“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; ‘He trusts the LORD; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, for He delights in Him!’…Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help…I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint…For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet – they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O LORD, do not be far off!” – Psalm 22:1-19
“The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall want for nothing.” – Psalm23:1
“And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'” – Mark 15:33, 34
Yesterday we talked about the darkness that covered the area for three hours as Jesus was hanging on the cross. Darkness in the middle of the day. Some have said that it showed the modesty of God that He shrouded the worst of the suffering of His Son as He struggled on the cross. Others have said that it signified that the Father had turned His back on His beloved Son because He was covered in our sins. I certainly don’t understand all the deeper meanings of this three hours of darkness, but I know that it was not good. For Jesus, it was long…it was an intense loneliness…it was as low as He had ever been. How do I know?
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
When we, as believers encounter prolonged suffering…when we are at the end of our rope…feeling alone and abandoned…we often turn to the Psalms and find comfort. Why then are we surprised when the One who inspired David to write the words goes to them as well. This word of Jesus from the cross reveals that His thoughts are holding to the Scripture. By quoting this prayer of David, Jesus is reminding those around the cross that God is the source of our comfort even in our “darkest hour”. When we feel that the suffering has gone on too long and the pain seems unbearable…when we feel all is lost, we cry, “Please God, be near me…don’t abandon me…It feels like you have forsaken me!”
It is no accident that this Psalm of desperation and suffering is followed by the most comforting words in all of Scripture…”The LORD is my Shepherd…” This was also true of the scrolls read in the Temple and synagogues of Jesus’ day. I believe Jesus is teaching us through His own experience on the cross about our own struggles. It reveals to us that He knows what it’s like to feel abandoned. He has gone through the “darkness” of suffering…and, He models for us where we can go for the comfort we need.
Today, read through Psalm 22 again, but don’t stop there…Psalm 23 is right around the corner.