D.L.

FOURTH FRIDAY 15th/ MARCH OF LENT

“My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.”
(Psalm 22,15-17 NIV11-GKE)

“The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
(Luke 23,35-37 NIV11-GKE)

The Psalm is a vivid description; it is almost the storyboard of a movie, where the writers, together with the director, sit down to imagine the sequence and images that will be in a film. It is almost word by word, depicting the crucifixion of Jesus. This was written centuries before Jesus’ death and resurrection, and I don’t know why the people and the rulers missed this, how they did not look at this Psalm and realise that the Messiah was with them.
How could they have missed King Jesus? Sometimes, we miss him too when we try to rule our own lives and forget that the suffering King has overcome the very sin in us that separates us from him.

Let this Friday of Lent prepare us for this coming Sunday as we worship our King of Kings.