Day 39 – Good Friday
Read Psalm 22
The beginning of Psalm 22 is quoted by Jesus on the cross. “My God, my God,
Why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 22 is the description of the righteous sufferer – the innocent who is despised, rejected and mocked (vs. 6-7); surrounded by evil men, pierced in the hands and feet (15-16); they cast lots for his clothing (vs.18). It was written by David, about a thousand years before Jesus was crucified, but it is no wonder that the Gospel descriptions of Jesus’ death had Psalm 22 in mind, or that Jesus chose to quote this Psalm as he was hanging on the cross. Commentators can only guess what David was experiencing in his life that led to the writing of this Psalm – perhaps when he was being chased by Saul or in the midst of the struggles with his children – but the God“forsakenness” that David describes in Psalm 22 is of course only a glimpse of the “forsakenness” of Christ on the cross.
We use that term, “God-forsaken,” to describe places where there appears to be no hope. It is perhaps the most hopeless, lifeless, depressing phrase in all of language – God-forsaken. It seems like a strange phrase for the Son of God, the chosen Messiah, to use to describe himself. And yet for Jesus to be the ultimate Passover Lamb, the final sacrifice that ends the need for any other sacrifice, then Jesus’ words need to be true. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus experienced the total and utter God-forsakenness that we and the world deserved. For Jesus to bear the full weight of the broken world, he needed to face the full force of that brokenness – total separation from God. He was forsaken so that we didn’t have to be.
Jesus undoubtedly would have known how Psalm 22 ended. The Psalm ends with great hope, of nations coming to worship, of the poor and the rich eating and being satisfied, of dominion belonging to God. It is the mystery of all mysteries – redemption through suffering, joy through sorrow, life through death.
Prayer
Consider skipping a meal today and reading through one of the gospel stories of Jesus’ crucifixion and Psalm 22 instead. Use the time to pray through Jesus’ suffering.