#64 Forsaken for Us
Series: Mark
Chuck Sligh
March 6, 2022
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.
BIBLE READING: Isaiah 53:3-6
TEXT: Mark 15:33-41 – “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36 And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. 40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.”
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – One of the most difficult things to deal with is to feel abandoned and forsaken.
• When children find out they’re adopted, they often feel so strongly the sting of perceived abandonment that they embark on a search to meet their birth mother to get closure.
• If you’ve ever had the misfortune of having a spouse cheat on you and then leave you and the children you had together, you know how horrible it is to be forsaken.
• I read recently of a man accused of killing a woman years ago before DNA testing. He was exonerated 25 years later due to modern DNA testing. It was bad enough to be incarcerated all that time on a false charge, but the worst part of it was that his friends and even most of his family members abandoned him. They assumed his guilt and cut off all contact with him in prison.
To be forsaken truly is awful. If anyone knew what it was like to be forsaken, it was Jesus. One of His disciples, Judas, betrayed Him. All of the Twelve forsook Him when Jesus was captured, even though they had bravely boasted they would not forsake Him. One of them, Peter, denied Jesus three times. During the long hours of both of His trials, Jesus had no one with Him on His side.
But that was not the worst experience of being forsaken Jesus experienced. Today we look at the death of Jesus, how it happened, and what it meant for us.
I. IN VERSES 33-36, WE SEE GOD THE FATHER FORSAKING GOD THE SON.
The dreadful act of the Father’s abandonment was preceded by a miraculous portent – Look first with me at verse 33 – “And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
When it was the sixth hour, which is 9:00 AM by the Roman reckoning of time, Mark says darkness covered the whole land until the ninth hour, which was noon. Among the ancients, the deaths of great heroes were often embellished with occurrences of extraordinary phenomena. James R. Edwards tells us that these mythical occurrences were regarded as “divine eulogies honoring the noble dead.”
But the darkness that enveloped Israel at the death of Jesus was not a divine eulogy, but its opposite. It was rather something ominous, like the plague of darkness over Egypt in the Exodus story or the darkness of chaos before creation in Genesis 1:2.
Probably this was not a worldwide eclipse, but a local darkening around Jerusalem and its environs since there are no recorded eclipses at this time in the historical record. Whatever its extent, Mark indicates that the eclipse occurred suddenly. Contrast this lonely darkness until noontime with the brightness and joyousness of angels at midnight that accompanied the birth of Jesus. The darkness over the land signified the curse of God just as the plague of darkness did in the Exodus before the Passover Lamb was slain. It was during these horrible three hours that Jesus experienced the full judgment of our sins on the cross.
We know this because of the next verse, verse 34 – “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?’ which is, being interpreted, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
During these black hours, sin was poured out on Jesus until He became sin for us. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve’s sin caused separation between God and mankind, resulting in death upon all humans. God, who Habakkuk 1:13 says “cannot look upon sin,” can only judge it.
On that horrible cross, God the Father separated Himself for the first time in all eternity from God the Son. For all eternity they had been in perfect fellowship with one another in the Godhead…but now God forsook Him who took on our sin.
R. Kent Hughes says, “Wave after wave of the world’s sin was poured over Christ’s sinless soul. Again and again during those three hours his soul recoiled and convulsed as all the lies of civilization, the murders of a thousand “Killing Fields,” the whorings of the world’s armies, and the noxious brew of hatreds, jealousies, and pride were poured on his purity.”
In the end, Jesus because a curse. Paul said in Galatians 3:13, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one who is hanged on a tree.”
The New Testament mentions in many places the idea of Jesus suffering the full brunt of God’s judgment for us on the cross. In 1 Peter 2:24, Peter said, “Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.” Paul expressed it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Now let’s look at verses 35-36 in our text – “And some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, ‘Behold, he is calling for Elijah!’ 36 And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Let Him alone; let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’”
The word Jesus used for “My God”—Éloi, sounds like the Aramaic word for Elijah (Eli). Elijah was thought by common folk to be a rescuer of those in need, so probably they thought Jesus was calling out to Elijah for rescue from the cross.
John tells us that at this point Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28) Jesus was almost expired, so hoping to see a miracle, someone filled a sponge with wine vinegar and put it at the end of a pole and gave it to Jesus and said, “Let Him alone; let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
II. NEXT, IN VERSES 37-39 JESUS GIVES UP HIS LIFE.
Verse 37 – “And Jesus cried with a loud voice and breathed his last.”
The other gospel writers fill in a lot more details about the final minutes of Jesus’ death, but Mark, in his usual fashion of brevity, is short and to the point. After a loud cry, Mark simply says Jesus “breathed His last.”.
The final judgment of sin was meted out on Jesus as He breathed his last breath. Adam and Eve and all who were born after them died because of sin. Ezekiel 18:3 says, “The soul that sins shall die” and Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” Jesus died so that we might LIVE! As Paul put it in 1 Thessalonians 5:10: “Who died for us, that…we should live together with him.”
We shudder at the thought of Jesus dying, but Mark says His death had two immediate positive effects:
First, on a UNIVERSAL level, it opened the door of access to God personally. – Verse 38 – “And the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.”
The veil referred to here was a huge, heavy curtain at the entrance of the Holy of Holies where God dwelt on earth during the Old Testament period. Only the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies on behalf of all the people, and he could do that only once a year, on the Day of Atonement.
When Jesus died and the penalty of sin had been fully paid, instantly this vast curtain was supernaturally torn in two as if by a sword. This symbolized the access we all have to God the Father instead of having to go through a human mediator.
This completely did away with the Old Testament system of sacrifices and the need for a high priest to intercede for us, for the Bible tells us that JESUS is our high priest. – Hebrews 10:19-22a says, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he has opened for us, through the veil, that is to say, through his flesh; 21 And since we have a high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…”
And Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:5-6a, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all…”
Second, on an INDIVIDUAL level, Jesus’ death caused a Roman soldier to confess faith in Him – Verse 39 – And when the centurion, who stood opposite him, saw that he cried out like this, and breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God.’”
A centurion was a commander of 100 soldiers. In this case, he was commissioned to oversee the execution of Jesus.
He had witnessed everything during Jesus’ Passion: the horrific scourging, the brutal beating by the soldiers, the crown of thorns crushed into his brow, the painful nailing to the cross, the spear that pierced His side. But this Man, Jesus, did not act like common criminals on the cross who often cursed and berated their executioners. Luke 23:34 tells us that once they had nailed Him to the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” How strange, he must have thought. Then he listened as Jesus ministered to one of the two criminals crucified with Him and said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” This centurion fearfully observed the darkness that supernaturally descended upon Jerusalem. And finally He witnessed Jesus’ triumphant death.
He hadn’t lived in a bubble. He must have heard of this Jesus and His miracles and good deeds. We don’t know any of the background of this centurion, but something about this Man on the middle cross convinced him that Jesus truly was the Son of God. Faith welled up in his soul and He made his bold declaration of faith.
He was the first convert to the faith of Christ in the New Testament era. And it is significant that the first convert was not a Jew, for John 1:11 says, “He came to his own, but his own received him not.” He was a Roman, a representative of the very regime that was directly responsible for Jesus’ death.
Dear friend: If a wicked criminal could be saved while hanging from a cross and a pagan soldier could be saved beneath Christ’s cross, there is no one who cannot be saved if they will come to God by faith as these two men did.
III. FINALLY, MARK TELLS US OF THE WOMEN WHO WITNESSED THE CRUCIFIXION IN VERSES 40-41 – “There were also women looking on from a distance: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered to him;) and there were many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.”
Mark says there were some women who witnessed Jesus’ terrible suffering and death. Maybe they were braver than the men who followed Jesus, or maybe they were in less danger than the men. Nevertheless, they were there.
Mark says they watched from a distance, perhaps to be less exposed, or maybe to be safe from the crudeness of the raucous crowd and the hatred of the Jewish leaders.
Mark lists three women by name:
• MARY MAGDALENE was there, whom Jesus had cast 7 demons out of and who became one of Jesus’ most devoted disciples.
• THE OTHER MARY is not known for certain. – She is thought to be the wife of Clopas (or Cleophas) who with her husband were followers of the Lord.
• The third woman mentioned is SALOME, the mother of James and John, and the husband of Zebedee.
