The Cry of Dereliction (Very Touching)

[Gordi]

The Cry of Dereliction

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?.... O my God, I cry by day, but thou dost not answer; and by night, but find no rest." (Ps. 22:1-2, RSV)

What he prayed for is hidden from us.  It may have been, once again, that the cup might pass; or, that he be given some token of the Father's love; or, that the pain might be over soon.  We do not know.  Whatever it was, there was no answer: only the echo of his own voice, the derision of those he came to save, and the cruel taunts of hell.

Beside the unanswered prayer there was the loss of the filial consciousness.  In the moment of dereliction, there is no sense of his own sonship.  Even in Gethsemane, Jesus had been able to say, 'Abba!'  But now the cry is, 'Eloi, Eloi'.  He is aware only of the god-ness and power and holiness and otherness of God.  In his self-image, he is no longer Son, but Sin; no longer Monogenes, the Beloved with whom God is well-pleased, but Katara, the cursed one: vile, foul and repulsive.......

Corresponding to the loss of the sense of sonship there was a real abandonment by God.  No-one was ever less prepared for such an experience than Jesus.  As the eternal Word he had always been with God (Jn. 1:1).  As the incarnate Son the Father had always been with him (Jn. 16:32).  They had gone up from Bethlehem to Calvary, like Abraham and Issac, 'together' (Gen. 22:6-8).  But now, in the hour of his greatest need, God is not there.  When he most needs encouragement, there is no voice to cry, 'This is my beloved Son.'  When he most needs reassurance, there is no-one to say, 'I am well pleased'  No grace was extended to him, no favour shown, no comfort administered, no concession made.  God was present only as displeased, expressing that displeasure with overwhelming force in all the circumstances of Calvary.  Every detail in a drama which walked a fine line between chaos and liturgy declared, 'This is what God thinks of you and of the sin you bear!'  He was cursed (Gal. 3:13), because he became 'the greatest theif, murderer, adulterer, robber, desecrator, blasphemer, etc., there has ever been anywhere in the world'.  

(From the Person of Christ by Donald Macleod)

This makes me think about just how great the sacrifice was that was made for us on the cross.  The suffering of Jesus for which we should always be grateful.   God's only son was made a curse to break the curse of death.

 

[altya]

I don’t think in our human form we can really understand what Jesus went through on the cross. One day in heaven we will appreciate the Crucifixion in fully when we understand

 

[loribee59]

Today at 05:19 PM Gordi said this in Post #1


This makes me think about just how great the sacrifice was that was made for us on the cross.  The suffering of Jesus for which we should always be grateful.   God's only son was made a curse to break the curse of death.

For Jesus to experience the absence of God, and then dying on the cross as SIN for us; His love for us is the reason He wants for us all to NOT experience God's wrath or the turning away as He had on the cross.

And altya is correct, there is NO way in our human unglorified form would we understand what Jesus had experienced, until we are face to face with Him in heaven.

thanks for sharing that.

~loribee59

 

[Gerry]

Today at 10:54 PM altya said this in Post #2

I don’t think in our human form we can really understand what Jesus went through on the cross. One day in heaven we will appreciate the Crucifixion in fully when we understand

You are quite right. Yet, in our limited human form, we can indeed understand just a teeny tiny bit of what Jesus went through. We can identify with physical pain, because at the crucifixation Christ was as human as any of us and felt all the pain we would feel.

Imagine having your face beaten beyond recognition, and your beard jerked out by the roots. Then imagine having your back ripped to shreds with 39 stripes from a whip with imbedded steel in the tip. And then a wooden tree too heavy to bear placed upon your back and forced to dag it till you collapse. Then you are layed on that hard and rough thing and having huge nails driven through the your wrist between the bones, and your feet like wise, and with a crown of thorns pressed deep into your head, the cross id stood up with a THUD, and you hang there in excruciating agony, naked, while others stand by and laugh and spit and make fun, as soldiers poke you in the side with a spear. Imagine there is no way to get relief or rest for even a second as you struggle to breath, and when in your last moments you cry out to God, but there is no answer. Even then, those mockers are not even sure what you are saying because your mouth is so dry your tongue has stuck to the roof of your mouth. And imagine He hung there slowing bleeding to death for at least six long hours, and He did that just for me, and for you. Even knowing just that little bit of the physical suffering He did, how many of us would do that for someone who HATES us, not just for someone we love.

My, how we ought to thank Him for His unspeakable Love!