The 1,000-Year-Old Prophecy That Will Leave You Stunned

What if one of the clearest pictures of Jesus’ crucifixion was written roughly 1,000 years before Christ ever went to the cross?

During a recent appearance on Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural!, Jewish believer Ren Schuffman made the case that Psalm 22 is far more than a song of suffering written by King David. He believes it is a prophetic picture of the Messiah—and that Jesus Himself pointed directly to it during His final moments.

Roth began the discussion by arguing that Isaiah 53 offers some of the most compelling Old Testament evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. Schuffman, however, pointed to Psalm 22.

The key, he said, is understanding Jesus’ famous words from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Rather than viewing those words simply as a cry of abandonment, Schuffman believes Jesus was quoting the opening of Psalm 22 to direct those standing around Him to the entire passage.

That becomes particularly striking as the psalm continues.

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“They pierce my hands and my feet,” Schuffman read from the passage. Psalm 22 also describes bones being exposed, enemies staring and mocking the sufferer and people dividing his clothes and casting lots for his garments—details Schuffman and Roth connected to the Gospel accounts of Christ’s crucifixion.

Even more remarkable, Schuffman pointed out that David wrote the psalm centuries before crucifixion became an established form of execution.

“They pierced my hands and my feet. Well, that’s weird,” Schuffman said. “Nobody invented crucifixion for 600 years after David.”

According to Schuffman, what would have appeared mysterious in David’s generation suddenly becomes recognizable when viewed through the cross.

Schuffman also addressed the long-running textual debate surrounding the passage, noting that some Jewish translations render the phrase as “like a lion” rather than “pierced.” He argued that ancient textual evidence, including the pre-Christian Septuagint, supports a reading associated with piercing, making it impossible, in his view, for Christians to have simply created the wording after Jesus’ death.

Yet perhaps the most powerful portion of Psalm 22 comes near the end.

The psalm moves from anguish to victory, declaring that God had not hidden His face from the suffering one. It then looks toward the nations turning to the Lord and future generations hearing of His righteousness.

Its conclusion particularly caught Schuffman’s attention: “He has done it.”

Schuffman immediately connected those words with Christ’s declaration from the cross: “It is finished.”

For him, that is why Psalm 22 carries such tremendous significance.

“For some reason, it was Jesus’ last sermon,” Schuffman said.

If Schuffman’s interpretation is correct, Christ’s anguished words from the cross were not pointing toward defeat at all. They pointed everyone listening back to a prophetic passage written centuries earlier—one that began with suffering but ended with victory, the nations turning to God, and the declaration that the work had been accomplished.

The cross was not a surprise.

The plan of redemption had been written long before Golgotha.

Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact media@.