Forsaken
We have spent the last three weeks considering the sayings of Christ upon the cross. Up until this point we have witnessed the awesome grace and mercy of our Lord as He prayed for forgiveness - as He promised salvation - and as He made provision for His mother.
Today we will look at what I consider to be the most difficult of the seven sayings. Please follow along with me as I read:
When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" which is translated, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, "Behold, He is calling for Elijah." Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down." Mark 15:33-36 (NASB)
Have you ever felt forsaken?
In a hospital room in a major city a little girl lies quietly. She has a strange form of cancer. The strain is so rare that it has her doctors are baffled. No one knows how a girl so young could become so sick - so quickly. Although they do not say it, the doctors doubt she will ever see her tenth birthday. The little girl’s mother tries to be brave, but it isn’t easy. In her heart she wonders, “Why has God forsaken us?”
In another city a mother stirs when the alarm clock rings - it's 5:30 A.M. Another day is beginning. She slips out of the sheets and tiptoes to the bathroom. Quickly she showers, dresses and gets breakfast ready. Mean while three children sleep quietly in the next room. Before 7:00 A.M., all four of them will be on their way — the children to a day-care center - the mother to her job. At the end of the day she picks her children up. They go home - have supper - then it's bath time followed by bed time. With the children safely asleep, the mother relaxes in front of the TV. After a few minutes, she goes to bed. 5:30 in the morning comes all too soon. She sleeps alone. Her husband left her 2 1/2 years ago. Alone with her thoughts she considers her life and asks, “Why has God forsaken me?”
Not many miles away a middle-aged man sits with his head in his hands. Today had started like any other day. Get up, go to work, do your job. Then at 2:45 in the afternoon, his boss called him into his office. “Charlie, I’ve got bad news.” Just like that it was all over. After 16 years, 4 months and 3 days - it was over. Over with nothing left to show for it except a pink slip. How will he explain it to his family? Here he is with a mortgage - two kids who want to go to college, and no job. In anger — Yes anger — he cries out to God, “Why have you forsaken me?”
Have you ever felt forsaken?
It was Friday morning in Jerusalem. It seemed like just another day - but not this day. Death was in the air. The word had spread to every corner of the city. The Romans planed to crucify somebody today. A crowd gathers. They head to Golgotha - also known as Skull Hill. The Romans like that place because the hill is beside a main road. That way lots of people can watch the crucifixion. On this day a man named Jesus is to be crucified along with two criminals. Word spreads like wildfire.
At first the crowd is rowdy and loud. They cheer - they laugh - they shout - they place wagers on how long the three men being crucified will last. It appears that the man in the middle will not last long. He has already been severely beaten. He is an awful sight to behold.
But then it happened. Darkness fell upon all the land. It happened so suddenly that no one expected it. One moment the sun was out - the next moment it had disappeared. It was not an eclipse. It was not a dark cloud. It was darkness itself - thick, inky-black darkness that fell like a shroud over the land. It was darkness without any hint of light to come. It was chilling blackness that curdled the blood and froze the skin.
No one moved. No one spoke. Not a sound broke the dark silence. Something eerie was going on. It was as if some evil force had taken over the land. It lasted for three long hours. It is clear the end is near. Jesus is at the point of death.
Suddenly he screams. Only four words, but they shot out of His mouth, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Of these words of Jesus spoken from the cross - this is the hardest to understand. No statement of Jesus is more mysterious than this one. The problem is not with the words. For the most part - the words are simple.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
But what do they mean?
The story is told that Martin Luther was studying this text one day. For hours he sat and stared at the text. He said nothing, he wrote nothing, but silently pondered these words of Jesus. Suddenly he stood up and exclaimed, “God forsaken by God. How can it be?” Indeed, how can it be? How can God be forsaken by God? How can God the Father forsake God the Son?
Let me say frankly that it is far beyond my ability to fully explain what Jesus is saying. Yes I know the words - but how do you explain the mysteries found in them? I did study this week I looked up what others have said about this passage and here is what I have found. Some suggest:
1. This is a cry of DISILLUSIONMENT
Skeptics read this as proof that Jesus ultimately failed in his mission. To them these words mean something like “God, you have forsaken me and all is lost. I came to be the Messiah but my mission is a failure.” To those who hold such a view - I say, "Read the whole story! Keep reading till you discover what happens to the “failed” Messiah. He does not stay dead long."
Whatever else these words might mean - they do not mean that Jesus' mission was a failure.
