Lessons From Jesus on the Cross #5 - My God, My God

 Today we will examine the next thing that Jesus said on the cross: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!”

(Mark 15:34)

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

We see that and we think to ourselves, “Why is He saying that?” Today we will look at what’s happening here!

A thousand years before the crucifixion King David wrote the 22^nd psalm.  Look at the opening line of that psalm:

(Psalm 22:1)

To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Deer of the Dawn." a Psalm of David. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?

It’s interesting to look at this psalm and break it down to see the relationship between the psalm and the actual crucifixion. This is a prophecy by David So let’s look at it and at the end we will look at the lesson that is here:

 

The Psalm:

(Psalm 22:6-8)

But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"

The Bible:  A Prophecy from Isaiah 700 years before the crucifixion

(Isaiah 53:3)

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

The crucifixion:

(Mark 15:29-32)

And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

So, those who Jesus had cried out for forgiveness for were mocking Him.

The term "reviled" means to criticize someone strongly or to say unpleasant things about them. It involves using scornful or abusive language to assail someone. This is more than just disagreeing with Him.  It’s more than criticizing Him.  It is contempt, it demonstrates intense disgust.

The Psalm:

(Psalm 22:14-15)

I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.

The Crucifixion:

(John 19:28)

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!"

This is pretty self-explanatory. Blood loss causes extreme thirst.  

The Psalm:

(Psalm 22:16-17)

For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.

The Crucifixion

(John 19:32-34)

Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

 

The Psalm:

(Psalm 22:18)

They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

The Crucifixion:

(Mark 15:24)

And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

The way Jesus’ clothes were made, made them valuable.  So, the Roman Soldiers cast lots to see who would get them

The Psalm:

(Psalm 22:30-31)

A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.

The Bible:

(Philippians 2:10-11)

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So, it’s very amazing that all of the things that happened on the cross were prophesied by David one thousand years prior. Many times, atheists will tell you that the Bible is a book of myths and fables, but I believe that it’s a historical record. There is archaeological proof that David lived and was king of Israel at the time he was.  There is archaeological proof that Jesus lived, died and rose again.  In fact, there is more evidence of the resurrection of Jesus than of the life of Julius Caeser.

The Gospels are eyewitness testimonies to the events of Jesus’ life.  Look at this:

(1Corinthians 15:3-7)

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

The Book of Corinthians was written in 53-55 AD.  Jesus died in 33 AD.  This is an account written by the apostle Paul, documenting that more than 500 people saw Jesus alive after he had been crucified. 

In establishing the authenticity of the text there are 4 standards used.

1.      Internal Consistency – Does the information remain consistent throughout the text.

Psalm 22 is written 1000 years before the Gospel by a different person and the accounts match.

2.      Number of Sister Copies – The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 have the same information contained in the Bible with exact wording

3.      Dating of Manuscripts – 1 Corinthians is written approximately 20 years after the Crucifixion.

4.      Archaeological Evidence – There is archaeological evidence of places and people in the Bible. For example, the location of Noah’s Ark in Türkiye has been discovered and scientists have used ground penetrating radar and other scientific methods to determine it exists.  (By the way, The daily Mail Newspaper in England, just this week, announced that the ark in Turkey is 100% Noah’s Ark, because of the discovery of rooms and chambers under the ground.)

For me prophecies like this prove the truths written in the Bible.  If we are convinced of Biblical truth then what is the lesson of the prophecy and the crucifixion?

As Jesus hung on the cross, He used the first verse of Psalm 22 to call attention to the fact that this was prophesied in the scriptures.  These people in the crowd being Pharisees and Sadducees knew the scriptures.  Saying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” would bring that to their minds.  

It brings them to a place where they either had to agree and believe the Jesus is Whom He said He was or reject it.    He saying, “Look at what you’re doing here! It is exactly as the scriptures said it would be.”  We also have a choice to believe or reject it.

But there’s one final thing here and that is that there is HOPE written into this Psalm.

(Psalm 22:30-31)

A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.

We have been set free from sin and oppression by His death and resurrection.  This all took place more than 2000 years ago and we still believe it today.

(Psalm 22:26-28)

The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever! All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD's, And He rules over the nations.

(Romans 14:11-12)

For it is written: "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD." So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Every knee shall bow every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  In this judgment the question won’t be, “Are you a good person?”  It won’t be, “Did you do good deeds?”  The question will be, “What did you do with my Son?”  Accept and believe or reject and deny?

That was the statement made by saying, My God, My God why have You forsaken me?”  So, the question before us today is:  Do you accept and believe or reject and deny.

 

 All scriptures NKJV except where noted,