The Shepherd Trilogy

Psalms 22, 23 and 24 form a trilogy. In Psalm 22 the good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11); in Psalm 23 the great Shepherd, “brought again from the dead through the blood of the everlasting covenant,” (Hebrews 13:20) tenderly cares for the sheep; in Psalm 24, the chief Shepherd appears as King of glory to own and reward the sheep (I Peter 5:4). –from the Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition).

All scripture quotes are from the New American Standard Bible.

We examined Psalm 22 in the April 7,2012 blogpost titled Doctrine of Expiation. Highlighting here, verses 1-2, 6-8, 14-18, The Good Shepherd. John 10:11 I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep, by His obedient life and His atoning death:

My God (Father), my God (Spirit), why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning….

I am a worm (crushed for its blood) and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people.

All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,

“Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”….

I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint;

My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;

And You lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me;

They pierced my hands and my feet.  I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me;

They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

It is important to note that when David wrote this prophetic cry of despair (1000 years before Christ), crucifixion was not practiced. It was a Roman form of execution, not Jewish, yet these verses graphically describe that terrible torture which was literally fulfilled in Jesus, as reported in Matthew 27.

Psalm 23 The Great Shepherd, risen and making daily provision for His sheep: Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David was a shepherd before he was king. He knew sheep. He knew their total dependence on the shepherd, for provision and protection. Because of his lifelong close fellowship with the Lord, he realized that God is to His people as the shepherd is to the sheep. This was a comforting analogy for David throughout his own life, and he has shared this comfort with us by this beautiful composition.

The shepherd provides everything for the sheep. They don’t have to forage for themselves. He gives them rest in lush vegetation. He finds them still waters to drink, because the rushing water frightens them. The comforts them in their times of distress. He leads them aright because of who he is (for His name’s sake), not because they deserve it. They can navigate the threatening terrain with confidence, knowing the shepherd is with them. His rod disciplines, His staff directs. That is comfort for the sheep. He provides perfect food for them even in the presence of predators. He cares for their physical cleanliness. He overflows the drinking trough for easy access. Goodness and lovingkindness (mercy) follow His sheep. He pursues them with His tenderness and blessings. The sheep of the Great Shepherd are assured of heavenly accommodations for all eternity.

Psalm 24 verses 1, 7-10 The Chief Shepherd returns at the second advent to claim and reward His sheep: I Peter 5:4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory?

The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!

Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.

Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews

It seems religion and politics overruled the authority of the governor of Judea. He succumbed to the demands of the chief priests and turned over an innocent man to his soldiers, to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”  Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” John 19:16-22

There could be no mistake about what was written on the sign. It was in Hebrew, the language of Jewish religion; in Latin, the language of secular law; and in Greek, the language of the prevailing culture. There were Jews from throughout the region who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Many gentiles were there, too, for various reasons. Anyone who could read one or more of the three languages saw what the governor had written to hang above the head of Jesus as He died. We cannot know what motivated Pilate to do this, though we can safely assume his contempt for the Jews, I’m sure. Here he was, being bullied by a conquered people to carry out a judgment he knew was wrong. The way he chose to keep the Jews under control was to appease them in this matter concerning their religion, which he himself despised. He clearly saw their hypocrisy and understood his own complicity in this murder, yet it was important to him that they not become more agitated than they already were, considering their threats of Caesar’s disapproval of this man claiming to be King. Oh, well. We must crucify him, then; but the Jews must also face his claim of royalty even as they watch him die. Falsely arrested as a criminal, He was crucified as their King.

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” John 19:23-24

Our precious brother John was there and saw it all, but chose to spare us the gruesome details of the crucifixion. We know from history that there were countless thousands who died this way under Roman rule, for various offenses. We know it was a cruel, torturous means of execution, and that it was the means by which God the Father chose to have His perfect Son publicly displayed as he bore our sins.

Because it was a slow, lingering death, the soldiers had plenty of time to taunt, torment and ridicule the prisoners and to take for themselves any possessions the condemned men took to the cross. “Fringe benefits,” some people today would call it. It couldn’t have been much; just the few rags the prisoners still wore, after the scourging they all received. Ah, but from somewhere, someone had taken a royal robe and had draped it on Jesus, just as they crowned Him with the thorns of cursing. That seamless robe was too valuable to be ripped apart for sharing, so they gambled for it, just as David had prophesied in Psalm 22:18.

