Psalm 69:21
They put gall in my food
and gave me vinegar for my thirst. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Psalm 69
Beginning in verse 13, Jesus turn to God for refuge. Jesus’ entire life, he has endured the insults, scorn, shame, ridicule and mockery. Now he hangs on the cross. Verses 13 through 21 have the same theme as Psalm 22. Jesus is in need of rescue and he calls out to God for help. He is surrounded by enemies and God is the only one who can save him.
Jesus says in verse 20, “Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless.” Through Jesus, the entire universe was created. And in this moment, his heart is broken. The scorn of his people has wounded him deeply to the point of helplessness. This reminds me of the incident recorded in Matthew 23. Jesus is fed up with the Pharisees and he lets loose on them. He calls them hypocrites, blind guides, whitewashed tombs, snakes and a brood of vipers. There are lots of exclamation points in this section of Scripture!
But after he’s finished lecturing them, he says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matt 23:37). Jesus has a broken heart for his people. He wants them to want him but they just don’t. He left heaven, put skin on, and lived in their midst for 33 years to try to bring them home. But they’re a stubborn people and they have rejected him. It breaks his heart.
As Jesus hangs on the cross, he looks for sympathy and someone to comfort him but there is no one (vs 20). His friends have abandoned him. God has turned his back on him. He’s left alone to bear the sins of the world. Then “they put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst” (vs 21).
The fulfillment of Psalm 69:21 is recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 27:34, 48; Mark 15:36; Luke 23:36; John 19:28-29). This is one of those prophecies that just amazes me. It shouldn’t because God knows every detail of every second of every day from the beginning to the end of time. But this small detail being predicted 1000 years before it happened brings the reality of God’s omniscience to light. It’s so specific I feel that we are forced to deal with it. Is your response to acknowledge that God is real and that Jesus is Lord. Or do you choose to reject it as a fable?
Christ in the Old Testament 
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