{"id":3816,"date":"2017-04-13T00:08:54","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T00:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/?p=3816"},"modified":"2017-12-14T03:19:04","modified_gmt":"2017-12-14T03:19:04","slug":"forsaken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/forsaken\/","title":{"rendered":"Forsaken"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Dan Jones<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Easter is no doubt the most glorious of Christian holidays. But many pastors and others will lament that we seem to express more joy and put more time and effort into Christmas than we do Easter.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that’s true.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we work through Holy Week and we hear the songs of victory and redemption and resurrection on Kinship Christian Radio there is certainly joy in our anticipation of Easter and the Risen Savior, but the problem is you have to go through Good Friday to get to Easter.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a young Christian, I often wondered why we would call that day when Jesus is mocked, beaten, tortured, falsely convicted and murdered as “good.” And, after seeing “The Passion of the Christ” (Which we all should.) it seemed “Bloody Friday” would be a far better name for that day.<\/span><\/p>\n

A brother in Christ recently pointed out that the word “excruciating” has at the very center of its meaning “crux” –the cross. The one word in the English language that describes the worst pain imaginable is derived from the pain Jesus suffered on the cross.<\/span><\/p>\n

But perhaps\u00a0worse than the physical pain was the moment described in Matthew 27:46:<\/span><\/p>\n

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?”).<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Or was it?<\/span><\/p>\n

There’s been debate about this verse for centuries. \u00a0Some say that because all the past, present, and future sin of the world was heaped upon Him in the moments before He died, and God cannot look upon sin, He truly was abandoned, forsaken, and separated from God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Others say because Jesus is fully God and fully man, God cannot separate Himself from Himself. And God is omnipresent, so how could He withdraw? And why would a loving Father abandon His Son at the very moment He is needed most? This line of thinking holds that because of the excruciating pain Jesus was suffering, it was Jesus’ human nature calling out in what seemed<\/em> like God forsaking Him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what if it’s neither of those?<\/span><\/p>\n

In Jesus’ time, it was common for Rabbis to use a teaching technique called “remez.” This involves quoting a small portion of Scripture which immediately brings to mind a much larger portion of Scripture. If, for example, I was to say, “For God so loved the world…” I wouldn’t even have to say the rest of the verse for you to remember that He sent His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remez works very well indeed if the people you are talking to have memorized Scripture. And, in a time when there were no printing presses, no internet, no IPhone Bible apps, the religious people of the day (Which would include\u00a0the very people who made very sure He ended up on that cross.) had indeed memorized large portions of Scripture.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that’s why it’s my opinion that when Jesus called out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He was proclaiming not only the fulfillment of prophecy, but victory!<\/span><\/p>\n

This is Psalm 22, written by David a thousand years before the Crucifixion of Christ, and it is:<\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Praise<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Why are you so far from saving me,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

so far from my cries of anguish?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

by night, but I find no rest.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

you are the one Israel praises.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In you our ancestors put their trust;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

they trusted and you delivered them.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To you they cried out and were saved;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

But I am a worm and not a man,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

scorned by everyone, despised by the people.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

All who see me mock me;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

they hurl insults, shaking their heads.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe trusts in the Lord<\/span>,\u201d they say,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201clet the Lord<\/span> rescue him.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Let him deliver him,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

since he delights in him.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Yet you brought me out of the womb;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

you made me trust in you, even at my mother\u2019s breast.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

From birth I was cast on you;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

from my mother\u2019s womb you have been my God.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Do not be far from me,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

for trouble is near<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

and there is no one to help.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Many bulls surround me;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Roaring lions that tear their prey<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

open their mouths wide against me.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I am poured out like water,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

and all my bones are out of joint.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My heart has turned to wax;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

it has melted within me.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My mouth\u00a0is dried up like a potsherd,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

you lay me in the dust of death.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Dogs surround me,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

a pack of villains encircles me;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

they pierce\u00a0my hands and my feet.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

All my bones are on display;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

people stare and gloat over me.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

They divide my clothes among them<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

and cast lots for my garment.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

But you, Lord<\/span>, do not be far from me.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You are my strength; come quickly to help me.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Deliver me from the sword,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

my precious life from the power of the dogs.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

save me from the horns of the wild oxen.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I will declare your name to my people;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

in the assembly I will praise you.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You who fear the Lord<\/span>, praise him!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For he has not despised or scorned<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

the suffering of the afflicted one;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

he has not hidden his face from him<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

but has listened to his cry for help.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

before those who fear you\u00a0I will fulfill my vows.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The poor will eat and be satisfied;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

those who seek the Lord<\/span> will praise him\u2014<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

may your hearts live forever!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

All the ends of the earth<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

will remember and turn to the Lord<\/span>,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

and all the families of the nations<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

will bow down before him,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

for dominion belongs to the Lord<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

and he rules over the nations.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

all who go down to the dust will kneel before him\u2014<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

those who cannot keep themselves alive.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Posterity will serve him;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

future generations will be told about the Lord.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

They will proclaim his righteousness,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

declaring to a people yet unborn:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

He has done it!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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