Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?
From the cross, Jesus quoted the opening words of Psalm 22 to express the anguish of his soul: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
As we read the psalm, we sense the psalmist’s bewilderment. It is almost as though he were saying to God: “Your people trusted in you and cried out to you, and you always heard their cry and delivered them. They were never put to shame. Yet you have not answered me. Why, then, have you forsaken me?”
What an unimaginable cry of anguish from the Son of God! God the Father forsakes his beloved Son, leaving him exposed to the mockery and contempt of his enemies. It is a cry of profound pain, but not a cry of unbelief. Far from it. Twice Jesus addresses him as “My God.” Even in the darkness of abandonment, Jesus continues to trust in his Father.
Why, then, did Jesus utter this startling question aloud, so that those standing nearby heard it—and so that, through their testimony, we may hear it today? Surely it was for our benefit, so that we might reflect carefully on why the Father forsook his Son upon the cross.
Why, then, did he forsake him?
- Was it because Jesus was not really the Son of God, as his enemies mockingly claimed?
- Was it because he was a criminal who deserved such punishment?
- Or was it because, as Scripture teaches elsewhere, the Lord laid upon him the iniquity of us all, and he suffered the punishment due to our sins?
I too ought to ask a question: “My God, my God, why have you received me?”
The answer is Jesus!
God received me because he forsook his Son upon the cross! Oh, that I may live and die in gratitude for such incredible love! And if ever I doubt God’s love for me, let me quickly remember that God had this choice before him: to forsake me, a sinner, or his beloved Son. Wonder of wonders! God forsook his Son so that he might receive and embrace me!