Psalm 69:3

Psalm 69:3

Why have you forsaken me?

Let’s continue with the thought that these verses allow us to have some understanding of the suffering borne by Yeshua as He faced imminent death. We read that, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed for the cup of suffering to be taken from Him. In anguish He pleaded for relief, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. The horror of what lay ahead flooded His being as our Lord and Master begged for a way out of the dreadful avalanche of pain and suffering that was about to engulf Him. And yet, in the midst of His anguish, He was still able to say, “Not my will but Yours be done.” Reading the Gospel accounts of that night of terror should leave us in no doubt that those cries for help alone, were enough to drain the body and soul of any man. But there was much worse to come, small wonder that Yeshua was so weak He found it impossible to carry His cross to Golgotha. 

At the start of the crucifixion process the soldiers offered Him wine mixed with gall. Matthew 27:34. Jesus refused the drink because the inclusion of gall meant that there was an element of sedative in what was offered, and He could not allow the pain to be eased, or that He should be anything but fully conscious until His death.

Finally, this verse tells us that the sight of the Lord Jesus was diminished as the blackness of His spiritual suffering enveloped Him. All the time He suffered, He looked for His Father, the One who had never deserted Him, who had always been there at His side. Now, there was no one. There is a suggestion that Yeshua did not realise that He must bear this alone, hence the cry, “My God, My God, why have your forsaken me?” How heart-breaking to sense the lostness in His eyes, the growing realisation that His Father was nowhere to be seen, that in this hour of trial He must walk alone, for the door of heaven was locked and bolted! 

 

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