The cry of dereliction

This morning Captain Hary came for me and we went to Ang Mo Kio to have lunch. Then we made our way to Bishan, Singapore Central Corps (church) to join our friends in lunch time meeting. I spoke on the text, "My God, My God why has Thou forsaken Me." Matthew 27: 46.  It was the cry of dereliction.

The ladies who had come  for their usual women's meeting on a Wednesday decided to join us before going to the Social Hall for their meeting. So we had  a good congregation.

Here is the summary of my message:
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"Many are the things we cannot understand, all around me mystery I see." How often have I sung this beautiful song. We are surrounded by mysteries, many of them are so profound they are beyond our puny minds to comprehend despite our efforts to plum and probe. In the end we just have to bow in humble adoration and accept this divine mystery. One day when we come face to face with Lord in heaven will this mystery be revealed.

The Pain Jesus felt.

Picture the events from Gethsemane to Calvary. There in the garden, He agonised in prayer. He would rather not take the cup of suffering, but He submitted to the Father's will when He cried "Thy will be done."

This was followed by the betrayal by one of His trusted disciples, Judas Iscariot.; then the rigged trial and the torture. Finally He ended at Calvary where He was nailed to the cross.

There recorded for us in the gospels were seven sayings - the first three expressed His concern for others, then his fourth one, this cry of dereliction. In those few moments, Jesus felt the weight of the sins of the world, from Adam to the last man on earth, placed upon Him. He who knew no sin took upon the curse of sin upon Himself..

The Father Who is all holy turned His face from the ugliness of sin, stretched out his hand and covered the whole world with darkness. Jesus felt the loneliness and abandonment that sin always produces. He felt God-forsaken - it was the mutual acceptance of separation that took place between Father and Son, voluntary acceptance by both because of the sins of the world.

The Perplexity He experienced

The psalmist made this strong declaration in his testimony, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." Psalm 37:25. There are many Bible references to God's care and protection for those who trust Him. And  when bad things happen to good people all of us are tempted to question God. Why? It is the cry of the baffled heart.

When we seek words to describe a scene of utmost desolation, we call it 'God-forsaken.' Who can fathom the meaning of that word forsaken.

We visit the Peacehaven Nursing Home and often we encounter those placed in the Home by their families expressed their feeling of being abandoned by their children. There are those who cannot accept the fact of being place in the Home.

It is a paradox that this God-forsakeness was real, but the unity of the Trinity was unbroken!

The Person He addressed

In the gospels we read that He often addressed God as "My Father." But on that day, that awful moment, the cry of dereliction on the lips of the One twisted tortured Figure, clamped by crude nails came the words of the Psalmist "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me." Psalm 22. This prophetic psalm of David goes on to tell us of the torture as life ebbs away, "My hands and my feet are withered as you lay me in the dust of earth."

It was a terrible cry on the lips of our Lord. The incarnation is real. He descended into hell- that apartness from God, He just could not address God as "My Father" but "My God."

The Power He gives

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin." Hebrews 4: 15

Commissioner Herbert Lord taken prisoner by the communists, forced to take part in the death march where he saw his fellow prisoners dying one by one, one day felt so down hearted, he cried "Where are you God? Have I been wrong all these years proclaiming a God of love, a God who cares....? then suddenly like a flash of light came the words of Psalm 23 : 4 "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me, they rod and staff they comfort me"

Let me conclude with a thought. You and I who keep our faith in God cannot be forsaken because our Lord was forsaken in our place.