God In The Dark

“From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, ‘This man is calling Elijah.’ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’”

Jesus is God; He has always been God. He is the unique God-man. Throughout the Gospels He presents Himself as either the “Son of Man” [2] or as the “Son of God.” [3] Various cults and sects have attempted to cast shade on this revelation of the Word. “If Jesus was God,” they sneer, “where was God when Jesus hung on the cross?” Human reason doesn’t permit a casual answer to the question of how God can die? Perhaps the greater mystery is why God would choose to give His life for fallen mankind.

Cultists, and other scoffers, imagine that their questions are unanswerable; they imagine that orthodox Christians have mythologized the Gospel. Because they can’t wrap their heads around what is presented in the Word of God doesn’t invalidate what is written. Not everything that is presented as truth can be understood by human reason.

When we explore what is written, we who follow the Christ will be encouraged. Again, let me assert, Jesus is God. Jesus was always God. There will never be a time when Jesus is not God. What a comfort for the individual who has chosen to follow the Christ to read, “[Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” [HEBREWS 7:25]. Jesus will always be God, ever living and all powerful. It is this Jesus who now saves. Amen.

“MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” Pinioned to the cross on which He would surrender His life, God’s Son cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” I contend that Jesus is God; and yet, here He calls out to His God, questioning why He was forsaken. Confused? Some people are. They don’t like the idea that anyone would dare believe that God would give His life as a sacrifice for fallen mankind. In fact, they are sufficiently angered by what is presented in Scripture that they rail against the very thought that Jesus is God. But what does Scripture have to say about this matter? How could God give His life as a sacrifice for His fallen creature?

For the one who follows the Christ, Scripture must serve as our ultimate authority. Undoubtedly, some will argue the point; however, I assure you that I am well aware that the Spirit of God lives within the believer. I know that He indeed teaches us all things. Liberal churchmen will say that they must allow the Spirit of God to interpret Christ. There is an element of truth in this, but the statement masks something quite sinister.

I, too, have read the Words of the Master as He prepared those who followed Him for His exodus. Jesus taught those who would follow Him, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.