Feeling forsaken by God, David, in Psalm 22, records his battle with persecution. He laments his immense suffering, pleading with God for deliverance. These poetic and painful words of David became literally true of Jesus' suffering at the hands of his enemies. Jesus himself uttered the first line of Psalm 22 while hanging on the cross (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). The Gospel writers, especially Matthew and John, frequently alluded to this Psalm in their descriptions of Christ's passion (Matt. 27:35, 39, 43; John 19:23-24, 28). Hebrews 2:12 quotes Psalm 22:22, referring to Jesus.
