As we continue in Holy Week, and we draw closer to Good Friday, we often look into various Scriptures that speak of Jesus’ sacrificial death for us. Naturally we read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, and sections of the Prophets, especially Isaiah. Several of the Psalms have prophecies and allusions to Jesus’ death, Psalm 22 being one most people think of. Our psalm for this week, Psalm 69, is a less familiar psalm to many, but which also contains some prophecies of what Jesus went through when He died for our sins. Let’s look into today’s psalm.
Psalm 69 was one of the 73 psalms that King David wrote throughout his life. As we know, he went through many difficult periods in his life, spending many of his young adult years fleeing for his life from King Saul. Then there were his wars against enemy nations, and then the attempted coup of his son Absalom. Many of his psalms reflect these difficult times, including this psalm, and several verses are prophetic of the Lord Jesus.
As our psalm opens David reflect4r on what he went through, and how sometimes it felt like he was drowning in his troubles (vs. 1-2). His distress was overwhelming, but he also knew where to turn. He had cried so many tears that he felt dried out (vs. 3). David felt that the enemies that he had were so numerous, they were more than the number of his hairs, and that they had no good reason to come against him (vs. 4). However, rather than succumbing to the trials, or turning to someone or something that cannot help, David turned to the Lord for refuge and help.
As we look at the life of the Lord Jesus, we see that verse 4 relates to His years of ministry, especially at His arrest, mock trial, and crucifixion (John 15:25). The Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, and other religious leaders opposed Jesus all throughout His ministry, though they had no just cause. They did not like that He didn’t follow all the man-made religious traditions, and resented His popularity. After His arrest there was no one who stood up for Jesus’ defense.
David continued in his psalm and told of how he endured reproaches from people for his stand and dedication to living for the Lord, and how even members of his own family turned against him (vs. 7-8). Jesus also went through this, when He was rejected by the people of His hometown of Nazareth when He came to preach and minister to them, and also by His own physical family. The Gospel of John relates this, that His own people did not receive Him, either the people of Nazareth specifically, or the Jewish people in general (John 1:11). The other Gospels record instances when His own relatives did not believe Him (Mark 3:21).
We see another specific prophecy in this psalm that was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus found in verse 9. The Gospel writers related this verse to when Jesus drove out the money changers and those who sold sacrificial animals from the grounds of the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus did this twice, once at the start of His ministry which we read of in John 2:13-16, and then once again during the last week of His life, shortly before Good Friday, recorded in Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; and Luke 19:45-48. This action of Jesus showed His passion for God's holiness and worship.
Further on in this psalm we see another prophecy that was fulfilled while Jesus hung on the cross, and that is in verse 21. While Jesus hung on the cross, He was very thirsty. He had not had anything to drink at all since the Last Supper meal the night before. Enduring all of the torture of the day, now hanging on the cross to die, Jesus was thirsty. Yet what they offered was not water, but old wine that had turned to vinegar that was laced with a narcotic-like substance called gall. The soldiers often gave the drugged drink to the crucified to dull the pain. However when Jesus tasted it He refused it, as He would endure the full penalty for our sins (Matthew 27:34).
As our Scripture passage comes to an end, David spoke some harsh words against the enemies of God (vs. 22-24). However, the Apostle Paul echoed verses 22 and 23 in his Epistle to the Romans, applying them to those who reject the Gospel of the Lord Jesus (Romans 11:9-10).
As we conclude this psalm, one which contains some prophecies fulfilled by the Lord Jesus, both at the time of the crucifixion and earlier, we see the depth of His suffering, and also His unwavering commitment to God’s will. We are reminded of God’s faithfulness to us in times of our despair, and the hope that we have through the Lord Jesus of redemption to all who place their faith and trust in Him.
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