“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” for so long I’ve heard the haunting words spoken by Jesus and wondered at his anguish. To be separated from God truly would be the most unimaginable punishment. In the context of the cross these words echo the most desperate of cries and yet…
Truly these words even in that moment are out of their true context. Today, as I read Psalm 22 I realize that Jesus may not have been so troubled in that moment as I had supposed, but perhaps comforted by these words. In speaking the opening line to that song he must have reflected on the end as well. Read for yourself the tale of salvation that Jesus pointed us to, who knew the end from the beginning.:
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:8 “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast.10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.19 But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.20 Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!24 For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him– may your hearts live forever!27 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,28 for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him– those who cannot keep themselves alive.30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.31 They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn– for he has done it.
This was very interesting for me to read. It’s a new way of looking at those words, which usually I love because I dislike looking at the world through one filter or one lens.
I’ll probably think about this often and wonder about it. I’d like to share my thoughts on here, but due to insomnia, my words may come out really confusing. Please bare with me if you still check on this post. I think it’s mostly just my thought processing and feedback.
In my own experience, I feel a great deal more comfort knowing that Jesus called out to God with sincere anguish though and not just in reference to this. Because if he did, then I know that he would truly be able to comprehend my pain – a pain of being separated from God. If he was speaking out of comfort, then I totally am crushed, because this isn’t something I am able to do and one thing that always frustrated me about the story of Jesus when I was a Christian was that he was God so he couldn’t understand what it would be like to be a person like me who is not connected to God (I realize this is arguable, but I feel no connection with God even if I want it and beg for it so I’m left with this gaping emptiness instead). They always said that Jesus was both god and man, but I am not god, only a person.
I would cry out my own version of “God, why have you forsaken me?” before and my comfort came from knowing that Jesus DID understand. In a lot of the Psalms, the writers are angry, bitter, lonely, depressed, and feel so hopeless but they generally end it on a more cheerful note. It hasn’t been my experience to be able to do this – even if I end with cheerful words, my heart is totally disagreeing. I often feel much more alone by the end of a Psalm than I did beforehand.
What I do like about this perspective though is that it ends in ‘they will proclaim his righteousness…’ because this was something that many forgot about even though the Bible is completely solid on this. ‘For the knowledge of the glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea’ and ‘May all the peoples praise Him’ and ‘Every tongue, tribe, and nation’ and so on and so on. People think Jesus came just for them, but forget that Jesus came for more than them. He wanted the ‘Good News’ to be spread to the entire world, but people never went out and made disciples. They took His love and never gave it, and it became a selfish trophy instead of a blessing. Ghandi once said that he would have become a Christian if he’d met one person who lived and loved like Jesus, but there was none.
I grew up in church since second grade and was always pressured to be a good Christian girl and I sincerely loved and wanted to follow God, but I felt that I never really knew him and His blessings – I’m sure they were there, but I couldn’t feel them. I can know so many facts about Jesus and know the things he said, but still not know him. It’s like how I can research any celebrities autobiographies and study their quotes, but it doesn’t mean I know them either. That’s how I feel about Jesus. I can study the Bible for an eternity and I can’t get closer to Jesus without His acceptance and His grace, but years and years go by and I’m still no closer to Him. So, in the end, I believe in Jesus – that he is real and is who he says he is (occasionally, I question it but generally I am firm in that belief) but I don’t always believe in him. He says he has compassion, but I’m not so sure. It’s said to knock and the door shall be opened, but the door never opens for me. I pasted scriptures and prayers and thanksgiving all over my wall beside my bed to remind me of my journey with God in case I ever began to doubt, but in the end, the more I saw of my journey, the more I doubted.
I’m not sure this all made sense with your post. I feel like this was a case of my circular thinking so it probably seems way off-topic. Anyways, I’m relieved to have been able to share my thoughts, even though this was posted about a year ago.
Hey Enji, I’m listening to Mark Driscoll explain the cross today and reflecting on this post and your thoughts. I think our reflections are “both/and.” Jesus in his humanity fully feels hurt, pain, loneliness, anger, and rejection. But, through the power of the Holy Spirit he also is fully aware of God’s presence and the outcome of his propitiation as being fully able to completely restore all of this in his love. Jesus, like you, was fully a man and felt like you do. He lived his perfect sinless life, not from his power as God, but in his dependence on the Holy Spirit (Phillipians 2). This opportunity exist for you as well.
I hope you see this. Sorry it took me so long to respond, but know that I thought of you when I heard this today.
God bless you as I remember you in my prayers,
Jeremy