Jesus in the Psalms

Introduction
Although pre-dating Christ, in some cases by over 1250 years, Jesus claimed the Psalms wrote about him! [Luke 24:44] The book of Psalms may support Jesus' claim. In it we find the verse "I said, here I am, I have come – it is written about me in the scroll" [Psalm 40:7]. This verse appears to point to the time when Jesus who stood up in the synagogue, read from the scroll of Isaiah and claimed that it was about himself [Luke 4:17-21].

Who is Jesus?
In order to understand Jesus' theology in the Psalms we must first understand Jesus. According to the Gospels he did many miraculous things [John 20:30] and went around teaching in parables [Matthew 13:10]. Psalm 78 teaches a new generation of people about lessons learned from the past [New Bible Commentary on Psalm 78. 3rd edition IVP 1985]. The author says "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old" [Psalm 78:2]. Is this a reference to the Christ teaching in parables?

Jesus is God
The starting point for our Christian faith is that Jesus, as part of the Trinity, is God. But what does the New Testament & Psalter say about this?

There are several references to God in the Psalms that may point us to Jesus, for example the wise men bringing gifts can be tracked back to Psalm 72 which shows gifts would be brought to a King [Psalm 72:10; Psalm72:15]. Matthew's Gospel tells us not only did the Magi bring gifts, but they also worshipped Jesus [Matthew 2.2]. The Bible tells us we should only worship God [Revelation 19:10]. If Psalm 72 can be considered to be more than just a coincidental reference to the wise men then we may have an oblique reference to Jesus' divinity.

The book of Hebrews (written around AD 60 [The Lion Handbook of the Bible, commentary on Hebrews. 3rd edition 2002]) includes quotes from Psalm 45. In talking about the Son this Psalm calls him God on two occasions [Hebrews1:8-9]. The author of Hebrews equates this passage to Christ, so there can be no doubt that he thought that Jesus was not only God, but that he also thought the early Psalms referred to Jesus as God.

Among the many incidents in Jesus' life that are recorded in the Gospels, there is a vivid account of him in a boat on Lake Galilee. Suddenly a furious storm breaks out and the disciples are terrified. Jesus is woken up, he criticizes their lack of faith, rebukes the winds and the waves and the waters become totally calm [Mathew:24-26]. Looking at Psalms 65 and 89 we see that the act of calming and ruling over the sea is the role of God [Psalm 65], [Psalm 89].

At one point in his ministry Jesus cried out that he wished to take care of Jerusalem. The term he used 'as her hen gathers her chick under her wings' has six equivalent references in the Psalms where God is seem as the protector of mankind [References to 'protection under wings’ in Psalms. Psalm 17:, Psalm 36:7, Psalm 57:1, Psalm 61:4, Psalm 63:7, Psalm 91:4]. Jesus would have been acutely aware of this. Thus although these six Psalms don't refer to him as God, Jesus seems to be using the Psalms to prove this is so!

Jesus is Shepherd
The Psalms are full of examples of God being shepherd of his people. Sometimes God appears to have turned away from his flock because of their sins [Psalm 74:1]. However, the main point is that as shepherd he acts as protector and safe haven, providing for all their needs [Psalm 95:7]. Given that Jesus made a direct claim to be the good shepherd of the flock [John 10:11. Jesus is the Son of God], he must therefore have been showing that the Psalms were taking about him!

Jesus is the Son of God
There are many references to Jesus being the Son of God in the New Testament but do the Psalms claim this? In Psalm 2 we have the statement I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father" (NIV) [Psalm 2:7]. According to Herbert Lockyer [All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible, Lockyer Zondervan, 1973] this passage shows us that Jesus is God's Son.

