Confidence in Desperation
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 22:1
Confidence in Desperation
Forsaken – When we hear these words, we usually think of Jesus on the cross. We take these words at face value, believing that they are a cry of desperation from the Son as the guilt of the world’s sins came to rest on him. But we have not looked deeply enough.
Jesus uttered these words because he wanted his listeners to recall the entire twenty-second psalm. In his time, the psalms were not numbered as they are today. They were titled by the first line. Therefore, announcing “My God, My God” was like saying, “All of you remember the words of Psalm 22”. The reason that Jesus used this title is that every Jewish man would know exactly what he was saying. In that culture, every man grew up memorizing the Psalms.
If Jesus wants the men at the foot of the cross to recall Psalm 22, what else is there to know? When we look deeply at Psalm 22, we find that hazav (forsaken) is not the major theme. Psalm 22 is about deliverance (v. 8), sovereignty (v. 9), rescue (v. 11), comfort (v. 19), salvation (v. 21), praise (v. 23), satisfaction (v. 26), prosperity (v. 29) and finally righteousness (v. 31). It starts with the lament of the afflicted and abandoned, but it ends with a pantheon of victorious praise. What begins with a cry of destitution ends in confident assurance that the God of the righteous prevails.
Was there a moment when Jesus took on the agony of sin? Of course. Was it a moment of utter abandonment? Yes. Was Jesus thrust into despair? Absolutely not! He knew Psalm 22 like the back of his bloodied hand. God was poised to rescue. God was ready to deliver. Righteousness brought victory.
Far from a cry of defeat, “My God, My God” becomes the gateway to a declaration of God’s total control. At that very moment when we want to cry with Jesus, “my God, my God, why” we must be ready for the rest of the Psalm. The why is answered. “You who fear the Lord, praise Him” (v. 23). God delivers.
