My God, My God Why Have You Forsaken Me?

My God, My God why Have you Forsaken me?

Psalms 22

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”).

Matthew 27:45-46

Ever since Jesus uttered His infamous words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” they have echoed the halls of humanity’s hearts, especially on Good Friday and Easter morning. As our sympathetic high priest hung upon the cursed tree, numbered with the transgressors and bearing our sins, one can’t help but wonder what were His final thoughts? While one cannot know with certainly all His thoughts during these dreadful hours, Christ’s direct quotation of Psalms 22 suggests that He was simultaneously crying out in anguish over God being silent and at the same time rejoicing that His atonement would provide the means of salvation for generations to come! While many scholars treat this Psalm as a Messianic prediction of the crucifixion, one must not forget that it was originally written by king David who at the time was either suffering at the hands of king Saul or his son Absalom. The following sermon is going to review how both Christ and David handled silence from God in the face of anguish so that we might learn how to remain steadfast in the faith and in all circumstances.

The Cry of Anguished (verses 1-2)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.

The first two verses of this Psalm relate to a lament in which the psalmist pours out his heart in prayer to the Father to be heard! The anguish Christ felt in His final hours upon the cross was due to not only bearing the “wrath of God against sin for us” but also due to experiencing for the first and only time “the light of God’s countenance and presence eclipsed” from His being! While before the foundation of the world Christ knew He would die (Revelation 13:8) for us the agony and pain of the atonement was so intense that He could not help but cry out. In the context of David this Psalm could relate to his unanswered prayers during one of the times he was fleeing from King Saul (1 Samuel 19-30) or Absalom (2 Samuel 15-17). David cried out to God for deliverance during these times and yet God remained silent as to when and how He was going to provide deliverance. David wondered why had God removed His hand of protection the very moment that his enemies were closing in? Overwhelmed with grief and terror David cried out to God day and night and even though there was no response he prayed more earnestly.

Does this sound familiar? It should for there are many times in our lives when we go through a “dark night of the soul.” What does one do when one is going through trials and tribulation so intense that it is crushing one’s soul only to find that one’s desperate cries to Christ appear to have been ignored? Surely, He who was tempted and went through the agony of the cross is not only sympathetic with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:14-16) but also the crushing weight of our infirmities? What are our prayers of anguish but the weary and burdened coming to Christ to receive rest (Matthew 11:28-30)? And how is one to reconcile the “silence of unanswered prayers” considering God’s promises to never leave nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6), to draw nearer as we draw nearer to Him (James 4:8) and to always do good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28)? The remainder of this sermon is going to look the way in which Christ and David handled unanswered prayer in a manner that is not only acceptable to God but also provides comfort in the difficult times of life.

Unwavering Faith in God

It is only through faith in God that one can persevere amidst the most difficult trials and tribulations of life! In response to the anguish of the soon to be atonement, Jesus’ prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane were so intense that “His sweat was like drops of blood.” And yet Jesus never waivered from His mission to do the will of God the Father in heaven (Luke 22:3-46). Even on the cross when Jesus was separated from the Father in those final hours His cry “My God” reflected a unified love and sense of purpose never wavered within he Trinity. From Jesus we learn the importance of having faith and trust in God both in the good and especially the bad times of life. The feelings of abandonment from unanswered prayers can be replaced with pure joy when we remember that in the perceived chaos of our circumstances our God remains firmly in control. The same Spirit whom raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11) will raise those who love Him from the ashes of despair and enable them to persevere and feel the unspeakable joy that comes from being spiritually mature in Christ (James 1:2-4).