My God Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Why Have You Forsaken Me? 

During Easter, the words; “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”, will find themselves said with great affect by pastors and priests introducing their sermons.  They will often pause and then tell their congregations, these were the words Jesus said on the cross. More often than not though, their sermons will then move into other areas of the Passion of Jesus. They will miss an incredible opportunity though in glancing over the passage that perhaps best describes this pivotal moment of the life of Jesus Christ. 

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”, is the English translation of the Aramaic Jesus used.  The use of Hebrew had died out to a large extent, used mainly by the scribes and priests.  Jesus while fluent in Hebrew, probably used Aramaic as his daily language.  His family, friends and followers did too. He was most comfortable with it. So at this most agonizing time, the only time that Jesus referred to God as God and not as Father, he spoke in the language of the people.

For two thousand years and on a daily basis, we have tried to interpret and make sense of what the Bible tells us. There have been minds of gigantic proportions who have wrestled with God’s word. They attempt to make what seems illogical logical. They usually fail.  

Psalm 22 speaks of a sovereign departure. Where somehow, God was separated from God. When Jesus says; “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”, he speaks of a divide that now existed between him and God.  Two parts of the Holy Trinity are now separate. How can this be?  This question so perplexed Martin Luther, that he went into seclusion and attempted to understand it.  He came away from that seclusion even more confused.

There is far more to Psalm 22 than the first nine words that are usually mentioned in Easter Sermons.  The Psalms, all 150 of them are sacred songs or hymns.  Written by David or with David in mind, they stand today as perhaps the greatest poetry ever written.  There are a number of classifications of psalms; prophetic, historical, wisdom, thanksgiving, royal and lament.  Psalm 22 is classified as an individual lament psalm.  In it David expresses intense emotion, personal struggle and intense anxiety of the heart.  With this particular Psalm, David may be doing something else too.  In this Psalm, great David might be visiting the future and telling us of his Greater Son-Jesus Christ.

To get a sense of this we need to look at the entire Psalm.  Outside of the 23 Psalm the first sentence of Psalm 22 is most likely the most familiar of any in the Book of Psalms. The first two verses tell us of the Psalmist”s terrible anguish; “ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest”.

I always wondered what Jesus was speaking to in this first part of the Psalm. I was usually told, Jesus was simply missing his Father.  But it was far more than a simple absence.  When Jesus said the words; “My God my God why have you forsaken me”, he didn’t mumble them out. He said them in a way that everyone witnessing the crucifixion could hear.  Through his tortured body he screamed those words, showing those present and us today the severity of his loneliness.

How could Jesus be separated from God?  He was God. John tells us in his gospel; “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began”. He had always been God. But now on that cross, a separation existed between Father and Son. What caused this separation?

Shortly after Jesus said these words he died. He had taken the sins of the world upon himself. By taking on our sins though he also took our penalty for sin. In turn, you, me, everyone received his righteousness by our faith. The author of Hebrews says it perfectly; “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect those who are being made holy”.

God though cannot look upon sin.  Essentially, because Jesus had taken sin upon himself, his Father turned his back on him. Since the Incarnation there had been a partial separation.  In choosing to be bodily with the people of Israel and in turn you and I, Jesus gave up some Divine privileges. He was separated from the Divine glory of God and from face to face communication with his Father. He did this willingly. 

In that willingness, Jesus became engulfed in all our sins. The sins of all time. On that cross, Jesus showed all a pain that had no words. It wasn’t a physical pain from the many lacerations received during his lashing, it wasn’t from the crown of thorns cruelly and mockingly put upon his head piercing him, and it wasn’t from the nails hammered through his feet and hands, holding him against the hard wood of the cross. Jesus’s pain came from the indescribable loss of fellowship with his Father that becoming sin for all of us had brought.

Shortly after his agonized words quoting the first verse of this Psalm, Jesus, cried out with a loud voice and “yielded up his spirit”. If he had intended to quote the entire Psalm, the remaining 29 verses were left unsaid. I always felt he did intend to do just that. Psalm 22 when read in its entirety describes to us in detail a moment in time like no other. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 

The first and second verse marked a cry of pain and abandonment. The Psalmist is asking God three questions, which can all be rolled into one. Where are you? We all have been there, wondering, asking that question. In the next three verses, David shows us that even in his extreme depth of despair the fact remains that God is still present. “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame”. Even in his pain and uncertainty, David doesn’t question or doubt the holiness of God.

What he does do is question himself. David feels not only ignored he feels completely insignificant.  Everyone else gets help from God but not him. This feeling only adds to his pain. He uses three verses to describe that; “But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.  All those who see me ridicule me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the Lord, let him rescue him; Let him deliver him, since he delights in him”.

David is speaking of himself here, but quite possibly he was also speaking to the future. Three of the Gospels describe in detail the mocking Jesus received while he was on the cross.  Mark tells us that the people who passed by hurled insults at him and told him to come down from the cross and save himself. Mark also tells us of the chief priests and teachers saying; “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that me may see and believe”. In Luke we read that the Roman soldiers mocked him. Even one of the criminals crucified with him, mocks Jesus. David describes quite well the humiliation that Jesus received during his crucifixion.

