My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:46)

 “My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

There is a sense in which Jesus’ question on the cross seems inappropriate. It almost sounds like a failure of faith. But I want to argue that it is not.

Jesus is actually, on the cross, quoting Scripture. It would be a good pattern for us to follow, to quote Scripture when we find ourselves in trial and temptation. It is Psalm 22, and the very first verse reads, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Oftentimes in the New Testament when the OT is quoted, a little line of Scripture is intended to remind the hearers of the larger passage. Let’s look at some of the features of Psalm 22.

I’ve done a study on “all the but’s of the Bible.” I would like to another one on all the “yet’s.” We’ve got a couple here: ³“Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” It is an acknowledgment that, despite distress, God is doing nothing wrong, and that He could not possibly do anything wrong. Also, 9 “Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.¹⁰ Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb.”

Jesus, in His incarnation, stepped fully and firmly into the shoes of mere humans. He is speaking in this plaintive cry as a man falsely accused and afflicted. These last verses make direct reference to the incarnation, and that He is referring to “My God” much like you or I would do. It is clear that this incarnation, and this cross-experience, is God’s plan for this Person, for Jesus of Nazareth.

Verses 14-18 in Psalm 22 sound like a first-hand description of Jesus’ experience on the cross, as though David was right there at the foot of the cross in the 1st century, chronicling the events (I’ve linked so you can those verses yourself). But David wrote a thousand years earlier. He wrote about what God had planned, but what David, the psalmist, scarcely understood. Yes, there is a purpose here, and it is God’s purpose, not for Jesus’ immediate enjoyment, for the salvation of God’s people for His glory.

Verses 22-23 speak of the broad praise of people for this wonderful work of redemption. It would happen later in time, beginning after the resurrection of Jesus, and continuing even now. From all over creation, people would join to praise God’s name. And the “afflicted one”  affirms that God, “my God,” has come through: ²⁴ “For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has Hehidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.” Yes, God heard and answered Jesus’ prayer, and He raised Jesus from the dead.

All of this comes around even to us, in the 21st century, who are actually mentioned in Psalm 22, and thus can appreciate Jesus’ quote on the cross. The last verse of Psalm 22 reads: ³¹ “They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.” We are the “people who will be born,” who have received the declaration of His righteousness in the Gospel.” Jesus is gladly proclaiming that He cried this cry of forsakenness, according to the plan of God, so that we wouldn’t be.

To whom then will you liken God?Or what likeness will you compare with Him? (Isaiah 40:18 NAS95)

The (In)comparable Christ

The Israelites went into captivity largely because of their idolatry, the worship of other gods, other than the one, true God. But I see in this verse more than a warning against idolatry. I see a pointer to the (in)comparable Christ.

Hebrews in the NT opens has this amazing statement in the opening paragraph: ³ “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” I would say, relating these two verses, that Jesus can be likened to God, He being the Son of God. We get to know the Father by what is revealed to us in the Son. 

Another classic verse on the subject of Jesus being even more than reflective of the Father is found in Colossians 1: 15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” “Firstborn” here is not so much that Jesus is a product of creation (though he was born of a woman) but that He is the heir of all creation. The Son of God was present and involved in the very act of creation itself. He is said to be Creator even as we say that God created the heavens and the earth.

In Jesus’ high priestly prayer (John 17) prayed in the presence of His disciples just before He was betrayed and arrested, He prays ³ “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” That is, eternal life involves knowing not only God the Father, but also knowing the Son, Jesus Christ. There is a reason for that.

In John 14, right after Jesus says 6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life” Jesus goes on to say in that same sentence, 7 “if you had known Me, you would have known the Father also.” It is an amazing statement, that we do not merely need to know both the Father and the Son, but that we know the Father only after coming to know the Son. We know the Father precisely because there is One, Jesus, who is the likeness of God and comparable to Him.

And in that same passage Philip says then to Jesus, 8 “Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us.” And Jesus answers, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'?” Jesus has indeed shown us the Father. Why? Because He is “likened to God,” a “likeness compar(able) with Him." Yes, Philip, it is enough for us, because Jesus has indeed “shown us the Father.”

We only enter into true worship of God as we come to the place of knowing and worshipping the Son.

What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him? (Matthew 8:27 NAS95)

“What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:27 NAS95)

I always wanted to be able to dunk a basketball. It never happened, and it never will. It seems to me that some people are built to run and jump and defy the laws of gravity, whether in basketball or gymnastics. Others of us have our feet firmly planted on the ground. Oh, perhaps, with practice and discipline I might have been able to to do it. Though I’m not sure.

But with Jesus it is different. The Gospel story from which our critical question is taken this week is the disciples “manning” the boat on the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm with Jesus asleep in the bow. They awaken Him, and he stands up and stills the storm. They respond with the question, “What kind of man is this?”

You understand that no amount of practice and discipline will ever allow you or me to still a storm. And we understand why. We are but specks on the earth, and great atmospheric pressure systems swirl about overhead, interacting with one another and stretching across the skies for hundreds, even thousands of miles. A front may sweep through and clear the skies, but the best we can do is to wait for it. We certainly cannot command it.