2. This is a cry of PHYSICAL SUFFERING
Without a doubt the pain was enormous. By the time he uttered these words - he had hung on the cross for six hours. But the cry that He cries is not about the physical pain of the cross but about the pain of being forsaken. To be forsaken by God would hurt worse than the pain of the crucifixion.
3. This is a cry of FULFILLED PROPHECY
Are you aware that the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is actually a quotation from Psalm 22:1?
Are you aware that the psalm speaks of a crucifixion when it says,
They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots. Psalms 22:16b-18 (NASB)
To me this is a fulfillment of the prophecy of David. Did David suffer at the hands of his enemies? Yes, but nothing like the suffering he describes in this psalm. Long before Jesus was born - long before crucifixions took place - he prophesied how Jesus would die. In Jesus quoting the first verse He is pointing to this passage as a fulfillment of His death. He knew the type of death He would die.
But I think here is the key way of quote:
4. It was a cry of REALITY
When Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” - at that moment God forsook Him.
In that black moment on the cross, God the Father turned his back on God the Son. Martin Luther had it right when he said, "God forsaking God."
The word “forsaken” is very strong. It means to abandon, to desert, to turn away from, to utterly forsake. Please understand. When Jesus said, “Why have you forsaken me?” it was not simply because he felt forsaken - He said it because He was forsaken. Literally, truly and actually God the Father abandoned His own Son.
We often use the words “God-forsaken” to refer to some deserted, barren location. We mean that such a place seems unfit for human habitation. But we do not literally mean “God-forsaken” even though we say it that way. But it was true of Jesus - God the Father forsook God the Son.
That brings us to the great question: "Why would God do such a thing?" Something must have happened when Jesus hung on the cross. Something did happen when Jesus hung on the cross. He took your sin - He took my sin - and He died for it. He became sin - that we might be forgiven. Look at what the Bible says in second Corinthians chapter five:
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)
Other translations say it this way:
Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God. (ERV - Easy to Read Version)
God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God's approval through him. (GW - God's Word)
God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. (MSG - Message)
Let’s go one step farther. God the Father turned away from God the Son - because the Father's eyes are too pure to look upon the sin of the world. God’s holiness demands that he turn away from sin. God will have no part of it. He turned away from sin - but in the process He turned away from His Son.
The other day I watched a video that had come out of Egypt. It was about ISIS. It was very graphic. In fact before I went to watch there were several warnings of its graphic nature. At one point I have to click a statement saying that I was over 18 years old. The video showed the beheading of a young Christian man. It is not something that you would ever see on the news in America. The truth is - I could not watch the whole thing. In fact I only saw a few seconds of it - before I had to turn it off. It was too graphic - it was too gory - it was too grotesque. I could not watch it.
When God looked down and saw the cross - He saw the sin of the world. It was too graphic - it was too gory - it was too grotesque. He could not stand to watch it - and Jesus cried:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Isaiah tells us:
All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
Isaiah 53:6 (NASB)
Imagine that somewhere in the universe there is a cesspool containing all the sins that have ever been committed. The cesspool is deep - it is dark - it is foul. All the evil deeds that have ever done are floating there. All the lust in the world is there. All the lies are there. All the murder - all the hatred is there. All the theft is there. All the adultery is there. All the pornography is there. All the drunkenness is there. All the bitterness - all the greed - all the gluttony is there. All the crime - all the cursing - very vile deed - every wicked thought - all of it is poured out on Jesus when he hung on the cross. All our sins were laid on Him. It was for that reason - and only for that reason - that God the Father forsook His beloved Son.
But look again at what Second Corinthians tells us:
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)
Do you see the two parts of this verse?
He became sin - in order that I can become saved.
This truth has two great implications:
1. I must never minimize the cost of my SIN
Sometimes we laugh at sin and say, “Oh it's not that bad. It's only a little white lie. But it was for my sin that Jesus died that day. It was because of my sin that the Father to turn away from the Son - and Jesus cried:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
2. I must never minimize the cost of my SALVATION
Is it possible that some Christians become tired of hearing about the cross? Is it possible that we would rather hear about happy things? But did you know that without the pain of the cross - there would be no happy ending? Without the cross there would be no forgiveness. Without the cross there would be no salvation. Without the cross we would be lost forever. Without the cross our sins would still be upon us.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)
— He was abandoned that you might never be abandoned.
— He was deserted that you might never be deserted.
— He was forsaken that you might never be forsaken.
