‘All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”’ (Psalm 22:7-8)
You can feel the heartache, the drowning despair, in these words. The loneliness in the sea of people, as they all turn on this person in mocking derision. The shame as he is attacked for his trust and loyalty to God.
These are the words of David, King of Israel. When did he feel this way? When did this event happen? It is hard to pinpoint exactly when anything like this happened in his lifetime. Was this when Saul was chasing him? When Ish-bosheth challenged him?
While David may have had moments where it felt like everyone was against him and mocking him, this Psalm is not about him (when did verses 16-18 happen to David?!). This Psalm describes the heart-wrenching pain of great David’s Greater Son. It is a prophecy about the King of God’s people who was willing to suffer to save his people.
What a Saviour we have. What a King! It has long been the pattern throughout biblical history that’s God’s people have suffered at the hands of their enemies – e.g. Abel, Joseph, Israel in Egypt. And Jesus not only followed the pattern – he was the reason for the pattern! He didn’t suffer to be like them; they suffered to be like him, to show what the Saviour-King would endure.
He endured the cross, depising the shame (Heb 12:2). He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:7). He set the pattern – shame now, glory later. That is a fundamental truth Easter teaches, and it’s a pattern we must follow ourselves. Are you ready to be mocked like Christ?