Happy Passover to everyone reading this.

Yes, many of you may have already celebrated Resurrection Day (“Easter”) on March 31, 2024, but the date on the biblical Hebrew calendar is different. The weeklong celebration of Passover will begin at sundown on April 22, 2024, with First Fruits (Resurrection Day) arriving on April 27^th. The entire observance will be from April 22-30 this year. In my case, I like to celebrate at both times on the calendar.

There’s an amazing teaching from Psalm 22 that is perfect for the celebration and remembrance of Jesus’s death on the cross as the Passover lamb.

Read the words below from this revealing psalm and see if you can find some things that foreshadow Jesus’s death on the cross.

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
² O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.

³ But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
⁴ Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
⁵ They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

⁶ But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
⁷ All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,⁸ “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him.

Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!…

14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
¹⁷ I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
¹⁸ They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”

These verses are taken from Psalm 22 verses 1-8 and 14-18, which is part of the Old Testament.  The book of Psalms was written before Jesus was born so it’s a prophecy of what would happen to the Messiah (Jesus).

There are many verses in Psalm 22 that point to Jesus as the crucified Passover lamb.

For instance:

The psalm begins with these words: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” We know from the story of Jesus’s crucifixion (Matthew 27:46) that he cried out at the 9^th hour from the cross in a loud voice saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was quoting King David’s words from Psalm 22 on purpose so the crowd would recognize them from the scriptures that they already knew. In this way, they would understand that he is the promised Messiah spoken of in the prophecy.

Another verse to consider is this one:  “I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint.” 

The reference to being “poured out like water” is pointing to Jesus being the Living Water, but more specifically it is alluding to the Feast of Tabernacles when “living water” was an intricate part of the celebration.

One for Israel writes,

“By the time of Yeshua (Jesus), a water libation ceremony had become part of the tradition of the festival. This was called the ‘Simchat Beit Hashoavah’ – the water-drawing festival. The priests would go down to the pool of Siloam in the City of David (just south of where the Western Wall is today) and they would fill a golden vessel with the water there. They would go up to the temple, through the Water Gate, accompanied by the sound of the shofar, and then they would pour the water so that it flowed over the altar, along with wine from another bowl. This would begin the prayers for rain in earnest, and there was much rejoicing at this ceremony.”

John 7:37-38 records, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 

Now, let’s move on to the part that declares, “And all my bones are out of joint.”

We know from the scriptures that Jesus was beaten and scourged, then made to carry a very heavy cross on his back. Next, he was stretched out and nailed to a cross. All these things would have put a terrible strain on his body. Carrying the heavy cross and then hanging on it for hours and hours would have caused certain bones (particularly the shoulders) to pop out of the socket or joint. Interestingly enough, though Jesus’s bones were out of joint, none of them were actually broken—this part is recorded in John 19:31-34. Then in verse 36 it says, “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken’” (John 19:36). 

The soldiers had come to break Jesus’s legs in order to hasten his death, but when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break them.  In those days, when a Passover lamb was killed for the temple sacrifice, the bones could not be broken. Thus, Jesus fulfilled this aspect of becoming the Passover sacrifice.   

Now we come to my favorite part of Psalm 22. You won’t believe the amazing significance of THE SCARLET WORM.

The verse says:

“But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.”

At first most people probably go right past the part about being a worm and do not take the time to ponder the significance. But once you dive into what it actually means, it will blow your mind.

Let’s get right to it!

What is a Worm?

The verse refers to Jesus as a worm.  In Hebrew, the word for “worm” is “rimmah.” This is defined as a maggot or worm.  In Psalm 22, however, the word being used for worm is “tola.” (also spelled tolah)

Blue letter Bible explains that the word tolah also means: a crimson grub—which can be used to dye clothing. Moreover, it defines tolah as a scarlet worm.

From this information we see that tolah denotes not just a worm, but also a crimson, scarlet worm. In fact, there is a crimson worm that is common in the Middle East, but particularly to Israel. Keep in mind that crimson or scarlet is a very deep, dark blood red color. We can already start to see the biblical significance.

The Life Cycle of the Crimson, Scarlet Worm

Here is a picture of the crimson worm- on a side note, it is also referred to as Kermes– “a genus of scale insects (worms) in the order Hemiptera—they feed on the sap of oaks and the females produce a red dye. This dye is the natural source of crimson.“

The life cycle of the scarlet worm points to Jesus and what he did as the Passover lamb on the cross. Read through the entire explanation below so you can glean all the fascinating parallels as to why Jesus referred to himself as a worm.

·      A female crimson worm only lays eggs one time in her life.

·      When she is ready for this rare moment, she climbs up a tree or wooden fence and attaches herself to it.

·      With her body attached to this surface, a hard, crimson-colored shell forms.

·      The only way to remove this hardened shell is to tear the body apart, which of course, would kill the worm.