If David was suggesting this was to be what happened to Jesus, the next two verses speak very specifically of Jesus; “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.  From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God”. This only speaks of one-Jesus.  While others were chosen for special works right from the womb (Jeremiah) it was only Jesus who had a relationship with God right from infancy.

The author of the Psalm sensing his enemies are nearing ever closer asks God; “Do not be far from me for trouble is near and there is no one to help”. Jesus sensing his death is imminent, pleads for the closeness of God.  He is surrounded by many who want him dead.  His own disciples have fled, only his Mother and a small group remain. “There is no one to help”, speaks to the overwhelming sense of loneliness Jesus feels against the hard wood of the cross.

In this Psalm, David describes a time in his life of extreme anxiety.  His enemies were edging ever closer.  The Psalm speaks of David’s persecution but not his execution. David died of natural causes. The next two verses though speak specifically of an execution. “Many bulls surround me, strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me”. The wild bulls of Bashan (now the Golan Heights) banded together to attack their victim. They surrounded their prey and then as a group pounced on their victim.  The Pharisees and the Sanhedrin of Jesus’s time were religious rivals who banded together for one purpose; to rid themselves of Jesus Christ. They killed him.

The Persians invented crucifixion as a means of execution in 300-400 BC. The Romans perfected it. There were two aims with crucifixion; 1-To deter witnesses of committing similar crimes, and 2-To provide a death that was painful, slow, humiliating, gruesome and public. They soon became experts.  

There were two pieces to the cross used in crucifixion.  The  vertical piece (the titulus) remained in the ground permanently.  The accused would carry the horizontal piece (the patibulum) to the execution site. The Romans would then nail the hands to the patibulum. Though it is most likely the nails went through the wrist.  If the nails were driven through the hand, the weight the of the arms would cause the nail to rip through the soft flesh.  The Greek meaning of “hands” includes the wrist. The nails seven to nine inches long would damage or sever the median nerve upon impact. 

Once the upper body was secured in this manner, the guards would lift the patibulum and place it on the stipes already in the ground.  As this is being lifted the full weight of the body pulls down on the nailed wrists dislocating the shoulders. The arms would be stretched to a minimum of six inches longer than their original length.

In the case of Jesus, his feet were also nailed through their tops.  With his knees flexed at 90 degrees, the weight of his body would push down of the nails and ankles for support.  Again the nails would cause severe nerve damage and excruciating pain.

As Jesus hangs on the cross, the weight of his body pulls down on the diaphragm, the air moves into his lungs and stays there.  Even to attempt to exhale he must push up on his nailed feet.  Each time he speaks (seven times) air must pass over the vocal cords during exhalation. Despite this pain he does so.

Without proper exhalation the body soon begins a process to slowly suffocate.  Carbon dioxide builds up in the blood, resulting in a high level of carbonic acid in the blood. The heart beats faster to circulate a decreased level of oxygen. Damage soon begins to occur in the tissues and capillaries, a watery fluid leaks from the blood into the tissues.  The result is a build up of fluid around the heart. The collapsing lungs, failing heart, dehydration and the inability to get sufficient oxygen to the tissues suffocates the victim.  Decreased oxygen will also damage the heart itself, leading to cardiac arrest.

One thousand years previously David describes rather explicitly a crucifixion though it was not in use during his time; “I am pored out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  Me heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.  My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.  Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.  All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.” David is not speaking of himself, he is speaking of Jesus.

The Romans used crucifixion for two reasons; 1-to rid themselves of criminals and threats to their rule and 2-to humiliate and degrade the person executed to the greatest extent.  The crowd before Jesus, hurls curses and taunts at him.  The Roman guards continue that abuse; “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment”. Jesus had little in the terms of material property but he now watches the little he did have been gambled over with the roll of a dice. Psalm 22:16 is echoed perfectly in all four of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

“But you, Lord do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen”. David renews his pleas to God for help.  His enemies are many, he realizes God is his only salvation.  Jesus knew what his outcome would be. He had told his disciples.  Jesus also knows that his Father is listening and will answer his prayer.

David and in turn Jesus, while experiencing the agony and anguish of mental and physical pain and separation from God also tell us something extremely important. They know without question the presence and divinity of God. The next 10 verses are a prayer of praise to God.  Think about it. Even in the depths of extreme pain and feeling of absence from God, the Psalmist uses over a third of the Psalm as a prayer of praise to God.  

In this prayer of praise, the Psalmist knows of God both hearing and answering his prayer. He becomes a witness to God’s incredible faithfulness and love.  Verses 19-22 travel across time and space as a witness of God. It speaks to the people of Davids time, it speaks of Jesus, it speaks to us and also to a generation yet unborn. 

Jesus in his time on earth spoke that he was the fulfillment of messianic prophecy. He is the Son of God. Those that believe in Him will be saved.  In his parables he speaks to our very heart. His prayer tells us his kingdom will come, God’s will in heaven will be done on earth. Jesus told his disciples; “We are going to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.  They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life”.

It has been two thousand years since Jesus’s crucifixion and three thousand years since David wrote this Psalm. Has David’s prophetic Psalm come true? Has the teachings and the words of Jesus to his disciples and to us, come true? The last four words of Psalm 22 tell us.

He has done It!