The word of anguish
23 March 2009
Read Matthew 27: 4547; Mark 15: 3335 Matthew 27: 46The fourth word from the cross was .. Why had God abandoned his son, Jesus? Why did the Father turn his back on Jesus in this moment of greatest agony? In the moment of his greatest anguish, Jesus found a way to express the cry of his heart through the words of the Psalmist. Read Psalm 22: 12; 68; 14, 18 verses foreshadowing death by crucifixion Read Psalm 22: 4; 9; 2425; 28verses of hope , confidence in god and deliverance are interwoven throughout the Psalm. We may never know fully what Jesus was experiencingabandonment, profound agony, or both. On the cross, Jesus took upon himself . God could not look upon . Jesus therefore entered into the hell of separation from Godthe Father abandoned him. Martin Luther saidGod forsaking God, who can understand it? REFLECTION This 4th word, the word of ANGUISH, contains in it a tiny seed of Easter faith - Jesus was forsaken so that we might not be F.... Jesus took our sin so that we might have Gods R ..... Jesus took the divine rejection we deserved so that we might get the divine A..He deserves. Read 2 Corinthians 5: 21 Here on the cross, we see the love of the man Jesus, but also the love of God who was incarnate in Jesus. Read Romans 5: 8 PRAYER O Lord Jesus, though I will never fully grasp the wonder and horror of your abandonment by the Father, every time I read this "word," I am overwhelmed with gratitude. How can I ever thank you for what you suffered for me? What can I do but to offer myself to you in gratitude and praise? Thank you, dear Lord, for what you suffered. Thank you for taking my place. Thank you for being forsaken by the Father so that I might never be. Amen. (www.markdroberts.com(4) The Seven Last Words of Christ for Holy Week (2006), Mark D Roberts)
