Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a 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 me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots. ~ Psalm 22:12-18
The psalmist gives us a prophetic picture of the crucifixion of Jesus. The Messiah, the Anointed One, the Savior of the world hung on a cross, humiliated and in excruciating pain, while surrounded by evildoers taunting and waiting for Him to die. The soldiers hung His tortured body on the cross; they pierced His hands and feet but didn’t break His bones. Those who didn’t recognize the Lord divided His garments and gambled for His clothes. The religious and political leaders stared and mocked Jesus along with the common people. Jesus knew the Scriptures—and He lives outside of time; He would be intimately aware of what He was facing. But He chose to make the great sacrifice of His own life so we can have eternal life in the new heaven and the new earth.
Thank You, Lord, that Jesus knew how terrible His torture and crucifixion would be, yet He chose to make that sacrifice anyway—just because He loves us so much. Open my eyes to the magnitude of His sacrifice, and give a grateful heart to love and serve Him. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.