Why have you forsaken me?
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Introduction
Since today is Palm Sunday and next Sunday is Easter Sunday where we are celebrating the resurrection, today we’re continuing to focus on the cross at Easter.
This Friday is Good Friday, which at first glance is kind of a strange name for the day, because the question perhaps on many people’s lips is - what is good about Good Friday?
What’s good about the excruciatingly painful death of Jesus Christ? Is there anything good about what happened around 2000 years ago when Jesus was sentenced to death on a cross?
Or to put it another way, do we have any hope on Good Friday? Of course, we know the answer to that - we spoke about it last week and we’ve preached on it every year since then.
But today we’re going to look at the hope that we have by looking at Psalm 22 and there are a few reasons for doing this.
The first reason for looking at Psalm 22 is because David, in Psalm 22 is feeling a lot like Jesus is feeling at his crucifixion – albeit to a much lesser extent - and I think we can all say that there are times that we feel like David feels in this psalm – even the best of us feel like David is feeling at some point in our lives. Because although David is one of the biblical greats, he still cries out to God at times, and this Psalm is one of those times.
And let’s face it - no matter how strong we think we are - no matter how good a Christian we think we are, we still have times when we cry out to God in despair. And in fact, this Psalm is a great reminder of the fact that that’s OK. It’s OK to cry out to God in despair, because, as we’ll see - it helps us to remember our place before God.
The second reason for looking at Psalm 22 is because Jesus quotes from it just before he dies. So on the cross, Jesus is pointing us to Psalm 22.
And the third reason for looking at Psalm 22 is because although verse 1 is what Jesus quotes, verse 7, verse 8, verse 16 and verse 18 all point forward to the crucifixion.
So what we are going to see is that in some ways David feels exactly the same way Jesus feels and so there are similarities between what Jesus went through and what David was going through. And like I said, this psalm helps us to relate to David who was human and fallible, and it helps us therefore to relate to Jesus who was also fully human, but who was also INFALLIBLE...
He went through it too.
But we will also see that there is one big difference, and that big difference is what gives us hope – it’s that one big difference that makes Good Friday a very good day indeed.
Pause
So let’s look at what David was going through…
We’re not going to go through the Psalm verse by verse today, but what I want us to see is how much David is in pain and anguish here in his life and how similar that is to the pain and anguish Jesus Christ experienced on the cross.
You may have noticed the verses that point forward to the crucifixion when I read the Psalm earlier but let me highlight them for you. First of all, the premise to this psalm is that David is in pain. He feels abandoned by everyone. He feels that there is no way out.
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!”
And then Verse 18 -
18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
And verse 16...
16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—
Now, these are the words of David here in this Psalm. So David is in anguish here... he feels that there is no way out and so all this makes him cry out in verse 1
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Now when we turn to Matthew 27 we see similarities and we also see the anguish that Jesus is feeling...
35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.
39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads
And when Jesus is on the cross, those around said...
43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
And when reading the account of the crucifixion there’s no doubt about the anguish and pain that Jesus Christ went through, but in a vastly deeper and in a vastly unjust way.
And yet all this pain and anguish led Jesus to cry the same thing that David cried...
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Just think of the pain and torture that Jesus must have been going through for the Son of God to utter those words to his Father.
Pause
Now let’s take a step back for a second and remind ourselves of something...
David’s anguish and pain was nowhere near the level of what Jesus went through – nowhere NEAR it, but there’s no way to deny that Jesus knew exactly what David was feeling…and Jesus is showing us, by the words he uses - by quoting David, Jesus shows us that he knows EXACTLY how David was feeling.
And if we’re honest to ourselves there may be times when we feel like David – Maybe there are times where we wonder where God is and we maybe don’t say it out loud, but inside we’re crying out – My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Or at least we’re saying, “Where are you?”
I’ve been to visits where people are expecting bad news and they are feeling just like that. And some have had the honesty to say to me - I feel that God has forsaken me.
The point of Jesus using David’s words is that he is SHOWING EVERYONE that he knows EXACTLY what we are going through.
Jesus feels our pain too.
Pause
I think every one of us wonders where God is at times of personal hardship and heartache. When the phone call comes from the doctor and it isn’t good news. Whether finances, illness, death of a loved-one or whatever it is – sometimes we wonder where God is and we feel abandoned.
We feel the pain of life all the time. There’s sickness, death, loss, bereavement, disability, marriage breakups, abuse all around us and just because we’re Christian’s doesn’t mean we’re immune from it – David was king of Israel and he felt it. Jesus is king of kings and he felt it too.
I’m not here to give you an answer to the problem of suffering, but I also don’t want to diminish the fact that we do suffer. David, like us, suffered – you and I suffer physically and emotionally and spiritually.
BUT here’s what we can hold onto – Jesus Christ suffers along with us. Jesus suffered the most unfair, painful and excruciating death. A death that he didn’t need to suffer. Jesus bore the wrath of the Father on the cross – His own father couldn’t look at him. He was separated from God. So if anyone knows suffering it’s Jesus.
