Has God Abandoned Us?
Sermon Notes
Has God Abandoned Us?
Today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Psalms, and it’s a series about giving us melodies of encouragement for everyday life. It’s our last week in this series, because next week we’re starting a new 4 wk series we’re calling Sustaining Faith, which is about having a faith that doesn’t fade. Sometimes when we do things in life we start out strong, but we don’t always finish strong. Sometimes we start out strong with our diets, with our exercises, with our life goals, but we don’t always finish strong. Our Sustaining Faith series is about finishing strong, especially when it comes to our faith. It’s about having a faith that doesn’t fade.
Now we’ll still revisit Psalms over the next few years, but today’s our last week in this series, and the Psalm we’re studying today is about feeling abandoned by God. It’s about how sometimes in life, we can feel abandoned by God...When we’re praying for something, but God doesn’t give us what we prayed for, we can feel abandoned...When we’re praying for something, but God gives somebody else the exact thing we’ve been praying for, we can feel abandoned... When we’re facing hardships, getting a PHD in the School of Hard Knocks, but we see others enjoying a much easier prosperous life, we can feel abandoned...When we’re seeing our lives, our families, our country, our world falling apart, we can feel abandoned...Today’s psalm is all about feeling abandoned by God. It’s about how sometimes in life, we feel abandoned by God. It’s a psalm that answers the question, has God abandoned us? Let’s turn to Psalm 22 and get into it. You’ll find Psalms in the middle of the bible, and we’ll be in Psalm 22:1-31. Title of the message is Has God Abandoned Us? The big idea is Jesus was abandoned on the cross, so we wouldn’t be abandoned by God...Jesus was abandoned on the cross, so we wouldn’t be abandoned by God...
Here’s your context. The book of Psalms is an Old Testament biblical hymnbook that contains various songs and prayers that can encourage us. They’re written by Old Testament historical leaders who are expressing real, raw honest emotions we can all relate with. Psalm 22 is a lament psalm written by King David, and as we study this Psalm, we’ll see him doing three things. We’ll see him praying in vs 1-21a, we’ll see him praising in vs 21b-26, and we’ll see him proclaiming in vs 27-31. We’ll see him praying, praising, and proclaiming. So let’s check it out.
Psalm 22:1 states, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” That’s a lament prayer...David’s praying a lament prayer where he’s crying out to God for help, during a time when he’s feeling abandoned by God, he’s feeling forsaken by God...He’s expressing what we sometimes feel when we’re praying for relief from our hardships, but that relief doesn’t come. When this happens we can feel abandoned, we can feel forsaken by God like David...But what makes this psalm so interesting, is that Jesus cried out these exact words when he was dying on the cross. Matthew 27:46 states,“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’” What Jesus is saying when he says this, is he’s the Messiah, the promised Savior dying for our sins on the cross, just like David describes in Psalm 22. See back then they didn’t have any chapters and verses in the bible like we have in ours today. So the way they referenced specific sections in scripture, is they quoted the first few words like Jesus is doing here with Psalm 22:1. But the reason he’s quoting this is because he’s telling the Jews, his followers, everybody who’s watching him die on the cross, to look at Psalm 22 so they’ll see that what’s happened to him on the cross is a fulfillment of Psalm 22. He wants all of us to look at Psalm 22, so we’ll see what’s happened to him is a fulfillment of Psalm 22.
In fact Jewish rabbis have often taught that Psalm 22 refers to a hardship David’s facing, but that it also refers to the future promised Messiah. There are many great Christian theologians who agree with these Jewish rabbis. They agree that Psalm 22 is referring to both the hardship of David and the future promised Messiah, but they also believe Jesus is that Messiah. They believe he’s the fulfillment of Psalm 22, which is why he tells us to look at Psalm 22 while he’s dying on the cross. St. Augustine said, “What follows, is spoken in the person of the crucified...” Martin Luther said, “This Psalm is a kind of gem, that contains prophecies concerning Christ and his Kingdom.” Charles Spurgeon said, “This is beyond all others, the psalm of the cross...It’s a photograph of our Lord’s saddest hours, the record of his dying words...the memorial of his expiring joys. David and his afflictions may be here in a very modified sense...But before us we have a description of the darkness and the glory of the cross, the sufferings of Christ and the glory which shall follow.” What they’re all saying is Psalm 22 expresses hardship David's facing in his own life, but his words are also a prophetic description of the Messiah, of the future suffering of Jesus on the cross. I’ll point out some of these prophetic descriptions as we continue reading.
Again vs. 1, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning? 2 My God I cry by day, but you don’t answer. By night, yet I have no rest. 3 But you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 Our ancestors trusted in you; they trusted, and you rescued them. 5 They cried to you, and were set free; they trusted in you, and were not disgraced.” David’s reminding himself of the many times in history when Israel trusted in the Lord, and the Lord rescued them. He’s reminding himself that just like they trusted in the Lord’s faithfulness back then, he needs to trust in the Lord’s faithfulness now.
