Psalm 22:8

Hebrew Bible

6 But I am a worm, not a man; people insult me and despise me. 7 All who see me taunt me; they mock me and shake their heads. 8 They say, “Commit yourself to the Lord! Let the Lord rescue him! Let the Lord deliver him, for he delights in him.” 9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out from the womb and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts. 10 I have been dependent on you since birth; from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Matthew 27:43

New Testament

41 In the same way even the chief priests—together with the experts in the law and elders—were mocking him: 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down now from the cross, we will believe in him! 43 He trusts in God—let God, if he wants to, deliver him now because he said, ‘I am God’s Son’! 44 The robbers who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. 45 Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land.

 Notes and References

"... Brown detects the greatest number of parallels between Matthew 27 and Psalm 22. He thinks the early Christians applied Psalm 22 to Jesus as the Son of David, because they would have thought David composed Psalm 22 based on the superscription. Brown deduces that Matthew 27:46 quotes Psalm 22:2 when Jesus cries out from the cross. He says the wording in Matthew 27:46 is slightly closer to Psalm 22 in the LXX than Mark 15:34, but he does not specify how. The passersby blaspheming Jesus while he is on the cross in Matthew 27:39, 44 plausibly alludes to the sufferer in Psalm 22 being reviled by humans (Psalm 22:7). Those passing by, wagging their heads, probably allude to Psalm 22:8, which reads, “They spoke with the lips; they wagged the head.” Psalm 22:9 is partially echoed in the challenge to Jesus on the cross: “Save yourself” in Mark 15:30 and Matthew 27:40. Matthew 27:43 more fully echoes Psalm 22:9, though, by saying, “He has trusted in God. Let him be delivered if he wants him” (Matthew 27:43). Brown also concludes that the description of the division of Jesus’ clothes in all four Gospels alludes to Psalm 22:19 (Matthew 27:35) ..."

Winchester, Christopher Thematic Association in the Gospel of Matthew: Situating Exegesis in the Gospel of Matthew in its Second Temple Context (p. 58) University of Edinburgh, 2017

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