My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Preached by Mike Aiken
April 10, 2020
Scripture Reading
Psalm 22:1-22
To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
Introduction
For this good Friday sermon we are continuing to look at the Psalms of lament. In particular we are looking at Psalm 22:1a. Jesus on the cross at the 9th hour cried out Psalm 22:1a, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Before we delve into the meaning of this cry, it is good to be reminded of the 3 offices of the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the God-man. He came to fulfill all the prophesies of the Old Testament. As the Messiah (“The Anointed One”) he is Prophet, Priest, and King. These are the three great offices of Israel in the Old Testament and Jesus carries out these three offices perfectly for those he came to redeem.
Herman Bavinck expresses this so nicely when he said: “This whole life of Christ, in its prophetic, its priestly, and its kingly activities, issued at last in death. The death is the fulfillment of the life. Jesus came to die. He Himself was clearly conscious of that. Already at His first, public appearance in the synagogue of Nazareth, He applied the prophecy concerning the suffering servant of the Lord to Himself (Luke 4:16ff.), and was therefore perfectly aware of the fact that He would be led as a lamb to the slaughter. He was the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The temple of His body was to be broken but after three days it would also be raised again (John 2:19). As Moses raised the serpent in the desert, so, according to the counsel of God, the Son of man must be raised on the cross (John 3:14; compare 12:23,33). He was the grain of wheat which had to fall into the ground and die in order to bring forth fruit. (John 12:24).”[1]
It is good that we are reminded that the eternal Son of God, the 2nd Person of the Trinity, came to earth and took to himself a human body and a human soul. He was born of the virgin Mary. He lived under the Law and keep it perfectly. He did this as the 2nd Adam who represented us. So, as we like to say, Jesus lived the life we should have lived, and though he never sinned, he then died the death we deserved to die. He willingly did this. He was born to die, but not just any death. It was a death that only he could die, and it happened once and never to be repeated. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
On Good Friday it is good to be reminded that Jesus came to die. His death was no accident. It was part of God’s plan. So, if Jesus knew that he came to die a sacrificial death of atonement for sinners like you and me, then why did he cry out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” What does this mean? But before I tell you what it means I would like to focus on what it does not mean.
1. What it doesn’t mean
That he was ignorant and not knowing why he was being crucified. It is a “why” of exclamation and “wonderment” not ignorance. It highlights and amplifies what God is doing for our salvation.
That there was a separation or disruption that occurred within the two members of the Trinity- the Father and the Son. That is an impossibility. How do you know this? Because God cannot change. This is our security and comfort as we go through the difficulties of life. That God is unchanging gives us security and comfort.
That there was a separation between the union of the divine nature and the human nature. If that happened there would be no salvation.
That the Father was displeased and angry with the Son. Twice during the ministry of Jesus, at his baptism and his transfiguration, the Father said “this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” The death of Christ on the cross was why Jesus came. The Messiah voluntarily went to the cross and this is what our God- Father, Son and Holy Spirit willed to happen for us and our salvation. Jesus said this the night in which he was betrayed to his disciples: “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me (John 16:32). God was with Christ during his death on the cross and was well pleased with what he was doing. God did not cease to love the incarnate Son as he hung on the cross bearing the weight of divine wrath for our sins. God’s love and his wrath are not contradictory. G. Vos said: “Just when He drank in the bitterest aspect of this death in obedience and suffering, He was for that reason an object of greatest good pleasure to God, a sacrifice of sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord.”
2. What it does mean
That God had removed protection from him and allowed those leaders who hated him to crucify and mock him. All through his ministry Jesus was kept from being taken and killed, but now his hour had come. Psalm 22 in different parts show us this mockery by those who hated Jesus (notice vv. 7-8 “All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” v. 18- “they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”) Matthew’s gospel shows this mockery as a fulfillment of Psalm 22.
Jesus in his human consciousness in feeling divine wrath may have felt a loss of divine “comfort.” There is great mystery here. God still loved him but Jesus was experiencing this eternal death for us on the cross. “Although laden with our sins, He felt the wrath of God burn, not against Himself but against our sin, which He had taken upon Himself” (Herman Witsius quoted in Vos, RD 3:196).
Jesus’ cry on the cross is a prayer to his God and he had trust and not despair. He prayed “My God” twice which shows personal trust. He was astonished at what God was doing for us sinners. And so, you and I should be astonished at God’s love for us found in the cross of Christ.
Application of what the Cross of Jesus teaches us
Human sin is a serious matter of gravest importance. We deserve to die eternally in hell. God is not like us parents and grandparents who can overlook the sin of our children and say “that’s ok.” Sin is so serious that only the death of Jesus could satisfy God’s justice and appease his wrath and give us a righteous standing with God.
God’s love is so amazing and undeserving. If you doubt his love look to the cross of Jesus where the innocent one died for you, dear Christian. Remember you are Christ’s friend and there is no greater love than that he would die for you, a rebel. Just imagine if you were sentenced to die for a major crime and then a friend came and said he wanted to take your place and die for you so that you could live. That is on a lower level what Christ did for us who believe in him for salvation.
Conclusion
God’s love for us sinners is unchanging. He demonstrated that for us in dying for our sins. Romans 5:6-8- For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—But God shows his love for us in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[1] Herman Bavinck, The Wonderful Works of God: Instruction in the Christian Religion according to the Reformed Confession (Glenside, PA: Westminster Seminary Press, 2019), 329.