Vs. 6, “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by people. 7 Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads saying, 8 ‘He relies on the Lord; let him save him; let the Lord rescue him, since he takes pleasure in him.’” This is one of those places in Psalm 22 where we see the exact same thing happening to Jesus. While Jesus was hanging on the cross people were mocking him with these same exact words. Matthew 27:41-43 states, “The chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Jesus saying, 42 ‘Let him come down from the cross...43 He trusts in God; let God rescue him, if God takes pleasure in him!.” The type of mocking David describes here in Psalm 22, is what happens to Jesus in Matthew 27.
Vs. 11, “Don’t be far from me, because distress is near and there’s no one to help. 12 Many bulls surround me; strong ones of Bashan encircle me. 13 They open their mouths against me like lions, mauling and roaring.” David prays don’t be far from me, because his enemies are now surrounding him, and they’re vicious like lions. He knows they’ll maul him to death like a lion mauls its prey, so he’s praying for the Lord’s help. But pay attention to what he says next, because vs 14-18 has some very clear prophetic descriptions, of the future crucifixion of Jesus.
Vs. 14, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me.”This is a description of somebody being tortured and executed by their enemies. It’s a description of somebody dying, and the details align with somebody dying by crucifixion. The brutal physical trauma of crucifixion caused so much weakness on a person’s body, that their body became limp, fluid, poured out like water. Their body became so weak, their muscles became so fatigued, that eventually their bones are disjointed, meaning their joints became dislocated because they aren’t strong enough to handle the weight of their body while it’s hanging on the cross. As they’re hanging on the cross in agony their heart’s melting like wax, meaning their heart is fading, they’re heartbeat is slowing, and they’re getting closer to death.
Vs. 15, “My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death.” The person being executed is dehydrated. They’re so dehydrated, that their tongue sticks to the roof of their mouth. When people were crucified they’d lose excessive amounts of body fluids from the torture creating extreme dehydration. In fact they became so dehydrated, that their kidneys stopped producing urine to conserve every ounce of fluid that’s left in their body. This is one of the reasons Jesus says in John 19:28, “I’m thirsty.” It's because he’s extremely dehydrated from the crucifixion, just like David describes here.
Vs. 16, “For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.” The person being executed is suffering from being pierced, in their hands and feet. When people were crucified they were either tied to the cross, or they had 5-6 inch nails driven through their hands and feet, through their wrists and tarsal bones of their feet. The Romans knew what they were doing because if they nailed it through the center of their hands and feet, the weight of their body would cause the nails to rip through their hands and feet. So instead they drove the nails through their wrists and tarsal bones of their feet to support the weight of their body hanging on the cross, which eventually leads to their bones being dislocated like we talked about earlier. When Jesus was crucified the Romans didn’t tie him to the cross, they nailed him to the cross. They pierced his hands and feet, just like David describes here.
Vs. 17, “I can count all my bones; people look and stare at me. 18 They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.” The person being executed is stripped naked, and their enemies have cast lots for their clothing. When people were crucified they were stripped naked so they’d hang in public shame for everyone to see. The Romans would then cast lots, they’d gamble for the person’s clothing, and we once again know this exact thing happened to Jesus. When Jesus was crucified the Romans stripped him naked, and they cast lots for his clothing, just like David describes here...So what David’s describing in vs 14-18 is what happens to somebody when they’re dying from crucifixion, and if you read the historical records of the crucifixion of Jesus, you’ll see all these little details of vs 14-18 happened to Jesus. These details aren’t describing what’s happening to David, they’re describing what will happen in the future to Jesus. I’ll give you two reasons why these things can’t be describing what’s happening to David. The 1st reason is because what David’s describing is a public execution, and we don’t have any records in history of David ever being publicly executed. We know more about David’s life than most people in ancient history, and we have several records of people trying to take his life. But we don’t have any records of him ever being publicly tortured and executed like this.
The 2nd reason these verses can’t be describing what’s happening to David, is because the crucifixion method of execution hasn’t even been invented yet! David writes this psalm around 1,000 BC, but crucifixion isn’t invented until around 400-500 BC. Historians say it was invented by the Persians, and it’s how Xerxes killed Leonidas after his battle with the 300 Spartans. But around 200-300 BC the Romans made adjustments to the Persian method to make it more painful and last longer. The details David gives in Psalm 22 describes the Roman method of crucifixion, which isn’t invented until 700 yrs after David writes these things. But if we read the gospels, if we read the historical records of Jesus, we’ll find is the things David’s writing fit the description of the public execution of Jesus by Roman crucifixion. So this psalm is describing some of the hardships David’s facing, but it’s also describing some of the hardships Jesus will face several hundred years later. Some of it’s pointing to Jesus being the messianic fulfillment of Psalm 22.
