“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This phrase is often discussed in terms of whether or not God had ‘abandon’ Jesus, and there are several discussions you can read about elsewhere on that. But what I believe is really important about this phrase is that he was reminding the people at Golgotha about a prophecy – one that foretold his crucifixion. When I say, “May the force be with you”, what do you think of? Star Wars. When I say, “You look mah-ve-lous”, you think of Billy Crystal. When I say, “To Boldly go where no man has gone before.” you think of Star Trek. When I say, “Stay classy, San Diego”, you think of Anchorman. Those are cultural references we are all familiar with. In Jesus’ time, people were well versed in scripture, same as we’re well versed in pop-culture. When he said that phrase, most people would have known instantly that he was referring to Psalm 22. So, what’s the big deal? This: Psalm 22 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? … But I am a worm, and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him, since he delights in him.” … I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My 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. … They pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display People stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. The Psalms were largely written centuries before the act of crucifixion was even invented and implemented (yes, that’s verifiable), and yet it perfectly describes the act of crucifixion as it was happening to Jesus. They were also written long before Jesus was born and hailed as the Messiah. Psalm 22 prophecies that this “not-yet-invented-punishment” would be inflicted on this “not-yet-born-man”. When Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, it was as if he was telling the people, “See, you knew this was going to happen!”
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 00:01:12 +0000