Jesus as a Worm

An infamous cry of pain and abandonment. The sort of thing you would expect to hear from someone who has lost their faith. Someone who is questioning their trust in God. Would you expect to hear it from King David, who the Bible calls “A Man After God’s Own Heart?” How about hearing it from the lips of Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God?

You see one of the things that these two men have in common is that they are both known for faithfully serving God. They are also both known for enduring hardship and suffering. David of course was pursued and threatened aggressively by his predicessor King Saul. Jesus was beaten three times and crucified. David reflecting on his suffering and inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote Psalm 22:1-18

Psalm 22 (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

More than a thousand years letter when Jesus is hanging on the cross about to succumb to his grievous injuries he cries out the first words of this psalm in Aramaic. Matthew 27:46

Matthew 27:46 ESV

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?”

Can you relate to David and to Jesus? Have you had a season in your life when you wanted to shout at the top of your lungs, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” Maybe when someone you love dearly died before their time. Maybe when you felt betrayed and abandoned by those closest to you. Maybe when financial hardship struck and you felt like you would never recover.

Maybe you feel like you’re in this kind of season now, what some have called “the dark night of the soul.” Well if you find yourself there or if you do in the future I together with the scriptures want to give you hope in the midst of darkness.

As we explore this passage as a part of our series “Finding Jesus in the Old Testament” Find hope in the fact that Psalm 22 doesn’t end with verse 18. Psalm 22:19-31

Psalm 22:19–31 (ESV)

But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

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.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

This Psalm taken as a whole seems to me to serve two purposes, the first to deal with the problem of suffering and unanswered prayers in the life of a disciple, and second to call ahead to the coming of the Messiah (the ultimate solution of those problems). In moments where we are weak or suffering we can rest assured that God has not actually forgotten us.

The problem that David is primarily addressing is the issue of fealing forsaken by God, the problem of knowing God's faithfulness but not feeling God's faithfulness. The ultimate solution to our suffering and hardship is the Messiah who came to suffer and die on our behalf to show that God loves us and takes care of us and will one day wipe every tear from the face of the earth Rev 21:4

Revelation 21:4 ESV

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

I believe that studying and reflecting on Psalm 22 we can see that this passage teaches us three reasons why Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross.

Jesus Suffered to Prove His Identity

Jesus Suffered to Relate to His People

Jesus Suffered to Give us Hope

1. Jesus Suffered to Prove His Identity

The first reason why Jesus suffered on the cross is to prove His identity. There are many prophecies about Messiah, and a number of them are very specific. Few get anywhere near as specific as the prophecies about how the Messiah would suffer and die. So specific people make conspiracy theories about them like I talked about last week.

In case you’re wondering, the idea that this Psalm is about Messiah is not a Christian invention. Psalm 22 was already commonly thought of by Jewish scholars as Messianic well before the time of Jesus. This is in part because we know a lot about David’s life, and nothing we know that he went through gets to the extent of what he wrote here. So then he is either exagerrating to prove a point, or he is speaking prophetically. I would say that the latter seems evident especially in verses 27-31. David never saw this fulfilled in his life, clearly.

So think about this; if Jesus hadn’t been nailed to a cross, if he hadn’t been beaten and striped and mocked, than He couldn’t have been the prophecied Messiah. He would have been proven a liar if He hadn’t gone through the suffering He went through. He wouldn’t have fulfilled the scriptures.

And fulfill them He certainly did. This psalm is quoted or alluded to several times in the accounts of Jesus’ Crucifixion.

Matthew 27:46 ESV

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?”

Jesus references this Psalm on the cross. In Mt 27:35

Matthew 27:35 ESV

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.

The soldiers fulfill verse 18 of this psalm. In Mt 27:39-43 we read

Matthew 27:39–43 ESV

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

The bystanders at Jesus’ crucifixion therefore fulfill verses 7-8 of this psalm.

The writer of Hebrews also connects this song with Jesus and finds its fulfillment in Him in Hebrews 2:9-12

Hebrews 2:9–12 (ESV)

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,

“I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

So there at the end the writer of Hebrews makes those who are following Jesus to be His brothers. So Jesus makes God known to us and sings praise to God after the victory won on the cross.

So we have tons of confirmation that Psalm 22 is actually about Jesus, something that when we read it in a Christian context seems just plainly obvious. Some try to argue that the phrase “they have pierced my hands and feet” is a mistranslation, probably because this is the most clear connection to Christ in this passage. They argue that most manuscripts say literally “like a lion my hands and my feet,” so to make it clearer in English we should translate it “like a lion they are at my hands and my feet.” But what seems more likely to you, that the sentence is missing a verb and is the very awkward phrase “like a lion my hands and my feet” or that those manuscripts have an error or change and the better reading is “they have pierced my hands and feet”?

