion of Jesus - but King David wrote it about a thousand years before the time of Christ. What’s more, this was some five hundred years before crucifixion had even been invented!” Truly a remarkable prophecy!

In Old Testament scripture, the prophecy in Psalms is not the only one related to the crucifixion of Jesus (Strobel & Mittelberg, 2016). Around 700 years prior to Jesus life, the prophet Isaiah predicted that...

“But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53:5‬, CSB

Additionally, the prophet Zechariah predicted around 500 years prior to Jesus life that...

““Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.”

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭12:10‬, CSB‬‬

Truly remarkable prophecies, each fulfilled by Jesus as He was and is “the good shepherd...who lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, CSB).

References:

Today’s Moment of Truth by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg