ESSENTIAL KING JESUS: FORSAKEN
MARK 15:33-39
#kingjesus
USE AUDIO BIBLE: Mark Chapter 15:1-47 [6:13]
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Mark.15
ESSENTIAL KING JESUS
We have been reading and meditating and listening our way through the Gospel of Mark for 15 weeks now. We are almost to the end of the Gospel of Mark. These 16 weeks through the Gospel of Mark, I’ve themed ‘Essential King Jesus.’ Next week we will do chapter 16 which is the final chapter in the Gospel of Mark.
Each week we are taking a look at one passage in a chapter. Each week I want to share with one essential truth that is important for us to believe and then also communicate to others about Jesus. We are focusing on the Essential King Jesus. I want to review the truth we have found so that we get these truths written on our hearts so we know what we believe and so we can share properly with others!
Mark 1: You cannot be part of the Kingdom of God without Jesus.
Mark 2: Jesus has all authority and all power to forgive sins.
Mark 3: Jesus came to do the will of God.
Mark 4: Jesus casts out fear.
Mark 5: Jesus breaks our chains.
Mark 6: Jesus can be rejected.
Mark 7: Jesus distastes hypocrisy.
Mark 8: Jesus is the Christ.
Mark 9: Jesus only.
Mark 10: Jesus wants child-like faith in the Kingdom of God.
Mark 11: Jesus overturns sin to holiness.
Mark 12: Jesus expects yielded fruit.
Mark 13: Jesus is in control.
Mark 14: Jesus is the blood of the covenant.
This week we are in Mark 15. Mark 15 shares with us so many truths about Jesus Christ as the passage recounts the death of Jesus. The Essential King Jesus for Mark 15: Jesus is the forsaken.
READ Mark 15:33-39 (ESV)
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to Him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing Him, saw that in this way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
QUESTIONS
When I read this passage from Mark 15, there are so many questions that come to mind:
What does the word “forsaken” mean?
How could God forsake Himself?
Why would God forsake Jesus on the cross at the time when He needed Him the most?!
What is happening to Jesus on the cross that this abandonment is happening?
Is God in the habit of forsaking people?
Didn’t Jesus already know why God was turning His back on Him?
What does the Forsaken One do for us?
THREAD: Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
“Forsake” is a very strong word in my opinion. It means to “abandon.” It means “to cast aside or to completely turn your back on something.” It is a word of complete separation.
ILLUSTRATION… STORY 1 (p)
The scene is the African savannah. The tall grasses sway in the wind. The sun is high in the sky. The sounds of elephants and all kinds of animals can be heard over the breeze. Two lions are sitting amidst the grass watching the herds go by. The herds are unaware that two Kings of the Jungle are ready to hunt and eat them.
One lion is named Leo. One lion is named Lionel.
A nice juicy zebra walks by the hiding place of the two lions. Lionel looks at Leo and says, “Are you ready to go get that one?” Leo pulls out a large carrot stick and begins to munch on it and says, “No.”
A few minutes go by and a limp gazelle with babies goes by the lions’ hiding place. “Ooo Ooo,” says Lionel with excitement, “Limp and with young ones! This has to be it!” By this time, Leo has a nice fruit salad in front of him. There were apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes all chopped nicely together for a healthy mix of food. Leo is about half-way done with the fruit salad. With cheeks full of fruit, Leo says ‘No’ in a very disinterested fashion.
Lionel doesn’t know what to think. They are lions. They are fierce. They are hunters. They are meat eaters extraordinaire. They are the Kings of the Jungle that instill fear into prey. Lionel wasn’t feeling like Leo wanted to be a lion anymore. Just then, a fat pig walked by and would be easy prey. Lionel gets ready and says, “Ok let’s go! Bacon for Breakfast!” Leo says, “No” as he finishes off a bag of pretzels.
Lionel loses his mind and decides to confront his hunting partner. “Leo,” he says in a very frustrated growl, “You let a zebra, a limp gazelle with babies, and now a perfectly good pig go by and we didn’t hunt any of them! What is wrong with you?”