Especially since there’s a parallel answer in later verses. There’s a common convention in Hebrew poetry called chiastic structure, where basically you have ideas presented in order and then reverse order, seen in the psalms when often the psalmist will list their complaints or aflictions and then list their prayers or pleas to God in reverse order. This structure works perfectly in this psalm if we translate the phrase as pierced my hands and feet since the parallel would be deliver my soul from the sword. The whole structure breaks if we translate it as like a lion.

A. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

B. They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

C. For dogs encompass me; a company of evil doers encircles me;

D. They have pierced my hands and feet/ Like a lion my hands and feet

D1. Deliver my soul from the sword,

C1. My precious life from the power of the Dog!

B1. Save me from the mouth of the lion!

A1. You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

So the account is intact and still vividly describes the crucifixion. I would contend that even if it was “like a lion” it would still fit incredibly well. What would a lion do if it got a hold of your hands and your feet? Well it would pierce them with its teeth would it not? In the words of one of my favorite commentary writers Warren W. Wiersbe:

Since the Jews did not know of crucifixion back in David’s time, this vivid description of Christ’s death on the cross could only have been penned by inspiration of the Spirit.

Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), Ps 22–24.

This passage is a huge neon flashing sign pointing to the crucifixion of Jesus.

But what if I told you that some of the coolest evidence from this Psalm about the crucifixion of Jesus is found in one word in verse 6 of this psalm? That God used nature and David’s psalm together to show us an amazing picture of the coming crucifixion of His son for our sins and our salvation. That word is “worm.” Which is actually not a very good translation in my opinion.

See in the old testament there are two hebrew words that we would translate as worm. The more common one is “rimmah” which is a worm like you would think of one, or a maggot. This is not the word used in this psalm.

The word used in Psalm 22 is toleah. This word can also be translated as “crimson,” because it is refering to a particular insect that we call the “kermes illicus” even though it doesn’t really look very much like a worm at all. Here’s a picture for you:

Kermes Illicus

So you see why this insect’s name could also be used for crimson or vice versa. Not honestly sure which meaning came first, sort of like Orange, was it a fruit first or a colour? Maybe you know, I don’t. Anyway, this little insect is a beautiful messanger of the gospel. Why? For a few reasons.

First of all this little guy was used in Israel frequently as a natural dye for fabrics. In fact it’s still used in many places today and sometimes even in food. So you may be eating these little beetle things sometimes when you eat dyed food. In fact whenever you read in the Old Testament instructions to make clothing for priests or fabric for use in the tabernacle and later the temple they would make everything that was scarlet by dying it with this worm. So already it has significance in the old testament worship. They would harvest the dye from the Kermes illicus while it was having its children, which is where the incredible part comes in, because here’s how the life cycle of a Kermes illicus works:

First when a Kermes is ready to give birth it climbs up a tree and attaches itself firmly to the wood. It attaches itself so firmly in fact that to remove it you have to crush it. Jesus likewise was attached to a tree, a phrase commonly used by the Scriptures to describe the crucifixion. He did this so that He could have spiritual children in you and I, as Isaiah says in Isaiah 53:10

Isaiah 53:10 (ESV)

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

So Isaiah makes the direct connection between Jesus’ death and His having offspring.

At this point the “worm” swells up in size like you see in this picture and gives birth to it’s babies. It does this only once in its life, and you’ll see why soon. That’s because the next thing that happens is that the babies consume the mother. Jesus uses the image of consuming His flesh and His blood in communion as the way that we participate in Him as believers.

While Kermes is being consumed she excretes a red dye all over her children and they will remain this red colour their whole lives. In the process she leaves a very bloodly looking stain on the wood of the tree as pictured here. Jesus through His death covers us metaphorically in blood. 1 John 1:7

1 John 1:7 ESV

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Finally after the Kermes has finished dying to give birth she will lose her red colouring and her body will become a waxy substance that is white and looks like wool. It will then flake off and fall to the ground like snow. Isaiah 1:18

Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

And in case you were wondering, the same Hebrew root word is used in that passage for scarlet as the one translated as worm in Psalm 22.

2. Jesus Suffered to Relate to His People

Of course Jesus didn’t just go to the cross and suffer for the sake of fulfilling prophecy. Remember that He is God and He’s the one who inspired the prophecy. He could have set any standard and then met it to confirm that He was Messiah. Why then predict and then fufill a prophecy about torture and suffering?

Well in part He suffered to relate to the struggle of His people. Before the incarnation God had experienced the pain of betrayal at the hands of a sinful people plenty. But before the incarnation though God knew all there is to know about suffering because He is all knowing, He had never experienced the physical suffering that human being go through on a regular basis.

