Today’s reading is Psalm 22

Today’s Psalm one that plays a great deal of importance in Matthew.  Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why have forsaken me?”  We read that and we think goodness.  The Father abandoned the Son.  Man, the darkness of that moment.  Now, in reality, that was a dark moment, for, at that moment on the cross, Jesus bore the weight of all our sins.  That was a heavy, heavy burden.  Too much to even imagine.

But that is not all that is happening. For the Jewish people, the Psalms were their hymnal.  Think of it this way.  If I say to you, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,” you are most likely in your mind going to think “that saved a wretch like me.”  Our minds continue with the lyrics of this hymn because we’ve heard and sung it so many times.  The same would be true for the Jewish people. So, when Jesus said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” they heard it for what it was, as a direct quote from Psalm 22. And read the rest of the Psalm. What is it?  A Psalm of victory.  This is a Psalm that starts off darkly but ends in victory.

That’s what the cross was.  It started off darkly but was, in fact, our victory.  Jesus quoting this Psalm was actually pronouncing victory.  This is a Psalm of triumph.

In this Psalm and in the cross we are reminded that no matter how dark the moment, God will be victorious. Trust. God is good.  His mercy endures forever.  Trust in Him and in His victory always.

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