Analyzing Psalm 22: I Am Poured Out Like Water
Analyzing Psalm 22: I Am Poured Out Like Water
Psalm 22: 14; John 19:1-3 - We cannot begin to understand the suffering of our Lord.
”I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.“
Psalms 22:14 NASB1995
The next few verses describe the physical suffering that the Forsaken Ones are experiencing. Since fallen humans and the enemy were involved in this process, the extreme barbarity is to be expected and we have not improved over time, sadly, only becoming more “efficient” in our violent ways. Let’s look at the first part of this verse: David (and Jesus) feel like they are poured out like water and all of their bones are out of joint.
Think about the arrest and trial of Jesus. Pilate thought that He was innocent but the crowd insisted that He be crucified. He has already been struck in the face a few times by members of the Sanhedrin and I’m sure He wasn’t handled very nicely after they brought Him from the garden. Here is what happens at the beginning of John 19:
”Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face.“
John 19:1-3 NASB1995
A short sentence in this Gospel is fraught with meaning, like all of scripture, as I have discovered. I believe I shared similar descriptions of scourging in a previous devotional during Holy Week last year, but here’s a good summary that I found at Truth of God on this practice:
Flogging was a legal preliminary to every Roman execution, and only women and Roman senators or soldiers (except in cases of desertion) were exempt. The usual instrument was a short whip with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals. For scourging, the man was stripped of his clothing, and his hands were tied to an upright post. The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged either by two soldiers (lictors) or by one who alternated positions. The severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of the lictors and was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death. As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim’s back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally set the stage for circulatory shock. The extent of blood loss may well have determined how long the victim would survive on the cross. After the scourging, the soldiers often taunted their victim.
Jesus is “poured out like water” because He was bleeding to death from the scourging and He also had severe head wounds due to the soldiers pounding on the crown of thorns on His head (they may have even pulled out His beard - Isaiah 50.6). He still had to carry the cross and be crucified (with more blood-producing wounds). According to other sources I read, a crucifixion victim most likely carried the cross-beam of the cross as the Romans reused the main vertical beams to save wood. That cross-beam weighed over 100 pounds.
In a remarkable insight of prophecy, David describes “bones being out of joint”. The whole point of crucifixion was to cause the sufferer immense agony when the cross was in the vertical position by pulling bones out of joints. Here’s a description from The Blue Letter Bible, by David Tersaka, M.D.
When the cross was erected upright, there was tremendous strain put on the wrists, arms and shoulders, resulting in a dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints. The arms, being held up and outward, held the rib cage in a fixed end inspiratory position which made it extremely difficult to exhale, and impossible to take a full breath. The victim would only be able to take very shallow breaths. (This may explain why Jesus made very short statements while on the cross). As time passed, the muscles, from the loss of blood, last of oxygen and the fixed position of the body, would undergo severe cramps and spasmodic contractions.
In the next phrase of this verse, David describes his heart being like wax, melting within him. Let’s look at the word “heart” in Hebrew: This comes from the word לֵב or lêb with the following Biblical usages:
inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
inner part, midst
midst (of things)
heart (of man)
soul, heart (of man)
mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory
inclination, resolution, determination (of will)
conscience
heart (of moral character)
as seat of appetites
as seat of emotions and passions
as seat of courage
The Hebrew word used does not really describe the physical organ, but rather the inner person. The suffering of the Forsaken Ones has reached into the very center or heart of their existence. However, the physical process of crucifixion also certainly affects the physical heart, as noted in the Blue Letter Bible (again, by David Tersaka, M.D.);
Due to the shallow breathing, the victim's lungs begin to collapse in small areas, causing hypoxia and hypercarbia. A respiratory acidosis, with lack of compensation by the kidneys due to the loss of blood from the numerous beatings, resulted in an increased strain on the heart, which beats faster to compensate. Fluid builds up in the lungs.. Under the stress of hypoxia and acidosis the heart eventually fails. There are several different theories on the actual cause of death. One theory states that there was a filling of the pericardium with fluid, which put a fatal strain on the ability of the heart to pump blood (Lumpkin). Another theory states that Jesus died of cardiac rupture." (Stuart Bergsma). The actual cause of Jesus' death, however, "may have been multifactorial and related primarily to hypovolemic shock, exhaustion asphyxia and perhaps acute heart failure."(W.D. Edwards). A fatal cardiac arrhythmia may have caused the final terminal event. (C. Johnson, W.D. Edwards).
The inner Man is dying, as is the physical Man. I’m sorry I’m going into these details; I know they’re not “comforting”. Rather than sit around and feel good that you gave up chocolate for Lent, perhaps it is better to be reminded that the Creator of Universe and your Redeemer suffered in ways that are truly mind-boggling and David predicted this through his suffering, as did other OT prophets like Isaiah. Perhaps we should all meditate on these events every single day that this Man of sorrows experienced (and not just in the days before Holy Week). I’ve said this before: Although I’m not Catholic, I can really understand the use of the crucifix as a potent symbol of His sacrifice, our repentance and a way to humble an arrogant human heart.
My next devotional examines Psalm 22:15 - Unquenchable thirst.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I cannot begin to fathom Your suffering that you faced without complaint and with grace in order to redeem humans from their sins. I love you, Lord. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
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The following information is found on the Blue Letter Bible on the section on the medical aspects of the crucifixion:
Compiled by David Terasaka, M.D. ©1996. All Rights Reserved, David Terasaka, M.D. However, permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute free of charge for non-commercial purposes only.
The Blue Letter Bible lexicon was accessed on 3/2/2024 to review the Hebrew word and usage for “heart” as found in Psalm 22:14.
This was accidentally sent out two days prior to the March 4 publication date.