Mark adds there were many other women who came to the crucifixion as well.
One thing is for sure: They deeply loved Jesus. They had hung on His words and found solace for their souls. They had ministered to His needs. They had given Him their sons to follow in the steps of the Rabbi. And now in His hour of deepest need, they, if no one else, were there.
CONCLUSION
5What does God want us to take away from today’s message?
I have only one thing to bring to your attention this morning…
Verse 37 in our text says simply, “And Jesus cried with a loud voice and breathed His last.”
What did He say when He cried with a loud voice? John answers that question in John 19:30. After they offered Jesus the vinegar wine, John records that Jesus “…said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.”
Of all the sayings of Jesus on the cross, none is more important than, “It is finished.” It is one Greek word, tetelestai, which literally means “Paid in full.” Jesus was not saying, “My life is finished.” Tetelestai was a distinct accounting term that was used when a debt had been paid in full. There are ancient bills with this term written on them to show that the debt was paid.
When Jesus uttered this term, He was declaring that the debt of our sin owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever. Jesus became the final and ultimate sacrifice for our sin. Jesus was saying that not only does He take away our sin, but He removes it as far as the east is to the west, for it is finished, done, paid in full, because of the death of Jesus.
In other words, there is not one thing you or I can do that Jesus has not already done to pay for our sins. It’s already been paid for—completely and in full. We read in Colossians 2:13-14, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us ALL OUR TRESPASSES, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” – Paul does not say just some of our trespasses have been paid for: he says God has forgiven, through Jesus’ death on the cross, ALL our trespasses.
Illus. – If you and I went out to eat and I paid for the food, our bill would be paid in full. I could not pay for it again because it was already paid for. YOU could not pay for the food because I had taken care of it already. On the cross Jesus said: tetélestai —PAID IN FULL. We cannot pay for our own sin because Jesus paid for it in full already over 2,000 years ago.
Back in the 90’s we use to sing a praise chorus that went like this:
He paid a debt He did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song—Amazing Grace—the whole day long
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.
Not only is your debt paid in full, but there is also nothing you can add to what Jesus has done on the cross. His sacrifice paid for ALL our sins and trespasses. Some people think, Well, Jesus’ sacrifice covered all my sins up to the time of my salvation, but I must do good works to pay for the sins I commit after my salvation. No, Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary paid for ALL your sins—past, present and future because when Jesus died on the cross, ALL your sins were future. Your whole sin debt is paid in full by Jesus’ death on the cross for you.
A believer certainly wants to do good works out of thanks to God for His goodness. But God does not need us to pay for what His Son has already paid in full. Our Lord Jesus Christ will never give us a bill, asking for more than HE already paid.
I wonder this morning: Have you been trying to earn God’s acceptance by your good works and good deeds in life?
Ephesians 2:8-9 dispels this misconception. – It says, “For by grace you are saved through faith; and it is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God: 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.” – Paul tells us 4 important things about salvation in these verses:
First, salvation comes to us by God’s grace. – For by GRACE you are saved…” “Grace” means “unmerited favor.” Grace is God’s favor and forgiveness which we do not deserve, nor can earn.
Second, Paul says that God’s grace is obtained by faith and not by anything you do to earn it.
Third, Paul says, that God’s grace is the free gift of God. You don’t have to work to earn a gift; otherwise, it’s not really a gift, is it? It is offered to you absolutely free of charge; paid in full by Jesus Christ on the cross.
Finally, salvation is not by works that you do so that you can boast in heaven that you got there because of what YOU did. No, Jesus ALREADY paid it all for you on Calvary, so HE gets ALL the glory. You only need accept God’s gift of salvation by faith. Why don’t you bow your head this morning and confess to Christ your faith in Him and His work on the cross in your behalf? I hope you do not leave here today without faith in Christ’s full payment for your sin.
Accept His free gift by faith this very day! If you do, you’ll be able to sing with confidence the last verse and chorus of that great hymn, Jesus Paid It All, which says this:
And when before the throne I stand in Him complete
“Jesus died my soul to save” my lips shall still repeat.
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
Jesus, forsaken by God for us, bore our sins that we might be accepted by God for all eternity!