Jesus is King
In the earlier section on 'Jesus is God' we learned that Matthew's account of the Magi could be tracked back to Psalm 72 which tells us gifts would be brought to a King [Psalm 72:10; Psalm 72:15]. Is this a reference to King Jesus? Matthew also explains that Jesus is descended from King David [Matthew 1:17]. The royal line of Christ is reinforced by Psalm 89 indicating that David's lineage would always have a king on the throne [Psalm 89:3-4,Psalm 89:27]. Matthew makes many other references to the kingdom theology, eg Jesus talking about coming in his kingdom [Matthew 16:28]. Psalm 2, said to be one of the messianic psalms [New Bible Commentary (on Psalm 2), 3rd edition, 1985, IVP], picks up on this point. It mentions God having installed his king in Zion [Psalm 2:6]. This verse refers to David but may also relate to Jesus. King Jesus' strength and authority may be found in verse nine of Psalm 2, which states he will rule with an iron sceptre [Psalm 2:9]. The book of Revelations suggests this verse is associated with Christ's rule at the end times [Revelations 2:27].

What is The Point of Jesus?
Jesus Anointed
People were anointed in the Old Testament to signify they were set apart to God; King David for example, was anointed to show that he was God's choice to rule Israel as King. Using the book of Isaiah, Luke shows that Jesus was anointed to bring good news to the poor [Luke 4:18]. 'The Christ' in Greek or 'The Messiah' in Hebrew [International Bible Society notes on NIV translation (Internet)] both mean 'the anointed one'. Psalm 2 says that the kings of the earth will oppose God's anointed one [Psalm 2:2]. Similarly Psalm 85 shows us that every step of the anointed one will be mocked [Psalm 89:51]. There can be no doubt about the opposition and mocking Jesus had to endure during his ministry, but are these two verses pointing us towards Jesus the Messiah? Further references to 'anointing' can be found in the reference section [Other Psalms Associated with Anointing - Psalm 45:2, Psalm 20:6].

Jesus' Suffering
The largest collection of Psalm passages referring to Jesus can be found in relation to his suffering. Several key references are listed below. Further examples are in the reference section [Prophecies of the Psalms http://biblia.com/jesusbible/psalms-prophecies.htm]. Some relevant verses include: Jesus' enemies hated him without any justification [Psalm 35:19, Psalm 38:19, Psalm 69.4, John 15:25 ]; someone very close to him (which we can interpret as Judas) would act against him [Psalm 41:9, Psalm 55:13a, Mark14:18]; his brothers mistrusted him [Psalm 69:8, John 7:3-5]; he would be accused by many false witnesses [Psalm 109:2, Matthew 26:59-60]; and people would shake their heads at him [Psalm 109.25, Mark 15:29]. There are also pointers to Christ's hands and feet being pierced [Psalm 22:16, John 20:25] and his garments being shared out [Psalm 22:18].

John's Gospel tells us that that in order to fulfil the Old Testament prophecies, Jesus said he was thirsty [John19:28]. He may have been quoting from Psalm 69 which talks about giving vinegar to satisfy his thirst [Psalm 69:21]. John tells us that after Jesus drank the vinegar he uttered his last word "it is finished", bowed his head and died [John19:30]. What was the point of Jesus' suffering? Why did he say "it is finished"? Perhaps this was the sacrifice of a broken spirit that God required in Psalm 51? [Psalm 51:17] The Psalms tell us that no sacrifice mankind offers will redeem our lives from the grave [Psalm 49:7-8]. So what did Jesus do for us? To understand this question in more detail we will examine 'Jesus the rock'.

Jesus the Rock
Throughout our history the human condition does not seem to have changed. The Psalms3 explain that none of us can do good! Luke's Gospel explains that only God is good [Luke 18:19]. The psalmist understands this point and asks God not to bring judgment against us [Psalm 143:2]. It is God who saves us from death [Psalm 68:20]. In the Psalms there's even a prayer for salvation to come out of Zion [Psalm 53:6, Psalm 14:7]! A call for the forgiveness of our sins [Psalm 79:9]. The answer can be seen in Psalm 103 [Psalm 103:12] which states that as far as the east is from the west, so far has he (God) removed our transgressions from us. The author wouldn't have known the world was a globe and that east & west are infinitely separated but the point is that God has completely forgiven our sins. He's not only our source of life but gives us direction on how to live [Psalm 36:9, John 1:4]! How has God brought this about? There isn't one explicit reference to the Messiah in the Psalms so we need to look deeper.

