Christ in the Old Testament

Psalm 22:14

I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.

Today’s Reading: Psalm 22

Jesus hears the mockers but his thoughts turn to reflect on what God has done for him. Unlike earlier when he asks God to remember what He had done in the past for his ancestors in an effort to bring deliverance, Jesus focuses on their relationship during his time on earth.

Jesus reflects on his birth as a man. From conception while he was in the womb, the Lord was his God. It was God who brought him out of the womb, And even then at his mother’s breast, he trusted in God. This seems to be a submission of his trust in God. Even though God will not save him from the cross, the Lord has always been his God and that is no different now.

But the feelings of isolation quickly return. He is isolated from both God and his own community. Trouble is near. He’s hanging on a cross. And no one is coming to help him. He just wants to feel God’s presence but as we know, God isn’t near and isn’t able to comfort him. His disciples abandoned him and Peter denied him three times. Judas Iscariot betrayed him. He is completely alone.

He is surrounded by animals. The chief priests and teachers of the law want him dead like a lion seeks to kill its prey. Then Jesus gives us another amazing insight into his physical condition which was recorded 1000 years before it happened.

“I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death” (Ps 22:14-15).

Jesus is poured out like water. This has a double meaning in my opinion. Being poured out like water symbolizes Jesus being completed depleted and surrendered. He has no strength left and his tank is empty. But in a literal senses, Jesus was poured out like water. “But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (John 19:33-34).

All his bones are out of joint. That’s because during a crucifixion, the Romans would have nailed Jesus’ arms to the cross in such a position that they would stretch his arms by about 6 inches dislocating both his shoulders.

His heart has turned to wax. Jesus’ resting position on the cross would put his diaphragm in an inhaling position. In order to exhale, Jesus would have had to push up using his feet that were also nailed to the cross to relieve his diaphragm of the pressure. This was an exhausting movement to continually push up and relax back down scraping his shredded back against the cross just to breathe. Jesus’ breathing would slow way down as he tired which would cause respiratory acidosis – high acidity in his blood. This would in turn cause him to have an irregular heartbeat. His heart would literally feel like it was melting.

His mouth is dried up and his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips” (John 19:28-29). His death is imminent but we are only half way through this Psalm.

Today’s Prayer: I am in awe of your sacrifice Lord Jesus. Thank you for enduring the cross so that I could be saved.