Forsaken for Our Forgiveness

Pastor Roth

Leon Bonnat, 1833-1922

Introit for Palm Sunday, Psalm 22:19, 21, 1, 7-8, 11

But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

Tract for Palm Sunday, Psalm 73:23b–24, 1; Psalm 22:1, 4–5

O LORD, you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

This coming Lord’s Day is Palm Sunday, the first day in Holy Week. Liturgically, this Sunday is a bit ambiguous. The Gospel reading is Matthew 21:1-9, the so-called “Triumphal Entry” (He doesn’t actually enter Jerusalem until verse 10!), which provides the “Palm Sunday” theme (although we only know the branches were from a palm tree from John 12:13!). But another tradition calls this “The Sunday of the Passion” and focuses on the narrative of Jesus’ suffering and death read from Matthew, Mark, or Luke.

There is merit in focusing on the Passion for this Sunday, since churchgoing Christians might go a whole Church Year without hearing a Passion reading if they happen to miss Good Friday (not to mention that the Tenebrae Service has selected readings, not the full Passion account). However, the Introit and Tract appointed for Palm Sunday also get us to the heart of the Passion by quoting Psalm 22:1, which Jesus cried out to His Father from the cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34).

Although the original Greek text of the New Testament was in all-caps, so any capitalization we do in translation is an editorial decision, the capitalized pronouns here reveal the deep mystery of the Passion: that the Father forsook His Son for our forgiveness. That is the answer to the question. “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5).

Of course, the cry of lament from Jesus was not merely a theological question to be answered but a real expression of the agony He was feeling, as He suffered under God’s wrath against the sin of the world. This is characteristic of the “lament Psalms,” such as Psalm 10: “Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (v. 1). We may ask “why?” to the LORD, but only in prayer, and the lament Psalms teach us how to do that. The reason Psalm 22:1 is not a cry of despair (that is, loss of hope in God) is that Jesus continued to cry out to His “God,” His Father, and He knew that even though He was forsaken for our forgiveness, He would be vindicated on Easter in His Resurrection.

Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, we also can be confident that God will forgive us our transgressions and never forsake us. St. Paul uses the same verb translated as “forsaken” in Psalm 22, Matthew 27, and Mark 15 to give Christians comfort, as does the Epistle to the Hebrews:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (2 Cor 4:7-10)

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb 13:5-6)

Since Christ was forsaken for our forgiveness, life, and salvation, we need never fear that God will leave us or forsake us, even in the midst of the bitterest of sufferings and sorrows!

Prayer: Lord God, our heavenly Father, we thank You especially for the Gospel and the Holy Sacraments and for Your continued presence with Your people. Forgive us where we have been slow to receive Your Word and unwilling to obey it. We rejoice in Your goodness and in the promise that You will never leave us or forsake us. Bless Your Church throughout the world so that she may give faithful witness to the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ both in word and deed. Preserve and protect Your people at all times, and bring them at last to the heavenly home which You have prepared for all who serve You in faith and love; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer requests: Lynn Cottle, hospitalized; Alma Gause and Bessie Mahaffey, under hospice care. Leaders in our city, county, state, and country, as they help us respond to the COVID-19 pandemic: Chris Cannon, Paul Pape, Greg Abbott, and Donald Trump.