So in part because of His love for us and desire to experience life the way that we do He came to earth and lived a limited and difficult life, in fact more difficult I would wager to say than most of us have been through although I can only for sure speak for myself.

More importantly the fact that He came to earth and lived a difficult life full of trials and tribulations means that we can forever know when we are going through those same things that Jesus is sympathising with us.

In fact we read in Hebrews 4:15

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Traditionally we think of this verse appling specifically to temptation, but the greek word here for tempted can also mean tested. In other words Jesus was tested in every way that we are, by both temptation to sin and by suffering and grief and so on.

I think that many of us can relate to the first half of this psalm. How many of us have cried out to God and felt like we weren’t being heard? How many of us have had moments where we know what God has done for others and even what He’s done for us before but in the moment knowing that isn’t enough? Where we’re hurting and all we want is for God to make it stop and it just keeps on going on?

Well Jesus can relate to us. We read in Matthew 26:36-44

Matthew 26:36–44 ESV

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.

Jesus is praying in the garden to be delivered from suffering. He prays three times. Better than I would do He surrenders to God’s will, and the answer to His prayer is no. There’s no other way and He must suffer. How tragically beautiful a scene to witness recorded here in the Scriptures.

Yet this is not where the story ends in the crucifixion or in Psalm 22.

3. Jesus Suffered to Give us Hope

In verse 19 we get a transition from despair to prayer. Psalm 22:19-21

Psalm 22:19–21 (ESV)

David decides to turn towards God and not away from Him in the midst of suffering. Already there is a profound lesson here. We as disciples of Jesus Christ need to trust God enough that in those moments when we don’t feel like God is trustworthy, we still know that He is.

This won’t happen by accident. You can’t spend all of the good times in your life ignoring God, refusing to pray and living like everyone else in the world and expect yourself to trust God when things go wrong. We train ourselves and our instincts every day. If you want to be like David and go to God in prayer when things get tough then start when things are good. Make sure you have a healthy consistent prayer life. Start today.

Going on we have another transition in verse 22, where David moves from prayer to praise. In the midst of the trials he endures he is already praising God. Psalm 22:22-31

Psalm 22:22–31 (ESV)

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.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.

Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

David's confidence in God is based on the deliverance of his ancestors, based on what He knows of God's character he knows that he can trust in him. Our confidence is in what God did for Jesus, in the resurrection. David can trust God to deliver him because God delivered His people before, we can trust God to resurrect us because He resurrected His son.

Although the Messiah was destined to suffer and die, there's hope behind the scenes in God's deliverance not just for Him but for generations to come. Jesus didn’t just die on the cross but also rose from the dead. He did this so that He could pave the way for us.

Just like Adam brought a death sentence upon the human race through his sin as our representative, Jesus becomes the firstborn from the dead on our behalf so that we can have hope knowing that we have a resurrection coming.

We like David face times of suffering and hardship and can if we're careful lose hope that God will deliver us. We should be assured by this passage that help is coming, and even if things don't get better in this life we have another life ahead of us purchased by the death of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: Praise Him in the Congregation

So now that we know these things, what should we do? We should always be striving together not just to learn what the Bible says but to try our best to live out what it teaches. So what does Psalm 22 teach us about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? What does it teach us about making disciples of Jesus?

Firstly it teaches us that a disciple of Jesus turns to the Lord in prayer in times of difficulty. What is your instinct when you find yourself suffering? To disctract yourself? To complain? To despair? All these are normal and natural but we should strive for the supernatural response. Falling on our knees and coming to God. Not only that but we need to be honest with God. David was not ashamed to express his honest hurt and pain before God as if He would be offended. Likewise Jeremiah in Lamentations complains boldly to God about his pain. The thing is that it is not sinful to feel hurt and abandoned. Even if it was it’s not like God doesn’t know that we’re feeling those things already. It’s incredibly liberating to honestly tell God what we are feeling even if what we are feeling is hard and inspires us to doubt.

Secondly, as disciples of Jesus we know that we have an advocate representing us who has experienced the same things that we do. He has suffered. He has cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” We are disciples of Jesus who went before us and showed us that we can suffer and not sin. That we through His power and the help of the Holy Spirit can persevere through any trial.

Thirdly, reflecting on God’s character should inspire praise, even if we’re waiting for him to act. Remember that David likely wrote the final part of the psalm while his prayer was yet unanswered. When Jesus referenced the Psalm on the cross he likely intended to convey the whole Psalm not just the beginning. A true spirit of trust and worship in God praises Him even in the midst of the storms and trials of this life.

Finally knowing these things gives us an answer for the people who hesitate about coming to Christ because of their own hurt and pain. We can share with them the truth that Jesus relates with them and wants to comfort them and be with them through their suffering. And that there is hope in Jesus that even if this life doesn’t get better that we have a new and better life coming because of what He has done for us.

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