Yogi Berra once said, “It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.” But I discovered a group that boasts perfect accuracy with their predictions.
The group is called the Procrastinator’s Club of America, with 8,500 members and, according to their president, “another half-million potential members who have not gotten around to joining.” Members live by the motto, “It’s Never Too Late to Procrastinate,” and they wear buttons proclaiming, “Behind You All the Way.”
One of most famous practices of the Procrastinator’s Club is to make annual predictions about what events will grab headlines—but they post on the last day of the year they are supposed to be predicting. Their tongue-in-cheek “predictions” have never failed to be true!
It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future. That’s why Psalm 22 is so astonishing. A thousand years before crucifixion had even been imagined as a form of execution, King David predicted the crucifixion of Jesus.
It’s eerie to read Psalm 22 if you’re already familiar with the New Testament accounts of Christ’s death. It’s like picking up the signal from a distant broadcasting tower when trying to find something on the radio while driving late at night. Do you know what I mean? In Psalm 22, it’s as if David came across a radio broadcast from the future. Coming through the crackle and hiss he heard:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
“…they pierce my hands and my feet….”
“They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”
Remarkable.
Some Bible teachers call Psalm 22 the “Fifth Gospel.” No surprise there. This psalm provides almost as much detail about Jesus’s death and resurrection as we find in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But while the four New Testament Gospels preserved history after it happened, King David’s “Fifth Gospel” was a prophecy of what was going to happen.
This Sunday, we’ll study Psalm 22. Read it now, and then study it with us this weekend. We’ll begin our worship service online and on campus at 10am.
Tom
One more thing: I wrote a statement reacting to the news reports on the Southern Baptist Convention’s response, or lack of response, to complaints of sexual abuse in our ranks. You can find it here.
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.