4 Ways the Psalms Predict Jesus
Welcome to Session 4 of the Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament online Bible study! In this session, you’ll discover four ways the psalms predict Jesus and find out what a messianic psalm is. I’ll also clear up some common confusions. We’re delighted to study this with you!
Here’s how this will work:
- Watch this week’s video session above.
- Once you watch the video, answer the questions in the discussion section of this page. The questions relate to both the previous week’s study in the book as well as the video content. We hope these interactions will be both challenging and encouraging!
- After the video, we will let you know the personal study assignment for the next week in your Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament study book. That’s it!
Before Next Week
Complete Chapter 4–Jesus the Afflicted One (pages 59-75) in your creative devotional study book. See you next week!
Related Posts:
- What’s So Good About Royal Psalms?
- How to Understand Psalms
- Who Are the Righteous in Psalms and Proverbs?
You might also enjoy our book, Discovering Hope in the Psalms. It has an entire chapter on Psalm 2. (This is an affiliate link for which I receive a small commission.)
Discussion Questions
Answer the following questions below in the comments to get to know your fellow Bible study friends!
- What one thought stuck out to you in this week’s video, 4 Ways the Psalms Predict Jesus? Why did it stand out?
- What one thought stuck out to you from this week’s chapter, Jesus the Sacrificed Lamb? Why did it stand out?
- Page 56 question 35: Since Christ is our Passover Lamb, what should we remove from our lives? How have you seen these things hurt relationships? What should we add to our lives? How have you seen these things help relationships?
I was one of those students who had a tough time reading about “all the blood” in the sacrifices and temple worship described in the OT…until the Holy Spirit showed me how Jesus fulfilled every single offering and sacrifice.
With this also came my deeper understanding and appreciation for the gravity of what it cost Jesus to be my Passover Lamb. In my quiet time, I try to picture the sight, sounds, and smells of the tabernacle and the knowledge that I would have been alienated from God. What would it have been like to wait to see the High Priest emerge from the Holy of Holies once a year?
Only when I dwell on these pictures/types the Old Testament provides can I start to grasp the complete-ness, the perfection and the cost for Jesus to be my Passover Lamb. The result is always new-found worship and adoration.
Yes, we need the Old Testament to fully understand what Jesus accomplished for us. “New-found worship and adoration”–that is the response when we understand what our God was willing to do for us. Thanks for sharing, Shawna.
1.pattern because it points back to Jesus.
2.what Jesus went through for me on the cross.
3. Sin malice, wickedness. Break up the friendship, not trusting others. Add to our lives sincerity, truth. Build trust.
Hi, Becky. 2) Yes, Psalm 22 makes me think of all Jesus went through too. What amazing love he shows us. 3) You’re right: Sincerity and truth are essential for trust.
If I heard right, the majority of the psalms are portent psalms. I’d never heard this before.
That Rachel personified both the mothers who lost children during the Babylonian exile and the mothers who lost children when the new Pharaoh came to power (p.54). It makes me want to read Rachel’s story a bit closer.
We should remove the old yeast of malice and wickedness, such as adultery, which hurts not only the violated person, but everyone around them. We should add the bread of sincerity and truth because, for example, honesty makes way for a trusting relationship.
Hi, Debbie. 1) Sorry I wasn’t clearer. The majority of MESSIANIC psalms are portents of Jesus rather than direct prophecy. They are fulfilled typologically. (The majority of all psalms are laments–prayer request psalms.)
2) Jeremiah prophesied this centuries after Rachel’s death, so there isn’t really something in her story in Genesis. Her tomb was near one of the deportation sites in Jeremiah’s day, and also near Bethlehem where Jesus was born. So Rachel personified both the grieving mothers during the Babylonian exile when the former Jewish king was dethroned as well as the grieving mothers in Bethlehem whom Herod killed when the new King Jesus was born.
3-4) Yes! Well put. .
What one thought stuck out to you in this week’s video, 4 Ways the Psalms Predict Jesus? Why did it stand out?
Messianic Psalms can be classified as a different type of Psalm, also: Lament, Royal, etc. I googled and found out there are 5 types: praise, wisdom, royal, thanksgiving, and lament.
Pure prophecy, portents, pattern, end time proclamations (doesn’t mention Jesus) are ways the Psalms point to Jesus..
