Many of the Psalms of David are intensely interesting because they are prophetic of the life experience of "the Son of David"--Jesus. Sometimes today's tabloid newspapers get hold of scraps of news that the sedate papers don't tell us; they are called "scoops." The Psalms of David have "scoops" about the personal life of Jesus that the four New Testament gospels don't tell us. One is Psalm 22 that tells us of His secret prayer He uttered while He was hanging on His cross; another is Psalm 69, likewise. The Holy Spirit inspired David to write these Psalms that enable us to "see" Jesus like He was our next-door neighbor. They help us realize how human He was as well as divine (His name is "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us," Matt. 1:23).
Reading Psalm 55 in Peterson's The Message has become a revelation: it tells about Judas Iscariot! Here we have intimate glimpses of Jesus wrestling with a pain almost unbearable. He has come to save His own people, and their leaders hate Him and make His days keenly painful. John's Gospel does tell us of the deep underground hatred that Jesus had to contend with in Jerusalem, that broke His heart; but Psalm 55 opens a window into how Jesus felt when one of His close Twelve secretly sided with the scribes and Pharisees, and day by day was preparing to betray Him. "Get Me out of here on dove wings; I want some peace and quiet," we hear Jesus praying (vs. 6). "This isn't the neighborhood bully mocking Me--I could take that. ... It's you! My best friend! ... And this My best friend, betrayed his best friends [the Eleven]. ... His words, which were music to My ears, turned to daggers in My heart" (vss. 12-14).
Did Jesus love Judas? Of course; He loved all Twelve. Was this cancer of disloyalty and betrayal growing within the Twelve, painful for Jesus? Of course! Christ's divine foreknowledge did not lessen the pain of His human suffering. You can be sure that today as your High Priest Jesus feels the pain you know when someone close to you turns against you! He "lived" in the Book of Psalms; you must do so, too.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 22, 2003.
Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
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