What does Psalm 22:14 mean?
This psalm depicts someone being executed by his enemies—a situation which David never experienced first-hand. Rather, he uses these descriptions as symbols to explain his angst (Psalm 22:1–2). Prior verses included references to his enemies as swarming bulls (Psalm 22:12) and roaring lions (Psalm 22:13). In this ordeal, David feels surrounded by his foes and abandoned by God. Depicting the depth of his angst, David says he has become dehydrated (Psalm 22:15), his bones are twisted in pain, and his heart has failed.The description of suffering prophetically depicts what happened to Jesus during His crucifixion. On the cross He experienced extreme thirst. When He called out, "I thirst" (John 19:28), one of the soldiers held a sponge full of gall-laced sour wine to Jesus' mouth (John 19:29), but He would not drink it (Matthew 27:34). He did, however, take wine later (Matthew 27:48). A rich man thirsted so much in the flames of Hades that he asked Abraham to send a poor man named Lazarus who was in Abraham's bosom to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue (Luke 16:19–31). Minor as it might seem, this thirst again parallels Jesus taking on sufferings so that those who believe can escape them.
The weight of Jesus' body on the cross would have dislocated His joints, but none of His bones were broken in fulfillment of God's instructions concerning the Passover lamb (see Exodus 12:46; John 19:32–33). Further, the sac around Jesus' heart was pierced after His death on the cross, causing blood and water to issue forth (John 19:34).
Psalm 22:1–21 depicts David's questioning of God's silence and estrangement from him in his desperate situation. The structure of this prayer, and the images it evokes, are prophecies of Messiah's sufferings. Isaiah 53:3–8 likewise predicts these experiences and explains that Messiah endured them for us sinners. Matthew 27:46 reports that Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 when he was suffering on the cross. First Peter 2:24 –25 refers to the sufferings of Jesus the Messiah and calls Jesus ''the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.''
This psalm may be divided into two parts. The first part, verses 1–21, contains an urgent prayer, in which the suppliant questions a holy God's distance from him in his time of suffering. It also contains a graphic description of the Messiah's suffering. Messiah's suffering included humiliation, the taunts of unbelievers, a distressful sense of loneliness, and intense physical pain. The second part of the psalm continues a prayer to be delivered, and includes a glimpse of resurrection and exaltation. The psalm praises God and announces a future time when God will receive worldwide acclaim and worship.
