Where is Jesus in Psalm 22?
Psalm 22 is the psalm of the cross. It describes a crucifixion in detail centuries before Rome made it a punishment: the cry Jesus spoke while dying, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Psa 22:1; Matt 27:46), pierced hands and feet, and soldiers casting lots for His clothing (Psa 22:16, 18). David never died this way. The King did.
What the text states
Psalm 22 begins with the exact words Jesus cried from the cross: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Psa 22:1), which He quotes in Matthew 27:46. What follows reads like an eyewitness of a crucifixion written a thousand years early: "they pierced my hands and my feet" (Psa 22:16), and "they part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture" (Psa 22:18), fulfilled to the letter at Golgotha (Matt 27:35; John 19:24). David was not describing his own death. He was shown the death of the King long before Rome made crucifixion a punishment. The psalm then turns from the forsaken cry to a promise that reaches "all the ends of the world" (Psa 22:27). The cross was not an accident of history. It was written.
Go deeper
Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-07.
Share this answer
Where is Jesus in Psalm 22? → wsb.bible/answers/where-is-jesus-in-psalm-22
This answer is the short form. The argument is made at length in The Crimson Worm.