So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother,“Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John19:24-27

As His earthly life was coming to a close, Jesus made arrangements for the care and keeping of His mother. By now she was a widow, we think, and we know that Jesus’ brothers were still not believing in His deity and His mission. As firstborn, He was concerned with his mother’s care, and He saw to it. She became a member of the household of John, with whom Jesus had a special rapport, and in whom Jesus trusted to provide for her.

The judgment was done. He had consumed the cup of God’s wrath, as judgment for my sins and yours. Yet, He was still physically alive! That’s because physical death was not His judgment for our sins. His spiritual separation from the Father and the Holy Spirit was His judgment….”My God (Father), My God (Spirit)….why have you forsaken Me?” Also prophesied in Psalm 22:2, which was given the answer in verse 6 - “I am a worm and no man.” The worm mentioned here is tola, a small grub which was gathered into vats and crushed for it’s crimson blood, used to dye the robes of kings. What crushed Him was our sins. God cannot look on our sins. He turned away from His Son, and Jesus screamed.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-30

The sour wine was supposed to give some relief to the tortured man, they tell us. After what He had endured, I can imagine the moisture was welcomed. His work was done. He declared it so, with “It is finished.” – finished in the past (one judgment) with results that go on forever (for anyone who believes, for now and for all eternity). Jesus took the judgment because He was the only one qualified to do so. That’s why He is the Only Way of Salvation.

Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.” John 19:31-37

The religious rules must prevail, even for a people who thought they had killed the Lord of Life. They didn’t kill Him; He dismissed His spirit, when the work of judgment was finished. There was never a time when God the Son was not in control of the universe and His own destiny. In keeping, though, with the rules of Sabbath, the legs of the executed men were broken (just in case they were not yet dead) and they were removed from their crosses so as not to desecrate the Holy Day.

Jesus was dead already. No need to break His legs, but just to be sure, a soldier pierced His side. Coagulated blood gushed out, and clear serum. That is a certain indication of human death. The body’s red blood cells clot and separate from the serum. This was not just unconsciousness, it was physical death. He was physically dead because the work He came to do was done. Finished. Once and for all. The price for our sins is paid.

Now, please notice who Jesus’ pallbearers were:

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.  Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. John 19:38-42

Yes. A Pharisee and a Pharisee.

At least these two had been paying attention.

Doctrine of Expiation

Guilt is said to be expiated when it is visited with punishment falling on a substitute. Expiation is made for our sins when they are punished not in ourselves but in another who consents to stand in our room. It is that by which reconciliation is effected. Sin is thus said to be "covered" by vicarious satisfaction. The idea of vicarious expiation runs through the whole Old Testament system of sacrifices.

Colossians 2:14   having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

That is expiation. He came to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.

A Messianic psalm is a psalm that makes predictions about the Messiah. These predictions include predictions about His birth, His person-that He would be fully God and fully man in one person, His life, His death, burial, and resurrection, His ascension into heaven, His priestly ministry, His second coming, His victory over His enemies, and His universal reign on the earth. Psalm 22 is messianic and it gives us a picture of the Son of God as he hung on the cross, suffering the penalty for our sins.

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. (This was like the supernatural darkness that covered Egypt during the Passover, Exodus 10:21-22). About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). Matthew 27:45-46.  

Jesus was quoting Psalm 22.

My God (Father), my God (Holy Spirit), why have you forsaken me? 

They had to turn their back on Him, because He had become sin. God can have nothing to do with sin. Therefore, He was abandoned in His agony. This was the agony He dreaded, when He prayed and sweated blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Let this cup pass from me.” Not the physical pain. The abandonment of the Father and the Spirit, in judgment. He had never been separated from them before.

Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?

But I am a worm (Hebrew: towla) and not a man,

The towla was a particular species of maggot with crimson blood. They were gathered into vats and crushed. Their blood was used to dye the robes of kings.

scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the LORD,” they say, “let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God….

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.
My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death….

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment….

But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen…


...And the curtain of the temple was torn in two (opening access to the Holy of Holies). Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:45-46

(Psalm 22) I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you…. 

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations

future generations will be told about the Lord. 

They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:

He has done it!

Indeed, He has done it! He has finished the work the Father sent Him to do.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!