The Fifth Gospel

INTRO

David wrote Psalm 22, but we don’t know what occasion led to him writing this psalm.¹ Constable observes that Psalm 22 is similar to Psalm 69.² Wiersbe notes that Psalm 22 can be viewed as the first part of a trilogy with Psalm 23 and 24. In Psalm 22, the Good Shepherd died for his sheep. In Psalm 23, the Great Shepherd cared for his sheep.³ In Psalm 24, the Great Shepherd returned and rewarded his sheep. MacArthur notes that Psalm 22 began with a lament over suffering and moved to praise of God by its conclusion.⁴ The first 21 verses describe suffering while the final ten contain praises to God. MacArthur observes that the New Testament “contains 15 messianic quotations of or allusions to this psalm leading some in the early church to label it ‘the fifth gospel.’”⁵Nelson’s Commentary notes, “Although this psalm speaks of David’s own distress and the Lord’s deliverance of him, it also prophetically describes in remarkable detail Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.”⁶

TEACHING

Psalm 22:1: Job 3, Psalm 69, and Jeremiah 23 all contain similar expressions of lament just as the first 21 verses of Psalm 22 do. Jesus quoted Psalm 22 as He hung on the cross: “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtáni?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matthew 27:46). MacArthur notes that the word “forsaken” used in verse 1 meant “a strong expression for personal abandonment, intensely felt by David and supremely experienced by Christ on the cross.”⁷

Jesus had told His disciples, “Look: An hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16:32), but as He hung on the cross, He cried out that God had forsaken Him. While God was still with Jesus as He hung on the cross, He felt like God had abandoned Him as He took on the sin of the world and, as Wiersbe noted, “In some inexplicable way He experienced what condemned, lost sinners experience ‘away from the presence of the Lord.’”⁸

Psalm 22:2–5: In these verses, MacArthur characterizes David’s complaint as, “even though You have not responded to me, You remain the Holy One of Israel who had demonstrated His gracious attention time and time again to Your people.”⁹Nelson’s Commentary notes, “Even in the midst of great pain, David confesses his faith in the God of his fathers.”¹⁰

Psalm 22:6–11: Wiersbe points out that David’s experience of suffering left him abandoned by the people.¹¹ As he described the Messiah, Isaiah wrote, “Just as many were appalled at You—His appearance was so disfigured that He did not look like a man, and His form did not resemble a human being” (Isaiah 52:14). Just as David was “scorned by men and despised by people” (v. 6), so was Jesus: “The people stood watching, and even the leaders kept scoffing: ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One!” (Luke 23:35).

In the midst of his suffering, David continued to depend on the Lord; he did not abandon his faith in the Lord. He expressed his dependence on the Lord in verse 11 as a reiteration of verse 1.

Psalm 22:12–21: Wiersbe notes David “was condemned by the law.”¹² David describes his enemies as bulls (v. 12), lions (v. 13), dogs (v. 16), and oxen (v. 21). David said he was “poured out like water . . . my heart is like wax melting within me” (v. 14). Nelson’s Commentary notes, “David’s distress is so profound that he feels as if his life has been drained from him, as one might empty a jug of water.”¹³ As Jesus hung dead on the cross, a soldier pierced his side and blood and water flowed out of Him (John 19:34). David said, “My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.” “After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, ‘I’m thirsty!’” (John 19:28).

David’s hands and feet were not literally pierced as he describes in verse 16. This was a figure of speech for his suffering. But as a prophet, David looked ahead to what the Messiah would experience: “Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne” (Acts 2:30). Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.” Zechariah wrote, “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10). Verse 18 was a clear allusion to Jesus: “After crucifying Him they divided His clothes by casting lots” (Matthew 27:35).

Psalm 22:22–31: Wiersbe observes David began to describe a great assembly (vv. 22–25).¹⁴ David could not stay quiet. He had gone from suffering to being delivered. MacArthur notes, “His exuberance is meant to be contagious.”¹⁵

Finally, Wiersbe made note of “the glorious kingdom” (vv. 26–29).¹⁶ “On that day Yahweh will become King over the whole earth—Yahweh alone, and His name alone” (Zechariah 14:9). This glorious kingdom came through suffering that led to praise. This glorious kingdom impacts the generations to come.¹⁷ The gospel message will spread geographically and throughout time.

CLOSING

Psalm 22 proclaims the same message as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: “When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).