I am not responding to anyone in particular really as much as I am responding to all who have posted in this thread so far. There is much that can be said concerning this topic. I too believe that Jesus was not forsaken at any point when He was crucified. There was another purpose in repeating those words from Psalm 22.
Forgive me if this post should become lengthy. I have many thoughts that want to speak out at the same time. Where to begin?
For myself, this all began about 4-5 years ago. I was in prayer when a number of thoughts flooded into my head in rapid succession. It was not unlike the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle coming together by themselves to form a picture. I was not looking for any understanding concerning Jesus’ words that He uttered from the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” but I do recall not fully understanding why this should be yet not being overly troubled because there was an explanation ”“ the Father turned away. Suddenly I understood why He said this. I was puzzled not by this "revelation” but by why it should be given me. I found out that I am not alone in this understanding though the majority of people may not agree. As we all ought to do, I have tested this according to the Scriptures and have found over the years that I cling even more to this truth that I realized that day. Truth must and will always stand up to the test of time and to the scrutiny of the Scriptures. Scripture will not contradict what God has revealed. You may not agree with the conclusion that Jesus was not forsaken, and while I agree that it is not essential to salvation I think it is important to know the truth and to know the character of God.
I have yet to find any Scriptural references that indicate that God the Father turned away from the Son or could not bear to look upon His beloved Son as He breathed His last upon the cross. It is the most common belief that I am aware of that as the sins were placed upon Jesus the Father could not look and in fact turned away from the Son and therefore Jesus felt the separation from the Father and the anguish being so great He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Show me from Scripture the reason that I ought to have continued in this understanding. Remember that we ought always to test everything according to Scripture.
I understood that the Psalms were the hymnbook of the Jewish people. Psalm 22 was written as a song and was dedicated or written to the chief musician or choirmaster. I also knew that they had a mind (memorized) for Scripture that is simply unknown to most of us today. I knew that there was no place that God could not see (Psalm 139). I knew that Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm that began, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” and went on to describe in detail what would take place a thousand years later. It was even hundreds of years before crucifixion would be developed by the Romans as a means of the most severe punishment available. Actually Psalm 22 is the first of a trilogy of psalms that deal with the Messiah who was to come. I personally knew songs that were so popular that I was able to recite every word myself. I also knew that Israel cherished the hope that they had in the Messiah to come and would have had a special heart or love for passages that spoke of His coming. So the pieces suddenly fit together. If I were to begin with but a portion of a popular song or saying the person to whom I was speaking would likely continue the thought without much consideration, almost automatically. I could imagine, in more modern technological advances, a DJ on the radio of Jerusalem in David’s time, introducing the number one hit of the day, Psalm 22 "To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.” It would have been as ancient karaoke, the listeners would have begun to sing along from the very start. If the song had stopped the listeners would have continued anyway. There is the key, I believe, that explains why Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus was leading the Jewish spectators to Psalm 22. It is, in my mind, no coincidence that Psalm 22 begins with these exact words. Neither was it coincidence that the scene described in Psalm 22 was being fulfilled before their very eyes. Even the ending of Psalm 22, verse 31, when translated may be rendered, "It is finished” the very last words of Jesus on the cross. Even a casual look at the ending of Psalm 22 in the different versions will verify this thought.
There was a teaching method that I later, a couple of years later, learned that a rabbi would use. The method is called "remez.” To quote,
The great teachers (rabbis) during Jesus' day used a technique that was later called remez. In their teaching, they would use part of a Scripture passage in a discussion, assuming that their audience's knowledge of the Bible would allow them to deduce for themselves the fuller meaning of the teaching. Apparently, Jesus, who possessed a brilliant understanding of Scripture and strong teaching skills, used this method often.
For example, when the children shouted "Hosanna" to him in the temple and the chief priests and teachers of the law became indignant (Matt. 21:15), Jesus responded by quoting Psalm 8:2: "From the lips of children and infants, you have ordained praise." The religious leaders' anger at Jesus can be better understood when we realize that the next phrase in the Psalm reveals why children and infants offer praise, because the enemies of God would be silenced. The religious leaders realized that Jesus was implying that they were God's enemies.
Jesus used this teaching method again when speaking to Zacchaeus. "For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost," Jesus said (Luke 19:10). The background to this statement is probably Ezekiel 34. God, angry with Israel's leaders for scattering and harming his flock, stated that he would become the shepherd and would seek the lost ones and save them. Based on this, the people of Jesus' day understood that the Messiah to come would "seek and save" the lost. By using this phrase, knowing that his listeners knew the Scripture, Jesus communicated several things. To the people, he communicated, "I am the Messiah and also God." To the religious leaders, whose influence kept Zacchaeus out of the crowd, he said, "You have scattered and harmed God's flock." To Zacchaeus, he said, "You are one of God's lost sheep and he still loves you."
Jesus best fit the type of rabbi believed to have s'mikhah, the authority to make new interpretations of the Torah. Whereas most teachers of the law could only teach accepted interpretations, teachers with authority could make new interpretations and pass legal judgments. Crowds were amazed because Jesus taught with authority (Matt. 7:28-29), and some people questioned his authority (Matt. 21:23-27).
http://followtherabbi.com/world/encyclopedia/article/remez
Jesus was the ultimate rabbi and likely would have taught in traditional ways. I could almost see the witnesses to the crucifixion mulling over in their minds the 22nd Psalm when Jesus gave the opening line. They would have concluded that the scene that they were witnessing was being fulfilled before their very eyes. This must be the Messiah!
I also learned that there was Scriptural evidence that the Father never turned away or hid His face from Jesus. It was one of those times where you can’t believe that you have never seen something before but all of a sudden your eyes are opened to a verse. And it was in the very same psalm that I had learned to love. Psalm 22:24, says, "…Nor has He hidden His face from Him.” I couldn’t believe it. Scripture denied God the Father ever turned away or hid His face from the Son. Where could the Father turn to anyway that He would not see. Nowhere.
Jesus never referred to the Father as His God but always spoke in a unique manner of His Father declaring a unique relationship to Him. Jesus was quoting the beginning of the psalm, "My God, My God…” to lead the people into a revelation of the truth that He was the Messiah spoken of in Psalm 22.
We believe, according to the words of Hebrews 13 that God will never forsake or leave those that are His children. But are we expected to believe that the Father would forsake His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased. If He would forsake His only begotten Son in His hour of greatest need then what confidence can we have that He would not forsake us? No, the very character of the Father does not permit Him to forsake His own, those that are His children. He must be true to Himself. He does promise to forsake the wicked though. But He won’t forsake us nor would He forsake His Son.
Jesus simply quoted Scripture to reveal the truth about Himself as His life ebbed there on the cross. The Father hid not His face from Him.
Another reason that I love Psalm 22 is found in verse 6, "But I am a worm and not a man.” Do a little research into the Hebrew word used there for "worm.” It is the crimson worm or "Tola at"! It's full name is Tola'at Shani; or Crimson or Scarlet Worm (Coccus Ilicis.)” and tells the story of the Gospel. http://www.discovercreation.org/newsletters/TheCrimsonOrScarletWorm.htm but that’s a whole other story and yet part of the same. AMAZING!