Vs. 19, “But you Lord, don’t be far away. My strength, come quickly to help. 20 Rescue my life from the sword, my only life from the power of these dogs. 21 Save me from the lion’s mouth, from the horns of wild oxen. You answered me!”Notice the sudden shift from praying to praising. It’s a shift from praying to the Lord “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me,” to praising the Lord saying “You have answered me!” Vs 24 gives a little more details.
Vs. 24, “For he hasn’t despised or abhorred the torment of the oppressed. He didn’t hide his face, but listened when he cried to him for help. 25 I will give praise in the great assembly...” David’s praising the Lord, because the Lord didn’t hide his face from him. While he was in the middle of hardship it felt like the Lord abandoned him, but the Lord didn’t abandon him or hide his face from him. When we’re in the middle of hardships it feels like the Lord’s abandoned us, but the Lord doesn’t abandon us or hide his face from us. How do we know? It’s because Jesus allowed himself to be abandoned on the cross, so we wouldn’t be abandoned by God. He allowed himself to feel the pains of God the Father temporarily hiding his face from him, so we wouldn’t have to feel the pains of God the Father eternally hiding his face from us. So even though we’ll sometimes feel abandoned in life, we’re never really abandoned if we trust Jesus with our life.
Vs. 27, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will bow down before you, 28 for kingship belongs to the Lord; he rules the nations. 29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down; all those who go down to the dust will kneel before him—even the one who cannot preserve his life. 30 Their descendants will serve him; the next generation will be told about the Lord. 31 They will come and declare his righteousness; to a people yet to be born they will declare what he has done.” David says people from all nations will be praising and proclaiming. They’ll declare what he has done, what the Lord has done, for generations. It’s another text pointing to Jesus, because historically we know it isn’t David’s deliverance that leads millions from other nations and generations to the Lord. It’s the execution and resurrection of Jesus that leads millions from other nations and generations to Lord. Psalm 22 is a lament psalm about David, with prophetic implications about Jesus. So what we’re learning is...
1st you can pray “My God, My God.” Psalm 22 teaches when you’re feeling abandoned by God, you can pray like David and Jesus saying, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why have you forsaken me?” In fact praying that when you’re facing hardship is an act of faith that pleases God, because it shows you’re still turning to him despite your hardship. A lot of people stop turning to God when they’re facing hardships, but real genuine faith is still willing to turn to God saying “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why have you forsaken me?” Those words are an expression of faith, not an expression of doubt. They’re an expression of somebody who still trusts God, even though they’re feeling abandoned by God. They’re an expression of somebody who still trusts God, which is why they’re still praying to God.
2nd you’re never abandoned by God. Psalm 22 teaches you’re never really abandoned by God, if you trust in God. We learn this from both the lives of David and Jesus. With David we learn he starts with praying my God, my God, but he ends with praising God when he realizes God was with him the entire time. He couldn’t see it when he was in the moment of his hardship, but God was working out a greater plan for his life instead of abandoning his life. But with Jesus we’re given even greater assurance that we’re never abandoned by God. It’s because Jesus was abandoned on the cross, so we’ll never be eternally abandoned in life. So when it feels like God is silent, you need to remember it doesn’t mean he’s absent. When it feels like God’s abandoned you, you need to remember he hasn’t abandoned you, because Jesus died on the cross for you.
3rd you can trust Jesus as your messianic savior. Psalm 22 teaches you can put your trust in Jesus as your messianic savior, who died on the cross for your sins. He did this so you can enjoy eternal life with God, instead of eternal abandonment from God. He did this so you can proclaim what he’s done on the cross with others, so they can enjoy eternal life instead of eternal abandonment too. He did this so you and your friends can be a part of the millions of people who are worshiping Jesus from other nations and generations, just like David described.
The big idea of the message is Jesus was abandoned on the cross, so we wouldn’t be abandoned by God...I know life is hard, it sometimes feels heavy, it sometimes feels like we’re the ones being tortured and executed...I know it sometimes feels like our mind, our body, our spirit is fading, it’s draining, it’s being poured out like water from all the hardships...I know it sometimes feels like we’ve been abandoned by God, but the cross proves we’re never abandoned by God. The cross proves we’ll never be abandoned by God in life, if we trust Jesus with our life.
If there was ever a time when Jesus would’ve abandoned you, it would’ve been during his brutal torture and execution on the cross. I mean while he was suffering on the cross he could’ve easily said “Forget this! The torture’s way too much, and you aren’t worth it!...” But instead of saying forget you he said I love you, and then he died for you! Instead of abandoning you on the cross, he died for you on the cross! So if he wasn’t willing to abandon you on the cross, then why would he all of a sudden abandon you in your life?...If he wasn’t willing to abandon you during the painful execution of his death, then why would he abandon you in the resurrection of your struggling life?...He didn’t abandon you then, and he won’t abandon you now...He didn’t abandon you on the cross, and he won’t abandon you in life...Let’s pray...