Leo looks at Lionel. “It is my New Year’s Resolution, Lionel. I am going to be a vegetarian. I have turned my back on all things meat. It is so cruel to the lesser animals to eat them. I was reading online the other day, on PrideBook and then on Jitter, that other animals don’t like us very much because we eat them all the time. And we sleep all day. And we make our ladies do most of the hunting.”
Lionel almost fainted. “You turned your back… you completely turned your back on everything that you are… all that you used to do… all that it means to be a lion. You have forsaken being a lion?”
Leo responded as he began to dip his pita into hummus, “’I, Leo the Lion, forsake being a Lion.’ That was my New Year’s Resolution. I turn my back on hunting meat. I turn my back on instilling fear into all animals that see me. Yes Lionel, I turned my back.”
With that, Lionel turned his back and walked stealthily towards a herd of baby elephants.
READ DEUTERONOMY 31:15-18
15 And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent. 16 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.
“Forsake” is a very strong word. It means to “abandon.” It means “to cast aside or to turn your back on something.” What words are associated with “forsake” in Deuteronomy 31? These words show us that “forsake” is indeed a strong word heavy with meaning: Break. Anger. Hide. Destruction. Disasters. Difficulties. God is not with us.
In the Bible, the word ‘forsake’ is a heavy serious word. We find, when it relates to God, that sin is always involved. We see over and over in the Bible that God turns His back on sin (Joshua 7, 24, 2 Kings 21, Ezra 8, Isaiah 1, Jeremiah 12, 23, Lamentations 5, Ezekiel 8, 9). His love does not stop. He does not forget us. His will does not stop. His discipline does not stop, but most certainly when sin infects something, God turns away from the sinful for He is only righteous, holy, just, and perfect.
Israel did exactly as God told Moses they would do in Deuteronomy 31. In future generations, Israel went after idols and put them in the place of God and turned their own backs on God.
READ Judges 2:12-14 (ESV)
And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And He sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.
God does not forsake. God is not in the habit of forsaking anyone, but our sinful choices do have a real impact on our relationship with God. It has been that way from the beginning. Discipline happens. In a small way, separation happens because God is holy and we are filled with sin.
THREAD: Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
ILLUSTRATION… STORY 2 (p)
Imagine if you will a large store. The whole place is filled with shoppers. Carts are going here and there and everywhere. There are aisles fill with toys and clothes and groceries and tools. It is a one stop shop for all things. In this large store, is a mom and son doing some shopping. The mom pushes the cart and the son is about 10 years old. He wants to ride on the side of the cart, but it is too hard to steer with him hanging on so he is walking by himself next to her. They walk around the store and mom puts various things in the cart… toilet paper, paper plates, milk, and broccoli (yuck!). The mom and son walk into an aisle and there is a little box about waist high with a pole on it. On top of the pole is a blue light. As soon as mom and son ‘round the corner, an employee turns on the blue light and an announcement is made all over the store. This aisle has t-shirts. They are all buy one get two free. People come from every place and start grabbing shirts three at a time. People are pushing and shoving. Some elderly woman is whacking others with her walker to protect her stash of 12 shirts. The blue light was like a call for craziness and people came from every crazy corner of the store to this one spot.
In the midst of the mayhem, the mother and son got separated. People didn’t care, they wanted their three shirts. The boy didn’t see his mother. He called out. He did not hear her call back. All he saw was a man beaten down by an old lady’s walker and the store employee holding onto the light pole for dear life. The little boy walked around and called for his mother. He did not find her. Where did she go? Had she left him?
At that moment, walking down an aisle filled with trash cans and storage bins, a feeling of dread came over this little boy. He felt fear. He felt forsaken. How would he get home? Would he have to live in the store in a box or something? Would they arrest him and take him to jail? Fear. Despair. Lostness. He was separated from his mother and he did not know where she was. This was the first time his little brain could remember not being with his mom. He was always with her. She was always with him. Now, he called out. She did not answer. Disconnected. Tears began to flow down his face as he walked.
