Immanuel

Psalm 69 (10 days until Holy Week)

I started researching a bit about this Psalm and discovered that there are quite a few folks who identify it as a kind of prophetic prayer of Jesus’. I think it is because of statements like:

⁴More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
those who attack me with lies.

²¹They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

And maybe this song did resonate with Jesus as he faced his last moments on earth. He faced suffering and pain unlike anything I have ever experienced. And at this point, David is expressing his feelings of suffering and pain.

At some point in life all of us encounter suffering and pain… Something happens in our life that seems beyond anything we can bear….

But I believe that it is in that moment that Jesus becomes so significant. In that moment, Immanuel means more than it ever has before. Jesus is identified as Immanuel in Matthew 1:

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

So if Jesus is truly “God with us” then he does understand what our extreme suffering is. For me, that is really, really good news. Jesus is with me… in everything… no matter what.