The Cross and the Cry of Forsakenness (Matthew 27:46)
By Dr. Brandon Steenbock
One night, when I was a young man, I spent the night at a friend’s house. Other friends came to join us. Bad decisions, angry words, slammed doors; one by one, people left – even the friend whose house it was. I was suddenly alone, in a strange house, miles away from home, with no car.
What could I do? I packed my things in a backpack and a little before midnight I started walking. It would be six or seven hours before I could make it home. Six or seven hours walking silent streets. Six or seven hours walking in quiet darkness. Six or seven hours totally alone.
Do you know what that feels like? Do you think Jesus knows what it feels like? Do you remember how on the cross he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). All of Jesus’ friends had abandoned him. All the crowds who had worshiped him turned against him. Even the sun stopped shining on him. But the worst part was when his Father turned his face away from him. And Jesus hung on that cross for hours, completely and totally alone.
He had to. It was the only way he could save us. And so, Jesus walked into that darkness all alone. For you.
When we’re crying out because we’ve been abandoned, rejected, left completely alone, our cries echo Jesus’ cries. We have solidarity with Christ in those moments, and he with us. Jesus knows what it feels like to be alone.
But Jesus’ loneliness was not the end. Your loneliness is not the end either. When I was walking alone in that dark night, eventually the sun rose, and I made it home. The same sun that rose on the empty tomb the morning Jesus rose from death. Because God’s love breaks through all darkness, even the darkness of death.
The darkness of your loneliness will not last forever.
Prayer: Jesus, you know what it feels like to be abandoned and alone. When I feel alone, remind me that you were forsaken for me, and teach me to trust that the light will come.
Thank you for reading our special devotional series for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The rest of this devotional series can be found here.