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Jesus’ Interactions with God the Father – Explicit

Matthew only references two specific moments where Jesus explicitly speaks with His Father – His prayer in Gethsemane and His cry at the cross. This in itself is striking; we might expect that God the Father and Jesus would regularly commune throughout the Gospel.

Matthew 27:46 - At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’

It is in His cry at the cross that we truly see the humanity of Christ. Just as so many of us have experienced, Christ at His weakest point felt abandoned by God the Father. If the Son of God felt rejected and neglected by God the Father, then we can certainly expect to feel the same thing!

Matthew 10:24 - A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. (NKJV)

We are allowed to and should express our feelings before God. The Old Testament is littered with expressions of lament, worry, and disappointment.

Psalm 22:1 - My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?

Psalm 13:2 - How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Psalm 10:1 - O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?

Job 3:11 - Why wasn’t I born dead? Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

Jeremiah 15:18 - Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry.

Such expressions describing the anguish we feel are not questions of faith but, rather, questions of humanity.

Sometimes we share these feelings of humanity with other people instead of with God, which can lead to more problems than it solves. Sharing these feelings with the wrong person can lead to our being misunderstood, which in turn can cause us to question our faith and commitment to God. This is simply because we get the wrong reaction from the person with whom we have shared our deepest and innermost thoughts.

People can be (often unintentionally) dismissive of our pain and feelings, which can cause us to give up on God’s promises and, in extreme cases, abandon our faith altogether. I have frequently heard of Christians who have given up their faith because their response to a challenge was not what they had been told it ought to be.

I am not saying that we should not seek counsel or help when needed; Jesus Himself confided in the disciples before He went to the cross.

Matthew 26:37–39 - He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’ He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.’

But there is a season and time when we ought to cast our cares and burdens on him.

Psalm 55:22 - Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

In doing this, rather than turning to people alone, our burdens are made light.

Matthew 11:28–30 - Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’

It is worth noting that in both instances, in Gethsemane and at the cross, Jesus did not get a direct response from the Father. This is generally the same for us. Often, we pray, call on God and get no response. The silence can be deafening. However, in these moments we ought to remember, like Jesus, that the very circumstances we find ourselves in, could quite possibly be the very answer we are looking for.

Questions: Am I open and honest with God about my feelings? Do I shy away from my disappointments or am I willing to share them with God? Am I willing to accept the possibility that my current circumstances might be the answer to my prayers?