THREAD: Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
The feelings that come with being forsaken are quite strong. Fear, despair, and a great sense of being lost seem to top the list as we think about it. Giving up is a real option. These are not mild emotions, but strong ones that shake us to our core. None of them are good feelings either. “Forsaken” is not a good word, but one that denotes a hard-emotional trial that twists our hearts and minds.
What was happening to Jesus on the cross as we read in Mark 15, was not an accident. God knew this would happen. Jesus also knew this would happen for He laid down His life for us and all that went with it. This emotional hard forsaking was predicted in the Old Testament in several places. One place in particular comes to mind because Jesus uses the exact words from the Psalm while He is on the cross. Jesus is not necessarily asking a question on the cross, but rather is expressing the harshness of what is going on inside Him and around Him. What is happening to Jesus is soul-wrenching and it is cruel and grueling and awful. Jesus wants us to know that God’s plan of atonement is moving forward.
READ Psalm 22:1-19 (NIV)
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer, by night, and am not silent. 3 Yet You are enthroned as the Holy One; You are the praise of Israel. 4 In You our fathers put their trust; they trusted and You delivered them. 5 They cried to You and were saved; in You they trusted and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let Him deliver him, since He delights in him." 9 Yet You brought me out of the womb; You made me trust in You even at my mother's breast. 10 From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother's womb You have been my God. 11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. 12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; You lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. 19 But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
SUMMARY AND APPLICATION (equip.org/article/how-was-jesus-made-sin/) [adapted]
Jesus Christ was and is the Son of the Living God. Jesus Christ was without sin. The writer of Hebrews affirmed that “we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (4:15). Jesus was “holy, blameless, [and] pure” (Hebrews 7:26). He was One “who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Judas Iscariot, after betraying Jesus said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). A hardened Roman soldier cried out, “Certainly this was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47). The apostle Peter affirmed that we are redeemed not “with perishable things like silver or gold…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18–19). The Apostle John said, “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5).
We see from Scripture after Scripture that Jesus rejected the sin nature and followed God perfectly. Please don’t miss this truth: Jesus’ full obedience allowed Him to be the perfect sacrifice for us. Fully obedient Jesus soaked up our sin and died because we are full of disobedience.
READ 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)
For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
While Jesus Christ never committed a sin personally, He was made to be sin for us substitutionally. Jesus took on our punishment voluntarily. The whole redemptive plan of God is one of substitution and without His substitution there is no salvation. It was by His utterly selfless sacrificial death on the cross that our sinless Savior—the unblemished Lamb of God—paid the penalty for our sins and thereby canceled the debt of sin against us, thus wondrously making possible our reconciliation with God.
Jesus became forsaken.
Jesus willingly became separated from God.
God turned His back on His Son so that all our sins might be paid for.
Jesus and God are disconnected so that our relationship with God might be restored.
In His anguish, Jesus calls out to God who is loving us by turning His back on His Son.
What does the Forsaken One do for us?
Saves Us.
Forgives Us.
Provides atonement for us.
Offers a clean slate to those that believe.
Gives us life because He is the Author of Life.
READ Mark 15:33-39 (MSG)
33-34 At noon the sky became extremely dark. The darkness lasted three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” 35-36 Some of the bystanders who heard him said, “Listen, he’s calling for Elijah.” Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.” 37-39 But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath. At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle. When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said, “This has to be the Son of God!”
PRAYER
I would like to invite all of us to do something different this morning. I would like you to gather in groups of 3 or 4 or maybe those around you in your pew. One person of the group please be bold and offer to pray. Others in the group silently pray with them. Pray praises to God for Jesus and for His atonement for us. Pray for boldness to share about Jesus. Pray for someone here today to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. After a few minutes, I will close with prayer.
PRAYER TIME
INVITATION
I would like to invite you today to believe in Jesus Christ Who for our sake was forsaken by God and became sin that we might become righteous in the sight of God. I invite you to turn you back on the empty promises of this world and to accept the full promises of God Who loves you deeply.
