Have you ever felt utterly alone? You felt like you have been rejected even by God? 
When I first came to Washington State as a young man in 1999, I cried for days. I left my home in Virginia – my parents, friends, church – and replanted myself in WA. But I have never felt abandoned by God. After all, I was following God’s will to be in Washington state. And I was quickly surrounded by a new church family, and eventually a family of my own… 
But when Jesus hung on the cross and uttered, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”, He was uttering the truth. He was abandoned even by God. He didn’t only FEEL abandoned. He WAS abandoned. 
And this from a God who promised the rebellious Israelites, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” It’s the same God who promised you and me – so sinful and finicky – “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” God will not abandon us for all our sins and slowness, but He abandoned His only begotten Son… 
Why? For you and me. Jesus was abandoned, so that you and I may be accepted. He took the forsaking that we deserved, so that we might be received. 
“But I am a worm and not a man,scorned by mankind and despised by the people.Who who see me mock me;they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”Psalm 22:6-8
The above psalm is uttered by David. However, they were the thoughts of Jesus on the cross. If you want insight into the mind of Jesus, read the psalms. They are not written to teach us how to live, but to teach us about Jesus. 
On this Good Friday, would you remember that it was a horrible Friday for God and His Son? He abandoned His Son to save you and me from our sins and selfishness.
PH