Long before Jesus walked the earth, before Rome ruled over Jerusalem, before crucifixion was even a thing, there was David. Not just a shepherd, not just a king, but a man who experienced betrayal, fear, and moments when God felt silent. And in one of those moments, David wrote a psalm expressing how he felt. In our Bibles, it’s Psalm 22. Here’s the first verse of that psalm:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” —Psalm 22:1
Psalm 22 is one of the most raw and honest passages in Scripture. David felt abandoned—left alone while he was suffering. We don’t know exactly when he wrote it, but we know throughout his life David had plenty of reasons to cry out. He had been hunted by enemies, betrayed by his own son, and publicly humiliated. He had buried a newborn child. He’d experienced moments where God seemed far away. And so he wrote the words that would later become hauntingly familiar: “Why have you forsaken me?”
Fast forward nearly 1,000 years. Jesus is hanging on a cross on a hill called Golgotha just outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The sky has gone dark. And with one of his final breaths, he repeats the opening line of that Psalm:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” —Matthew 27:46
To those nearby, it may have sounded like confusion or even despair. But Jesus wasn’t confused. He was quoting David. And in doing so, he was doing what rabbis in the first century often did: he referenced the first line of a well-known passage to call to mind the entire passage.
In other words, Jesus wasn’t just expressing pain. He was pointing to a psalm that described exactly what was happening. Psalm 22 contains phrases like:
- “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.” (Psalm 22:7)
- “They pierce my hands and my feet.” (Psalm 22:16)
- “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” (Psalm 22:18)
All those phrases paint a picture of what happened to Jesus while on the cross. Jesus wasn’t losing faith—he was fulfilling prophecy. To those who could hear Jesus talking, they misunderstood what he was saying. He wasn’t in utter despair and losing all hope. Even though he was in agony, he was connecting the dots from what was prophesied to what was happening to him. He was saying, This is what David wrote about. This is what was always coming. This is the plan being carried out right in front of you.
And just like the psalm, the story didn’t end in darkness.
The final words of Psalm 22 declare that “future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn.” The psalm ends with the words, “He has done it,” a Hebrew phrase also translated as “It is finished”—some of Jesus’s final words before he died.
Even in his pain, Jesus was pointing to hope. He was showing that this may seem like a defeat, but it was actually a victory. God has done it.
Maybe parts of your life feel like the beginning of Psalm 22. Maybe God feels silent, and life feels heavy. Maybe you’ve wondered where God is or if he’s still listening. Jesus has also been there. And when he felt forsaken, he still trusted the story wasn’t over.
Jesus quoted Psalm 22 to show that suffering wasn’t the end. The darkness wasn’t final. The silence wouldn’t last. In two days, Jesus would arise, triumphing over death. The cross wasn’t a failure. It was a fulfillment. So when you face your own moments of silence, remember: Jesus walked through it first. And he walked out the other side victorious. That’s what Easter is all about.
Heavenly Father,
It’s easy to believe you’re with us when life is good. But help us believe it just as much when life is hard. Thank you for never leaving us. Thank you for showing us—especially on Easter—that even when all seems lost, you are the one who is victorious.
