My God, my God!
Why have you
forsaken me?
Psalm 22:1
From the cross, Jesus cried out in anguish …
“Psalm 22!”
I mean that literally. His mouth might have said, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” but perhaps what he was saying was something much bigger than that.
As I understand it, there is an old Hebrew tradition that reveals something interesting about Jesus’ cry from the cross. Scholarly Jews – for example, a rabbi like Jesus – would know the Psalms by heart. And sometimes (especially if they were weak or sick), they would cry out just the first line of the Psalm and it would be assumed that they were praying and claiming every petition therein.
For example, rather than reciting all six verses of Psalm 23, a weak and disheartened soul might simply cry, "the Lord is my Shepherd."
And what would that mean?
Well, from the midst of "the valley of the shadow of death," a faithful person would be reminding themselves to take courage because God's mighty hand was surely and safely shepherding them.
From the midst of their sickened condition, they would be comforted by the Lord’s promise of "green pastures," “still waters,” rest, peace, and provision.
Indeed, even though the fiery trials of their current situations, they would be reminding themselves to be confident because they would surely "dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
All that from one line – the Lord is my shepherd.
Therefore, when Jesus cried, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?”, he was not only reflecting his anguish as sin and death were crushing him on the cross … but he was crying so much more …
What else was Jesus crying when he shouted, “Psalm 22”?!
22 I will declare
the wonder of your name ...
24 for he has not ignored
the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned and walked away.
He has listened to their cries for help. ...
And then think about the cross. Can’t you hear Jesus prophesying the fruit of his life-giving sacrifice …
27 [Then] the whole earth will
acknowledge the Lord
and return to him.
People from every nation
will bow down before him. ...
30 Future generations
will also serve him.
Our children will hear
about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will
be told to those yet unborn.
They will hear about
everything he has done.
The cross was indeed an utterly God-forsaken moment. And yet Jesus, even in his pain, was celebrating the victory too.
In Christ's Love,
a guy who needs to remember
that even his most seemingly
God-forsaken moments
should end in praise
Tomorrow we'll focus on Jesus' literal
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