Today’s Reading: Psalm 22

“…They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” (Psalm 22:16–18)

There are few sections in Scripture as prophetically detailed as this Psalm concerning the Messiah. David wrote these words over a thousand years before Christ, and yet he spoke as if he were an eyewitness of Christ's suffering and crucifixion.

Did David know he was writing prophecy about Jesus?

The answer is "yes,” but not in the way you might think. David was not ignorant that he was a prophet for God. He knew that his psalms and other writings were penned by the inspiration of the Spirit. In David’s final words before he slipped into death, he said:

“Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.”” (2 Samuel 23:1–2)

Beyond this, David was also given a covenant from God that his throne would be established forever, knowing that one of his descendants would be the Messiah (see 2 Samuel 7:16; Psalm 89:3-4).

“The LORD has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: “I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.””(Psalm 132:11)

Thus, David was fully aware of the coming King — the Messiah of Israel — who would take his throne and rule forever and ever. So while David wrote from his own experiences, he also knew he foreshadowed the experiences and events of his Messianic descendant. In this way, David was sure his words had deeper prophetic meaning.

This is further attested to by later prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah (see Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6), and of course, by the Messiah Himself, Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that Jesus saw Himself in the context of the Old Testament, especially the Psalms. At one point, Jesus even told the religious Pharisees,

“You search the Scriptures… and these are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39)

After His resurrection, Jesus expounded from the Scriptures, including the Psalms, about how they all pointed to Him.

“And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself… Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’” (Luke 24:27, 44)

On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles, Peter preached the gospel and specifically declared that David knew he spoke of Christ.

“Therefore, [David], being a prophet, and knowing that God... would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ…” (Acts 2:30–31)

How truly incredible!

Therefore, Beloved, I leave you with this undeniable truth: every page of the Bible speaks of Jesus. It should never become cliche to say, "It's all about Jesus."

When you read the Word of God, seek Jesus in the words you read. Find Him! Discover Him! Let the Word of God come alive in the person of Jesus! This is why the Apostle Paul beautifully calls it: The Word of Christ (see Colossians 3:16).

And Paul's hero, King David, would certainly agree.

“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said... ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me…’” (Hebrews 10:5, 7)

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