My God, My God Why Have You Forsaken Me

The cross is a great mystery. We should avoid making hasty pronouncements about the cross.

Was it a wonderful or terrible thing? I say it was both.

For Jesus to cry out that God had forsaken him ought to shock us.

Can the pure spotless Son of God really say that God had forsaken him?

Did the Father abandon his beloved Son?

These are deep waters and we need to tread carefully.

To avoid going wrong here our best guide is the Scriptures themselves, what do they tell us about the cross?

In actual fact 'My God, my God why have you forsaken me?'1 Psalm 22:1 is a quotation from Scripture (Psalm 22).

What sounds like a cry of despair actually demonstrates that the crucifixion of Jesus however awful, was God's plan throughout.

The world is to not short of people who disparage the Scriptures.

An honest reader of Psalm 22 is surely hard-pressed to deny its supernatural origin.

The Psalm contains astonishing detail relating to the cross.

It speaks of being surrounded and encircled.

People gaze at the man 'They look and stare at Me.'2 Psalm 22:17

He declares 'all My bones are out of joint'3 Psalm 22:14 which rings true for a man stretched out and hanging on a cross.

The suffering man is thirsty and his strength has been used up. (v15)

Most amazing of all is the statement 'They pierced My hands and My feet;'4 Psalm 22:16 .

Any reader unfamiliar with the death and resurrection of Jesus might be confused that the suffering man appears to die 'You have brought Me to the dust of death.' 5Psalm 22:15 and yet continues to cry out for deliverance.

The Psalm assures us that 'He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;' 6Psalm 22:24.

God the Father has not abandoned his Son after all!

We also learn that was has occurred will have a tremendous impact on the world 'All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord' 7Psalm 22:27.

The continuing spread of the Gospel throughout the globe confirms this prediction.

Just before he died Jesus declared 'It is finished' 8John 19:30 confirming that he had accomplished a great task.

Psalm 22 finishes by declaring 'He has done this' 9Psalm 22:31.

The Psalm described the crucifixion long before it took place. It tells us about the finished work of Christ.

It says ' those who seek Him will praise the Lord' 10Psalm 22:26.

Are you among those who 'seek the Lord'?