The "Abandoned" Savior

Reading through the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, I am struck once again by some of the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross. Two in particular seem
hard to reconcile with each other.

Near death, Jesus says "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" in Matthew 27:46. This is a quotation of the beginning of Psalm 22. Some take this to mean that when the weight and awfulness of all people's sins were laid on Jesus, the Father truly did turn away from the Son "to avoid looking on sin." But if the Father really separated from the Son, even for the smallest instant, the true unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit would be destroyed and the universe (you and me, too) would have ceased to exist. Given the unity of God, that's not a good explanation.

On another level, we see Jesus taking on even our most awful feelings of abandonment. Sometimes I feel like God hasn't answered my prayers, or doesn't really care about me, and probably you have too. But I don't think we can possibly understand how awful the Son of God, the man Jesus Christ, felt at that moment. He had been rejected by his own nation, even his own siblings, and abandoned by most of his closest friends. Now, as he was near death, and the Father had not reduced his agony or saved his physical life, perhaps Jesus the man really felt that he was being abandoned. Jesus identified with all our pain and sorrow (that idea is explained well in Isaiah 53) and in the end, defeated all of it along with all sin. Why do I say "defeated"? Because the feeling of abandonment didn't defeat him -- and it doesn't have to defeat us either.

Please let me explain. After quoting Psalm 22, Jesus said his last words: "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!" (Luke 23:46). After feeling all that abandonment by so many who should have supported him, Jesus still chose to trust the Father to bring him through this trial. By trusting, he became our victory, and our example. Jesus completely defeated our feelings that God doesn't care -- just like he defeated every other sin in his human existence (Heb. 4:14-16, Rom. 8:2-4). And he did it for us, just like he lived and died and was resurrected for  us. 

Remember, Psalm 22 ends in victory and praise. So when you and I get to feeling God doesn't care anymore, and nothing is ever going to work out (like Eeyore, if you know the character), we can remember that Jesus, who is still with us (Matt. 28:20), knows exactly how it feels, and gives us his victory freely. Let's accept that victory from him as his loving gift today, and praise the Father for it!