0479. The Words of the Cross

The Words of the Cross

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me, and from the words of My roaring?" (Psa_22:1).

There are seven distinct statements recorded in the Gospels, which Christ uttered while He hung upon the tree. The 22d Psalm opens with one of these. It is the one which carries with it the inner meaning of the agonies of Calvary. Christ said, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Perhaps this should more correctly read, "Why didst Thou forsake Me?" The words were probably spoken as the Lord passed out of the three hours of darkness, during which the Father hid His face from the Son. As the darkness passed, and Christ caught once more the Father’s face, He cried: "Why didst Thou forsake Me?"

Not for one moment would we try to enter, with unhallowed feet, where our Lord could not enter. If He asked the question, we may not for a moment suppose that we can answer it. Yet He Himself has answered for us, very much of the reason for these words.

We know that Christ was made sin for us. We know that the One Who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God, in Him. We know that as Christ hung upon the Cross, He was suffering the Just for the unjust–our stripes were upon Him. He was in darkness, that we might have light; He tasted death that we might taste life.

There is a second word which Christ uttered: "Why art Thou so far from helping Me, and from the words of My roaring?"

The word roaring, suggests the "roar" of a lion, not the bleating of a lamb. "Jesus Christ was a Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world." Yet, when John turned to see the Lamb, "behold a Lion." One cannot refrain from grasping the thought that Jesus Christ, dying upon the Cross, was more than man; He was the Mighty God. The very word "roaring" carries with it the thought of His Deity.

"Why art Thou so far from helping Me?" might read, "Why art Thou so far from My salvation?" Of course, we know that if Christ had saved Himself, or if the Father had saved Him from that hour, He never could have saved us. God gave His Son to be an offering for sin, in order that our salvation might be secured and proclaimed to the ends of the earth.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR