Jesus loved the Psalms. “Depart from me, all you workers of evil” came from Psalm 6:8 (Matthew 7:23, Luke 13:27). Psalm 82:6’s statement, “You are gods,” defended Him when accused of blasphemy (John 10:34). He challenged the Pharisees with Psalm 110:1, where David called his coming Son “Lord” (Matthew 22:44). He lived out Psalm 69:9 when He zealously drove the money changers from the temple (John 2:17). He and His apostles likely sang Psalm 118 – the conclusion of the Hallel, a collection of praise songs sang during the Passover – after the last supper (Matthew 26:30).
Jesus’ intimacy with the Psalms helped shape His response to the agony of the cross and provided many of His final words. He quoted Psalm 6:3 to describe how troubled He was (John 12:27). His ancestor David sang and Jesus cried a millennium apart, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46). They exclaimed, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Psalm 31:5, Luke 23:46). The God-breathed Psalms provided a holy way for Jesus to express His most painful emotions.
As much as the Psalms helped Jesus, He fulfilled them. His use of parables fulfilled Psalm 78:2, “I will open my mouth in a parable” (Matthew 13:35). The world’s rejection fulfilled Psalm 35:19’s statement about those “who hate me without cause” (John 15:25). At the crucifixion, Psalm 22:19 foresaw the soldiers casting lots for His clothes while Psalm 34:20 anticipated that none of His bones would be broken (John 19:23-24, 36). Jesus is the marvelous fulfillment of Psalm 118:22’s rejected stone becoming the cornerstone (Matthew 21:42). As our risen Savior later explained, “[E]verything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).
Jesus saw significance in the Psalms. They helped Him. They were about Him. As such, we do well to give these sacred selections our attention, too.
Are you ready to have your faith shaped by these powerful songs? Check out our new sermon series, Climbing Higher: Songs of Ascents.