August 16, 2023 - Forsaken?

     In the last couple of weeks I have been reading through the Psalms as the focus on my devotions.  I figured that whatever I might be feeling, sooner or later David or one of the psalmists would have written about that feeling.
     The 22nd Psalm is called a Messianic Psalm and may be the most moving of all the Psalms.  Coupled with Isaiah 53 we get the greatest insight into what Jesus experienced on the Cross—far more than the Gospels tell us.
     The mocking of Jesus was prophesied, even to the exact words that were used.
His physical suffering was prophesied.
     That the soldiers would cast lots for His clothing was prophesied.
     But the phrase “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” is what we remember, from the Psalm and from the lips of Jesus in the last few moments of His suffering on the Cross.
     There has been much said over the years about this cry of Jesus in the darkness of Calvary near three o’clock that fateful afternoon.
     I have never claimed to be a theologian and I have never been accused of being one either!  But I believe what you may have heard over the years about why Jesus uttered this cry is not correct.
     What I have heard consistently is that Jesus felt forsaken and alone on the Cross because when He became sin who knew no sin God could no longer look upon Jesus.  The implication is that God turned away from Jesus because God could not look upon sin; God forsook His Son because of sin.
     As I was reading through this 22nd Psalm I came to the 24th verse:
     “For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
     That’s more than plain, isn’t it?  God did not forsake His Son.  God heard every cry of Jesus, those from His lips and those from His soul.
     Sin alienates us from God.  For the first time in eternity the Son felt alienated from the Father.  Their perfect union was severed because of our sin.
     But God did not forsake His Son, no more than He forsakes you or me when we sin.  We may feel alienated and we may even feel forsaken because of that alienation.  But God never forsakes us, nor does He turn His face away from us.
     Beyond our sin, cancer, other illnesses, and the tragedies of this life can, at times, make us feel like God has forsaken us.   I haven’t felt that, but I know many others who have gone through the fire have.
     God says that He will never leave us or forsake us.  He didn’t forsake His Son and He will not forsake you or me.  That is a promise on which we can stand.