“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

The psalm clearly depicts God as the shepherd. In the Gospel, Jesus Himself says that He is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Every bishop and every priest should be such a good shepherd. Similarly, every Christian father should be a good shepherd for his children and all family. They will be good shepherds if they keep faithful to the Lord, feed on the pasture of God’s word and drink the waters of God’s grace which restore the spiritual life. They will walk in the path of righteousness if they enter into God’s name in which is the fullness of our salvation. This name is Jesus – Yehoshua.

Many images show Jesus carrying the lost sheep on His shoulders. And we read in the Gospel that He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one which is lost. In this way, Jesus manifests His caring love of a shepherd towards each one of us. But we must be aware that this love of the Good Shepherd went through great suffering for our salvation, which had been foretold by God through David in Psalm 22 (21) one thousand years before.

The psalm begins with the words: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The words that are in this psalm were spoken by Jesus on the cross, and many images also refer to Him, describing His suffering. The words “My God, My God (Eloi, Eloi)” were spoken by Him several moments before His death. And this great suffering and humiliation is expressed in verses 7 and 8: “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people, all who see Me mock Me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.” In spirit, we see Jesus abandoned and nailed to the cross, crowned with thorns, and we hear the mockery by the chief priests, soldiers and the crowd. Verse 13 continues: “Many bulls have surrounded Me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. They gape at Me with their mouths, like a raging and roaring lion.” In spiritual terms, it expresses an attack by demons who manifested themselves through the Pharisees and mockers by the cross.

Verse 16: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws.” It is recorded in the Gospel that Jesus cried out on the cross, “I thirst!” (cf. Jn 19:28)

Verse 17: “Dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.”

Verse 19 foretells the casting of lots for Jesus’ garments: “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” See Mt 27:35: “They crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots.”

The whole psalm shows us the price of our redemption, how much God loved us when He gave His Son for us. We know that Jesus died for us on the cross. He took on Himself our sin and the wages of sin. But He rose on the third day and gave us a new life. He has dwelled in us in a hidden way from the moment of our baptism: “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Eph 3:17) We belong to Him; we are members of His Mystical Body, and He is the head. Therefore, verse 27 says: “The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever!”

Psalm 22 is followed by a psalm which fills our hearts with comfort and hope in the very first words: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” And verse 4 continues: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.”

Saying this Bible verse, let us gratefully think about the Good Shepherd who loved us so much that He gave His Son for us. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord – Yehoshua – Jesus – shall be saved.

Download: Reflection on Ps 23:1-3