It stands to reason, then, that if Jesus possesses that kind of Creator- Authority over the systems of the globe, then He has other kinds of authority as well - authorities that we do not have and cannot gain. And Jesus demonstrated those authorities over evil spirits and diseases, and the little fish with the coin in its mouth. It isn’t magic. It is, as the hymn says, “Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature.”

Now, if Jesus is that kind of man, being not merely man, but also Son of God - if that is true, and the Bible says it is -what kind of authority will He have in my life? And the answer at the present seems to be, as much authority as I allow Him to have. Which is a very short-sighted answer. Jesus could have stilled the storm at the beginning, or even before it began. But He waited to still the storm until when He chose to still it, and the storm was vanquished.

Jesus could exercise His authority in your life completely and immediately right now. But He waits, and then, He will. But in the meantime, he allows us by faith to recognize that authority, and to bow before it. That is, we accept Jesus for who He is, - no mere man, but Savior and God - and then we respond to Him with love and devotion and submission. And one day people might ask, “What kind of man is this, that even Christians obey Him?

Whom Have You Mocked and Reviled? .. Against the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 37:23)

 Whom Have You Mocked and Reviled? .. Against the Holy One of Israel     (Isaiah 37:23)

The setting in Isaiah is the fascinating story of the impending invasion of the Assyrians on Jerusalem. They had already captured the Norther Kingdom, and they were now threatening the Southern nation. Rabshakeh (an intimidating name), Sennacherib’s general, was urging Jerusalem to surrender or face a miserable end. In so doing, he heaped insults and futility upon faith in Israel’s God.

This was not the first time that a proud adversary had dumped scorn on God’s people. Do you remember Goliath facing down the armies of Israel under Saul? Do you remember how young David was offended that no one would stand up to such blasphemy? And so he did. But if it happened before, then we can be sure that it will happen again. And it did, to Jesus.

If Rabshakeh is guilty of mocking and reviling against the Holy One of Israel when he faced down the king’s representatives on the plot of ground outside of Jerusalem, then what of the situation when the very Son of God was arrested and lied about, scorned and mistreated, even spitting in His face. One cannot conceive of a more direct, personal affront to “the Holy One of God.”

Here we are now in mid-March, and just three weeks away from Good Friday. It is time for us to consider carefully again the humiliation of our Savior, Jesus the Christ. I don’t mean to say that we should not consider this all year long, just as we should not save our thanksgiving for Thanksgiving. But perhaps we should bring a special focus.

Luke gives us the following record: “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, ‘Prophesy, who is the one who hit You? And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming” (Luke 22:63-65). Think of this. The Creator was being pummeled by creatures that the Creator had created. The ‘Word made flesh’ was being subjected to a cruel game of “what do you know?”, as if He didn’t already know exactly who each one of them was and what was going to happen ahead of time. They were presuming themselves to be judges over the One is appointed to be Judge over all the earth.

We can justifiably condemn the actions of Goliath and Rabshakeh and the soldiers who held Jesus. But we must carefully reflect on how we ourselves treat Jesus, either with honor, or with shame.

Who among us can live with the consuming fire?(Isaiah 33:14 NAS95)

 Who among us can live with the consuming fire?(Isaiah 33:14 NAS95)

We find this question in the midst of Isaiah, where the people of Israel are confronted with the specter of an Assyrian invasion. Against whom is this question directed?

The Father will discipline His children. God will be honored by His people. And He will do what is necessary to bring that about, things that are destructive and painful, that He might later rebuild and heal. It is a fearful thing for God’s children to live wayward lives, because God is not averse to “breaking bones” in order to get our attention and bring about repentance. Don’t mess with God. In that sense, this is a question of warning to the people of God.

On the other hand, it seems as though this question could be directed against the Assyrians. They have been chosen, unwittingly, it seems, to be instruments in the Lord’s hands to accomplish God’s work among His people. Other individuals and nations have been so used, and are even used today, for God to chasten and nurture His Church. But the Assyrians were intent upon, not fulfilling God’s purposes, but their own. He would use them to chasten. They would go on to destroy, to humiliate, to own them, that is, God’s people. And for that God would bring devastating judgment upon them. And so, the question would apply: “Who among us can live with the consuming fire?” 

Just a pause in the flow of thought. God did, in the Gospel, pour out His consuming fire directly upon His Son, Jesus, who bore the penalty and punishment for our sin. He did this to save sinners, and to defeat sin. And God is still, and will always be, against sin.

The previous lines in our text are interesting: ^“Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless.” Wait a minute. Zion is not to be populated by “sinners,” but “righteous.” Who are these people? They are not to be “godless,” but “godly.” To whom are these phrases referring? Covenant people who are living sinful and godless lives? Or sinful and godless invaders who are now trampling the streets of Jerusalem and wreaking unbridled havoc on the people of God? It could be either one. It could be both.

When the author of Hebrews wrote “for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29), he may have been getting his material from Isaiah 33 (or, 64 other OT references where “consume” and “fire” are mentioned). But the writer of Hebrews is clear about his audience. At this point he is writing to warn those who profess to be believers that we ought not trifle with God and His ways.