Easter Musings
This week the thoughts of the Christian church have turned
to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I have examined those events anew in my
personal devotional time, but this morning I was drawn to the seven statements
spoken by our Lord as He hung on the cross. Two of them, in particular,
resonated with me.
First, was the cry of abandonment when He cried, “My God, My
God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) As Jesus bore the sin of a sinful
humanity, the Father turned His back on His Son and the world was shrouded in
darkness. Jesus faced that abandonment so that I would never have to face
it. Psalm 27:10 states, “For my father
and mother have forsaken me but the Lord will take me in” (ESV). I lived most of my life with the fear that my
parents would die, and it eventually happened. I was overwhelmed with loneliness and despair.
I have written of those days in another blogpost. The word “forsake” in Psalm 27:10 can mean “to
go on before” or it can mean the outright leaving of another person (Logos
Bible Software). The result is the same – a person is left alone, and that was
the sense that I had. As He hung on the cross, Jesus was praying the
words of Psalm 22:1. A careful
comparison of the word forsake in Psalm 22:1 and 27:10 demonstrates that it is
a derivative of the same word. There on the cross, Jesus faced abandonment by
the Father so that I could claim His presence in the darkest hours of my
loneliness, pain, and uncertainty.
Second, I noted the cry of hope when in the concluding
moments of His life, Jesus prayed, “Father, into Your hands I commit my Spirit”
(Luke 23:46). In the Transformation Study
Bible, Wiersbe comments that tradition holds that this was a prayer uttered
by Jewish children at bedtime. It would
somewhat analogous to our “Now I lay me down to sleep…” I never liked the
singsongy prayer, but it holds a word, of truth for the child of God. He can be
trusted to take those who trust Him safely home to Heaven. In the closing
moments of His life, Jesus reflected a hope and confidence in the Father as
that prayer became a sigh even a cry of victory.
With Sunday morning, would come the resurrection of Christ –
God’s “Amen” to the work and prayers of Christ on the cross. His resurrection gives me hope, companionship,
and assurance no matter what I face and I lift my voice in the cry of victory ….”
He is risen…He is risen indeed.”
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