Ps. 31
Psalm 31:5a, “Into your hand I commit my spirit” clearly gives us a picture of Jesus’ crucifixion. Whether prophecy or a quote of scripture, I can’t say, but these were some of the last words that Jesus uttered as he took on the sin of the world. But what about the rest of the Psalm? Again, whether or not any of it is prophecy, I can’t say, but looking at some of the words in light of Jesus’ experience on the cross, one can certainly find some relevancy.
Verse 1 – “let me never be put to shame”. I consider the mocking and ridiculing that Jesus endured for us. He didn’t have to. He could have easily said, “I’ll show them I’m legit!” But He didn’t. Instead, He endured the temporary shame and waited for God, knowing that God would vindicate him in the end.
Verse 3 – “for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me”. I recently did a little research on the phrase, “for your name’s sake” as part of a study on Psalm 23. It struck me that part of somebody’s “name”, especially in Bible times, was their heritage; their descendants. Well, folks, that makes us part of God’s “name”, because we have been made children of God through Jesus’ work on the cross. So, yes, it was for God’s great reputation and for all that He is that Jesus was led to that cross. But it was also for us, God’s name’s sake.
Verse 8 – “and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place”. Indeed, Jesus overcame all that is evil; death and destruction and the Father of Lies.
Verse 10 – “For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away”. Boy, doesn’t that sound like Jesus’ words! Except for one detail…”because of MY iniquity”. In reality it was because of OUR iniquity – yours and mine and everyone else’s. But guess what? Jesus didn’t carry all those sins to the cross as somebody else’s. He carried them to the cross as His own. What a weight to bear!!! I could go on, but in the interest of time, I will stop with that. But take a look at the Psalm through the lens of Jesus and His sacrifice for us – it is interesting.
Ps. 35
This Psalm is another great example of How David turned to and waited on God to vindicate him from his enemies. David most certainly prayed for devastation against the wicked and against those who hated him, but he did not take action against his own enemies.
John 11:30-57
I have heard that the Jews believed that a person’s spirit left their body after being dead for three days. So it was by no accident that Jesus arrived on this scene when Lazarus had been dead four days. At least some of His followers knew that He had already raised a few people from the dead. And there are certainly a few Old Testament instances. But now, with Lazarus, all hope was truly gone. Except that it wasn’t.
I don’t know if that three-day thing is true or not, but I do know that a person somehow seems more dead four days later than they do on the day they die. There is a finality that comes with time. So this particular resurrection must have had more significance than the previous ones. And it seems very clear to me that Jesus was very intentional in making a demonstration out of it.
A couple of other things I note here, is that, though they questioned, they obeyed Jesus’ commands. But when the Chief Priests and Pharisees heard? They were concerned only for their position and power. Pride, and the perceived power that comes with it, serve only to blind us to the Truth.