David felt pain and anguish and cried out to God...
Jesus felt pain and anguish and cried out to God...
So it’s OK, when we feel pain and anguish…it’s OK for us to cry out to God too…but we’ve got to cry out in faith that he hears our cries and he loves us.
Because that’s what David experienced...
Let’s go back to Psalm 22.
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:
David calls out to God to save him and then…verse 21 – David realises that the Lord is not far off and has rescued him.
And then the rest of the psalm is praise to God for his salvation of David. It’s like there’s a turning point in the psalm - like the lightbulb has come on in David’s head and he praises God.
Why? Verse 24…
24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
There’s the answer right there… God hears when we cry to him!
David has realised that God HAS heard his cry, God has not abandoned him, God has not forsaken him. He has NOT hidden his face and he has heard his cries.
Pause
And this is why Good Friday is a good day – because God DOES HEAR the cries of his people – when the world thought that God had forsaken them God stepped in and did what nobody else could do. He sent his son Jesus Christ into our world to take our punishment on himself.
And this is what it all boils down to – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Because Jesus was forsaken by the Father in our place. Jesus took the punishment for sin in our place, Jesus suffered our suffering in our place.
And because of that we have hope!
David had hope because God heard him and we also have hope because God hears us too.
[God heard David…God hears us too!]
And because Jesus took the Father’s wrath in our place, those of us who believe in Jesus Christ will never have to suffer that wrath. But what a dark day for those who haven’t put their faith in Jesus Christ.
And all this gives us hope.
Here’s how it gives us hope - Because we can see more than the dark days. We can see beyond those dark days to a brighter future that has only been made possible through Jesus’ death.
That’s how we can get through the heartache and the pain. Does it make the pain go away? No, but we have hope through the pain and we can take courage that whatever we are going through Jesus Christ went through so much more and he knows how we’re feeling.
Jesus suffered pain, anguish, torment. His heart was broken, his father turned his face away from him so he knows what you’re feeling when you’re feeling the pain of life.
Let me give you an example…
Take depression, for example – you have no idea what it’s like to be depressed unless you have been in that pit yourself. You have no idea what it’s like to cope with depression if you’ve never had to cope with it yourself. You might have some idea what it MIGHT be like, but unless you’ve been in that dark cloud you have no idea.
And so if you’re going through depression, what can help the most is to talk to someone who has been there and has come through the other end – that gives you hope that some day you might just come through it yourself.
What happened on Good Friday 2000 years ago gives ALL of us someone that we can come to and talk to – someone who has been there, someone who has gone through what we have gone through, and much worse, but also someone who has come through – and, brothers and sisters, THAT gives us hope!
And also, the one who has gone through it and come out the other end is the very one who has access to the Father himself and speaks on OUR behalf, interceding for US, bringing our pain and our suffering and our cries to God the Father.
Pause
Jesus death doesn’t make the pain or the suffering go away, but it means that we have a hope that someday we WILL come through our pain to the other side too. And in the middle of it we have the Holy Spirit who is our comfort and our strength.
By trusting in Jesus Christ and falling into his loving arms we get to see through our heartache and pain to a better day – we get to see more than the pain – we get to see more.
Pause
In 2 kings 6: 15, the King of Syria has sent a full army to kill Elisha, which seems a bit extreme. Elisha’s servant gets up early in the morning and you can imagine him yawning as he opens the curtains and sees a mass of men with chariots surrounding the house…
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Elisha saw more. He saw through the immediate threat to God’s deliverance to what lied beyond, and because of Good Friday 2000 years ago, when Jesus died, we too can see through the pain and heartache and the immediate threat…we can see beyond that to God’s deliverance which lies ahead.
[We can see beyond our pain to our deliverance]
We can look forward to the hope of a better life. And it might not be this life, but we can rest in the hope that Jesus’s death brings life for his people.
Pause
Now for some of you who might be in that pit of despair themselves, you might think this sermon is just words – “Yea, very Good Andre, we have a hope – I STILL have to face my pain. I still have to face death, I still have to get the chemotherapy.”
Here’s the crux of the matter – this is not just words. Because Jesus didn’t stay dead. And if Jesus has the power to break through death itself, then Jesus has the power to break through your pain and anguish.
Jesus was forsaken by his Father, but he overcame. All I can say to you tonight is to keep your eyes on Jesus Christ in the midst of your pain or suffering or anguish, because with your eyes fixed on Jesus, trusting in him, you too can overcome.
Pause
So let’s thank God that he gave us Jesus Christ to suffer and die for us to give us hope – to save us from a lost eternity – to give us life through the Holy Spirit.
And let’s ask his Holy Spirit to come and fill us – to help us see more, to help us see beyond the pain and the heartache.
Just like David praised the Lord for hearing his cry and saving him we, too, can rejoice because God hears our cries and he saves us too, but he saves us in a way that no one else can!
And because of that we have a hope in our dark days. We have salvation, we can see through the pain into a better life. And THAT’s why Good Friday is such a good day.
Let’s remember that when we come to worship on Friday.
Let’s pray.