What one thought stuck out to you from this week’s chapter, Jesus the Sacrificed Lamb? Why did it stand out?
I enjoyed the reminder about the temple, the holy Place and the High Holy Place, the priest and the sacrifices made for the priests’ sins and the sins of the people.
Page 56 question 35: Since Christ is our Passover Lamb, what should we remove from our lives?
the old leaven, malice and wickedness
How have you seen these things hurt relationships?
divorce, aduletery, break-ups, broken trust
What should we add to our lives?
sincerity and truth
How have you seen these things help relationships?
builds trust
God’s ways really are best! I’m so glad Jesus is Truth and we can fully trust him. Thanks for sharing, Karen.
The different ways the Psalms predicted Jesus. Now i understand better, why the NT will attribute those Psalms to Jesus and the various categories. I used to think, it was over stretching with some.
So happy to hear that cleared things up for you, Ebiega! Thanks for sharing.
Question 1
Would the kings have been “a son of God”? Whereas Jesus was “The Son of God”. If this title was given to kings because they were appointed by God, then why did they say Jesus was blaspheming when he claimed to be the son of God? Did they see the kings as being as important as God and to say you were a king was blasphemy?
Question 2
“In troubles, it’s normal not to sense God’s presence. But that does mean He’s not there.” When I am down I always feel far away from God. I have learnt if I put on some worship music, it’s not long before I join in The praise and worship and not only feel better, but feel closer to Him.
Hi, Angela. These are great questions! The book will cover these issues in the chapters on “Jesus the King Forever” and “Jesus the Son of Man.” But here are brief answers.
QUESTION 1A
The kings had the title, “son of God,” based on God’s promise to David that he would be a father to the kings descended from David. This title foreshadowed the greater relationship that Jesus had as the literal Son of God.
(The Hebrew and Greek texts do not capitalize “Son.” English translations often capitalize so that readers can tell the difference between a text referring to Jesus and a text referring to others. Psalm 2 presents translators difficulty because it refers to both. Some translations include a text note that explains the two options.)
QUESTION 1B
a) In the Gospels, most of the time “son of God” is used as a title for the anointed king (“messiah” is from the Hebrew for “anointed one” and “christ” is from the Greek for “anointed one”). For example, in John 1:49 Nathanael says, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Nathanael means “Son of God” as one of the titles for the “King of Israel.” He did not know at this time of Jesus’s special birth.
b) Sometimes Jesus claimed a more intimate relationship with the Father than the mere title “son of God” would allow, and when the Jews recognized this, some accused him of blasphemy. For instance, in John 10:24, the Jews ask him if he is the Christ. He says his sheep follow him (“shepherd” is another title for the king and “sheep” for the kingdom’s inhabitants). He claims to give his sheep eternal life, something that only God can do, not a human king. He says his Father gave him the sheep–Jesus hasn’t been anointed King in their eyes, and he doesn’t have sheep (a kingdom) that they can see. Then he says “I and the Father are one” (verse 30). That’s not something a human king could claim either. So the Jews accuse him of blasphemy because “you, being a man, make yourself God.”
c) At Jesus’s trial, the high priest demanded that Jesus “tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63). The high priest meant “Son of God” as a title equivalent to “Christ.” And Jesus replied in verse 64, “You have said so.” That wouldn’t have been a problem if he stopped there. But Jesus continued, “But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Here, he claimed to be (1) the divine figure who would come in the clouds and who was “like a Son of Man” prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14, as well as (2) the Lord at the right hand of God whose enemies God would destroy in Psalm 110. Those two claims incensed the high priest and brought the charge of blasphemy.
QUESTION 1C
No, they did not see the king as equal to God. They saw Jesus as claiming a relationship with God that was more intimate than a king would have, such as being one with God. Additionally, the spiritual leaders wanted the coming king to be submissive to them in spiritual matters. Jesus was not, because as the literal Son of God, he was also the new high priest of the new priestly order of Melchizedek that replaced the soon-to-be abolished Aaronic priesthood. He was also the prophet like Moses who had greater authority to interpret the law than the scribes of the day.
QUESTION 2
Wonderful! In the book of Job, Job laments that he cannot feel God’s presence. But it turns out, God was there closely watching him and intensely proud of him. That brings me great comfort! Keep up the worship songs!