The Forsaken Christ Series

The Forsaken Christ

(Lights are turned off in the auditorium)

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.” (Genesis 1:1-5)

Exodus 10:21-23: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt--darkness that can be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”

Job 5:13-14: “He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.”

Psalm 105:28: “He sent darkness and made the land dark--for had they not rebelled against his words?”

Proverbs 4:19: “But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”

Isaiah 9:2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

Isaiah 60:2: “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”

Jeremiah 13:16: “Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom.”

Ezekiel 32:7-8: “When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars;

I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

Joel 2:1-2: “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness.”

Joel 3:15-16: “The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble…”

Amos 4:13: “He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth-the LORD God Almighty is his name.”

Amos 8:9: “In that day,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.’”

Matthew 4:16: “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

John 12:35-36: “Then Jesus told them, ‘You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.’”

Luke 22:52-53: “Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, ‘Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour-when darkness reigns.’”

Matthew 27:45-46: “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’- which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”

[Lights are turned back on]

As we approach the fourth shout from the Savior as He hung on the cross, I’m overcome with a sense of inadequacy to fully comprehend the weightiness of this lament. The story is told that when Martin Luther studied this text one day, he just sat and stared at the words for hours. He said nothing and wrote nothing as he silently pondered this anguished expression. Suddenly he stood up and exclaimed, “God forsaken by God. How can it be?”

Charles Spurgeon also struggled with this cry from the cross when he wrote: “Here you may look as into a vast abyss; and though you strain your eyes and gaze till sight fails you, yet you perceive no bottom; it is measureless, unfathomable, inconceivable. This anguish of the Savior on your behalf and mine is no more to be measured and weighed than the sin which needed it, or the love which endured it. We will adore where we cannot comprehend.” (Sermon #2133, www.spurgeon.org)