A QUESTION FROM THE CROSS

Jesus on the Cross

Today we remember Jesus on the cross. We remember a dark afternoon when Jesus died a terrible death surrounded by people who mocked him and dared him to save himself. We remember his followers watching with horror, unable to stop what was happening to their beloved Jesus. Even in that dark time, Jesus turned to scripture. Both Matthew and Mark record his cry, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” That cry is a direct quote from Psalm 22. When we read that psalm, we see how much anguish Jesus conveyed with that one question. Below you’ll find a few of the passages that apply to what happened to Jesus on the cross. I hope you’ll take the time to read Matthew 27:11-55 and Psalm 22 in their entirety.         http://biblegateway.com/

Jesus Cried Out

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)           [Matthew 27:45-46]

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.      [Psalm 22:1-5]

They Mock Me

All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”     [Psalm 22:7-8]

Villains Surround Me

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. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; 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.     [Psalm 22: 14-18]

Future Generations Will Be Told

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations… Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!      [Psalm 22:27-31]

Prayer

Father, today help us remember how much Jesus suffered on the cross for us, even 2,000 years later. Amen.