Talking about the Jewish exodus from Egypt, Saint Paul says Jesus is the Rock [1 Corinthians 10:4], [New Bible Dictionary (commentary on Rock) IVP 2nd Edition 1985.]. Psalm 18 explains that the Rock is our protector and deliverer as well as our source of salvation [Psalm 18:2]. It is the Rock who will purchase our freedom [Psalm 78:35]. Paul said those who trust in the Rock won't be put to shame [Romans 9:33]. Psalm 78 gives a greater insight. It says when he struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly [Psalm 78:20]. This passage can be taken as a metaphor as to how Jesus brings about our salvation. It is through Jesus laying down his life for his people [John 10:11]. He is struck down on the cross and through his death releases the water of eternal life [John 4:14, John 19:34].

It could be argued that the prayer in the Psalms "into your hands I commit my spirit" points us to Jesus releasing his Spirit into the world after his cruxcifiction [Psalm 31.5, Luke 23:46]. Whatever the pros and cons of this theology there can be no doubt that Jesus is now seen as the everlasting mediator between God and man (or 'priest for ever') that we find in Psalm 110 and in Hebrews [Psalm 110.4, Hebrews 5:6]. The stone that the Jewish institution rejected has indeed become the cornerstone for us[Psalm 118:22, 1 Peter 2:7]. Jesus is the foundation of our faith. He is our salvation.

What Happened to Jesus?

Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension
A fundamental tenet of New Testament theology is Jesus' resurrection and ascension into heaven [Acts 1:22, John 20:29]. In his address to the Jerusalem crowd Peter is convinced of Jesus' resurrection and he quotes the Psalms as foreseeing this [Acts 2:31, Psalm 16.10].

According to Dr Jerome Dominguez [Prophecies of the Psalms http://biblia.com/jesusbible/psalms-prophecies.htm], Psalm 68 points us to Jesus' ascension into heaven [Psalm 68.18 ]. This view may be based upon Paul's quotation in Ephesians [Ephesians 4:8-10]. We could argue that in Psalm 47 God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets(NIV) [Psalm 47.5], may likewise be taken in the same vein. Furthermore, Psalm 110 and Matthew tell us that Jesus will be seated at the right hand of God [Psalm 110.1, Matthew 22.44 ].

Jesus and Future Judgment
The New Testament teaches us that the final outcome for mankind is that at the appointed time judgment will come; everybody wil l bow down to Jesus and worship him [Philippians 2:10, Rev 14:7]. Can we find this theology in the Psalms? If we examine five Psalms in detail we note that:

• All the earth bows down to God. The Lord will be at God's right hand.
• All the nations will come and worship the Lord bringing glory to his name.
• When he comes to judge the earth people will sing before Him.
• He will make his enemies like a fiery furnace and in his wrath swallow them up.
• He will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
• He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth [Psalm 21:9, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 86:9., Psalm 96:13, Psalm 110:5-6].

Conclusion
Given the huge amount of material that could be attributed to Christ it seems appropriate to think of the Psalms as a rich collection of treasures with many of their brightest jewels reflecting the glory of our Lord Jesus. One question remains: has this article found more in the Psalms than is actually there? Ultimately the answer is down to individual interpretation. However, there is sufficient material presented for the reader to ponder this question.

On the cross Jesus cried "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" [Psalm 22.1, Mark 15:34] Sometimes this may be our own life experience but for us this is not the truth. Jesus pronounced "It is finished" [John 19:30] showing he has overcome everything. He will not abandon us [Matthew 28:20]. This is why the final words must go to King David and the author of Psalm 118 when they said; "the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes" [Psalm 118:23]. "Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, for he has done it" [Psalm 22:30, Psalm 22:31b]. Amen to that!

Appendix - Other Possible Psalm References to Jesus