But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine to satisfy my thirst.
Devotional Text
In certain passages of the Psalms and in the book of Isaiah, two of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, David and Isaiah, provide a preview of Christ’s crucifixion hundreds of years before it happened. How could even nonbelievers deny the incredible accuracy of their prophecies? David foresaw the moment when the soldiers would give Jesus gall and vinegar to drink upon the cross after He would say, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). David also clearly saw and described the crucifixion scene in Psalm 22:16, 18 as he foretold that Jesus’ hands and feet would be pierced and that the soldiers would cast lots for his clothing. Isaiah, too, foresaw the suffering of Christ upon the cross. He graphically described the disfiguring and marring of Jesus’ countenance (Isaiah 52:14). He also saw that Jesus would be “wounded and crushed for our sins . . . beaten that we might have peace . . . whipped, and we were healed!” (Isaiah 53:5). He saw Jesus “counted among those who were sinners” (two thieves hung on either side of Him) and “put in a rich man’s grave” (vv. 12, 9). Finally, he saw that Jesus “interceded for sinners” (v. 12), fulfilled in Luke 23:34 when He prayed, “Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.” Any questions?