When Jesus uttered his cry of dereliction, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" he was quoting from Psalm 22 but he also quoted from other prophetic Psalms. The entire 22nd Psalm can be seen to be fulfilled in Jesus, as well as other parts of prophetic scripture. But if we look at the matter clinically, academically, or as something that makes us uncomfortable to consider, then the depth of Christ’s agony will never be appreciated. Yet Christians are said to be “crucified with Christ”, so is it not of utmost importance for us to face up to that forsakenness? Let me quote from this book on the matter, as it deals with Psalm 22 and other prophecies.
“Jesus stands where no-one ever stood before or since, knowing himself
the bearer of the sin of the world, destined to pay the price for its
redemption (Mark 10:45), and now drinking the bitterest dregs of the
cup which had so discomposed him in Gethsemane. In its very nature,
the spiritual content of this climax of his suffering is inaccessible
to us... and perhaps no human words could express what his 'hell'
meant...
...Clearly, the forsakenness is only a moment in the long journey
from the third to the ninth hour; for much of the time Jesus remained
in communion with his Father. But now comes a moment of well-nigh
unsustainable awfulness. Abba is out of reach, not listening. The
intimacy is broken; an intimacy that had never been broken before. It
as a breach for which nothing could have prepared Jesus.... now, at
the ninth hour, Abba was not there, and Jesus can say only 'Eloi!' God
is certainly there, but not as Abba. There is now no sense of his own
divine sonship, no sense of God's love and no sense of his Father's
approval...
...At every other time of crisis, Abba had spoken great words of
encouragement; 'This is my son, whom I love' (Mark 1:11; 9:7). How he
needed those words now! But no such words came. He hears only the
derision of the spectators, the curses of the soldier and the whispers
of the Prince of Darkness. He is on his own.
...It was the Father who was delivering him up (Rom. 8:32) and
everything spoke of his anger. That anger was no additional fact or
circumstance. It was in the circumstances: in the pain, in the
loneliness, in Satan's whispers and in heaven's deafness; and under
that anger his identity contracted to the point where the whole truth
about him was that he was the sin of the world. He was carrying it,
heaven held him answerable for it, and he was it... because of it he
was a doomed and ruined man, korban, devoted to destruction. God's
pure eyes could not look on him...
Even at the lowest point, in the black hole of dereliction, faith and
hope still breathe, as they must, for unbelief and despair are sin,
and would have rendered his sacrifice void. Faith must walk where
there is no light (Isa. 50:10)... Yet there is a 'why?' It is not the
'why?' of protest or self-pity, but the 'why?' of the Righteous One,
conscious of personal innocence and knowing that not even Holiness
itself can find a spot in him. But it is also the 'why?' of a unique
sufferer who has momentarily lost sight of the great divine purpose
which his suffering was progressing... All he 'knows' is that he is 'a
worm and not a man' (Psalm 22:6); and his faith is a question, not an
answer: 'why?'" Christ Crucified Donald Macleod, pp 47-49 (IVP
2014)
However, the cry of dereliction was not Christ’s last cry from the cross, nor did he die forsaken. John records this one word – tetelestai – ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). The Father is completely satisfied by his Son’s sacrifice, and so Christ can address him as ‘Father’ again, when giving up his spirit.
“Nothing more is needed Now and for all time coming this one act of
perfect obedience and sacrifice would determine humanity’s relation to
God. And yet there is work to be done beyond the tetelestai. He has
glorified the Father on earth, and in response the Father will glorify
him (John 17:1); not, however, in order to an existence of
self-indulgent ease, but so that, with all the new power and authority
of his throne, he will continue his work as redeemer, giving eternal
life to all those the Father has given him (John 17:2).” (Ibid.
pp.52-53)
This serves to show that, in order for the whole of Psalm 22 to be seen to apply to Christ on the cross, more than verse 46 in Matthew 27 has to be taken into account. Putting it the other way around – consider the entire 22nd Psalm, then read the full account of Christ on the cross. So it will quickly become clear that verse 46 was both being fulfilled in Christ, even while he quoted the precise verse, and as other things happened with other verses of prophecy obviously applying at those points.
