We know that Jesus Christ endured great shame as he was crucified on the cross. And yet because of his willingness to endure the cross he was exalted to the position of greatest honor in the universe—the right hand of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11). On the cross Jesus not only bore our guilt, but he also took upon himself our shame. He was willingly stripped, mocked, beaten, and crucified among criminals. Imagine the shame of hanging naked among common criminals waiting for death as those below hurl insults.
Jesus Christ tells us that the whole Old Testament is a book about him (see Luke 24:25-27, 44-47). When reading the Psalms we remember that we are reading a book that is ultimately about Jesus the Messiah. This is not difficult when we read psalms that are explicitly quoted by New Testament authors who apply them to Jesus. Many psalms are messianic psalms that speak in part to what David or the original author was experiencing, but ultimately they find their fulfillment in the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. What is remarkable is that in many of these messianic psalms we see the promise of one who will willingly bear the shame of God’s people so that they might be honored by being brought near to God.
Psalm 22 begins with these familiar words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Jesus spoke them while hanging on the cross – Matthew 27:46)? David had felt pushed away from God—forsaken. For the King of Israel to be forsaken of God is incredibly shameful. He is the one anointed to be king by God himself and yet he was forsaken. David knew that his fathers trusted in God and were not put to shame (Psalm 22:5) and so he cried out, for he was nothing more than a worm, scorned and despised (v. 6), and mocked by all (v.7-8). In his cries for deliverance he had confidence of God’s salvation, “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him” (Psalm 22:24). There is hope of not being put to shame, for God does listen to the afflicted, to the shamed who cry out to him.
There are many verses in this psalm that are either quoted directly or alluded to in the New Testament concerning Jesus Christ’s suffering and death (v. 1 being the most notable). Certainly we ought not to interpret this psalm solely as a prediction of Christ’s death; we must see it in the context of David’s life and suffering as well, not to mention the way in which it would have given encouragement to the people of God before Jesus came. However, at the same time, we truly do need to see this as being fulfilled in Christ. He is the one crying out, who has felt forsaken. He is the one being put to shame and in quoting the opening verse of this psalm on the cross, he is also the one who is pointing towards a future hope. “I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation I will praise you” (Psalm 25:22).
In Psalm 69 David is concerned about not only his own honor, but the honor of all who hope in God. This psalm is also looking forward to Jesus.
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who see you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s son. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me (Psalm 69:6-9).
This text is quite clearly speaking of Jesus for John quotes the beginning of verse 9 in John 2:17 and Paul quotes the latter part of verse 9 in Romans 15:3. It is on Jesus that our reproaches have fallen and this text makes clear the reason he bears this reproach. It is for God’s sake. It is not an accident, but a willing bearing of another’s shame in order that they may not be put to shame.
Those who put their hope in Jesus the Messiah will not be put to shame. Our shame is removed and we are given the honor of being sons and daughters of God. This comes through the loving bearing of our shame by Jesus Christ. He endured the worst kind of shame on the cross. Yet the worth of his death and resurrection show us just how honorable he truly is.
Read the other posts in this series:
Part 1, “Introduction”
Part 2, “What Are Honor and Shame?”
Part 3, “The Honor of Man”
Part 4, “The Shame of Sin”
Part 5, “The Honor of the King (God’s Anointed One)”
Part 6, “Honor Comes through the Shaming of Your Enemies”
Part 7, “Honor, Shame and Salvation”
Part 8, “Honor through the Shame of the Messiah”
Part 9, “We Need More than a Messiah”
