Psalm 2 opens with a question that feels as current as today’s headlines:
Why are the nations in an uproar? Why do the peoples mutter empty threats? Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt, and the princes plot together against the Lord and against His Anointed?
At one level, the psalmist is speaking about the king of Israel in his own time. Yet it is impossible to miss why the Gospels—and Jesus himself—draw so deeply from this psalm, especially in relation to the Passion. The word anointed is not incidental. It is the word Messiah. What appears political on the surface is, in fact, profoundly theological.
The rulers of the world make their declaration plainly: “Let us break their yoke. Let us cast their bonds from us.” This is not merely rebellion against a system or a rule; it is resistance to authority itself—divine authority. Humanity, collectively and repeatedly, insists on redefining reality on its own terms.
And then comes one of the most striking images in all…
