"For the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning" (Ps 22:1). Traditional Judaism insists on the coming of two Messiahs. The Messiah son of Joseph, who will die in the battle of Gog and Magog (e.g., the Jewish interpretation of Zech 12:10), and the Messiah son of David who will establish world peace and rule over the Messianic kingdom (e.g., the Jewish interpretation of Isaiah 11). The belief in two Messiahs most likely developed as a rejection of the New Testament's affirmation of a single Messiah who is both the Suffering servant AND the Prince of Peace. The idea of one Messiah who suffers and rules, however, is now considered an oxymoron by traditional Judaism. But the greatest proof these two categories are not mutually exclusive is king David himself. The book of Psalms is filled with lament psalms written by King David, and serves, therefore, as the prophetic paradigm for what the royal-suffering Messiah would look like. No wonder the book of Psalms is one of the most quoted books in the New Testament! The Messiah who cries "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me" is also the same Messiah who triumphs over the grave and "praises God among his brothers" (Ps 22:22). "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’S and He rules over the nations" (Ps 22:27-28).

One day we will all worship the One True Messiah together…Jew and Gentile! Oh, happy day!