·      The crimson worm lays her precious eggs underneath her body, which is under the hardened, protective shell.

·      When the babies hatch, they will stay under their mother’s protective covering.

·      While there, the babies will feed on the body of the mother worm for three days.

·      During this time, a dark, crimson red fluid flows out of the mother.

·      This red fluid will stain the wood she is attached to, leaving a mark behind. The babies will also become stained with this crimson fluid. They will remain this color the rest of their lives.

·      On the third day, the babies are ready to leave their protective shell.

·      The mother will remain attached to the tree, but will die. In essence, she gives up her life for her children.

·      On day four, the tail of the mother worm pulls up to her head, forming a heart-shaped body that is no longer crimson, but has instead turned into a snow-white wax that looks similar to a patch of wool on the tree or wooden fence. Then it will flake off and drop to the ground like falling snow.

Isaiah 1:18 declares something remarkable:

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson (tolah), they shall be as wool.”

Isaiah 1:18 is referring to Jesus, the Son of God who would take away the scarlet (crimson) sins of the world. His blood stained “crushing” on the cross would turn these sins “white.” In other words, they would be completely cleansed.

ARE YOU AMAZED AT HOW THIS ALL POINTS TO JESUS?

The Dye of the Crimson Worm ( kermes)

In biblical times, a red dye was actually excreted from the crimson worm and it was used in the High Priest’s robe. Likely, it was also used in the curtains of the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex 26:1, 28:5).  It was also used in the purification rites of a leper, and added to the ashes of the red heifer (Num 19:6). The dye was obtained by scraping the worm’s body, as well as the shell, off the tree. It was known as “Royal Red Dye.”

Parallels to Jesus

·      Just as the mother worm willingly attaches herself to a tree, Jesus also willingly attached himself to a tree by hanging on a wooden cross. He also willingly allowed his body to be pierced.

The crimson worm sacrifices herself for her babies just once– Hebrews 10:10 says, “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.“

·      The mother forms a protective shell around her babies just as Jesus forms a protective barrier around his children. We are covered by his blood.

·      Just as the mother worm was “crushed” (wounded, broken) , so was Jesus (Isa 53:5). In the case of the mother worm, her babies “crush” or break her body by feeding on it. A crimson dye flows forth from the mother after being broken and it covers her babies. It marks them for life. Jesus’s blood-covered body was crushed/wounded/broken for our iniquities. The crimson blood gushed from his numerous wounds as he hung on the cross. This same blood was shed to bring life to those who would receive him as Lord and Savior. In fact, this “seal of blood” marks believers by guaranteeing them eternal life (1:13). 

·      The babies are in the protective shell for three days just as Jesus was in the tomb for three days before he rose from the grave.

·      Just as the babies are dependent on the mother worm for the crimson dye to give them life and to mark them, a believer must repent and then depend on the blood of Jesus to forgive his/her sins and receive a new life (Acts 4:12, 1 Pet 1:18-19). The blood of Jesus marks believers forever.

Theologian Charles Spurgeon wrote about the scarlet worm:

“There is a little red worm which seems to be nothing else but blood when it is crushed. It seems all gone except a blood-stain.  And the Savior, in the deep humiliation of His spirit, compares Himself to that little red worm. How true it is that ‘He made Himself of no reputation’ for our sakes! He emptied Himself of all His Glory, and if there is any glory natural to manhood, He emptied Himself even of that! Not only the glories of His Godhead, but also the honors of His Manhood He laid aside that it might be seen that ‘though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor.’”

This crimson worm gives its life for its babies, just as Jesus gives his own life for his children. Jesus became something quite lowly– a “worm”–so he could mark his followers for eternal life.

The verse says,

“But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.”

Jesus was despised by many, but he became the Savior of the World.

And let’s not forget the rest of the verses in Psalm 22:

^15 “My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
¹⁷ I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
¹⁸ They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”

 Verse 15 says “my tongue clings to my jaws”—-this means Jesus was very thirsty.

 As Jesus hung on the cross he said, “I thirst.” In response they gave him a vinegar-like drink. By the way, Psalm 69:21 also says, “they gave him poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Verse 16 says, “they pierced my hands and feet.”  Of course, it can’t get any clearer than that!  Jesus’s feet and hands had nails driven into them at the crucifixion.

Verse 18- “They divide my garments…for my clothing, they cast lots.”

John 19:23-24 records, “When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them up into four parts, one part for each soldier, and his tunic.”

I could go into more parallels, but I believe all those details give a clear picture of how the prophecies written in scripture ahead of time in the Old Testament foreshadowed Jesus’s death on the cross, and how his blood would save mankind from their sins.

This Passover, think of the crimson worm and how amazing Jesus is! All of God’s creation (even squirmy worms) will always back up scripture and point to the glory of God.

Many blessings to you and your family.