Matthew 27:45-46 – Why Have You Forsaken Me?
I had planned initially to preach tonight on the miracles of Calvary. Several things very out of the ordinary happened on the day Jesus died, and I had planned to look at them. There was the 3 hours of darkness, from noon until 3 in the afternoon. There was the temple veil, the curtain that hung in the Temple in Jerusalem, being torn in 2. There was the mighty earthquake that even split rocks apart. There were the opened graves, caused by the earthquake. And there were resurrections, people who had been dead coming to life and walking around town, finding freedom because their graves were now open.
Well, as I researched this thought, in particular the 3 hours of midday darkness, I remembered a sermon I preached several years ago. It was the spiritual darkness Jesus faced while He was dying on the cross, and the words He cried out: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” I remembered how powerfully that sermon spoke to me years ago, so I thought I’d bring it out and dust it off and share it with you tonight.
Our passage tonight deals with the big question, the question we have all asked, a question filled with pain, hurt, regret, frustration, tired-ness, and maybe even hopelessness. It’s the question of “why?” In particular, why am I hurting so bad?
Pain is perhaps the only common denominator that all humans share. Heartaches and brokenness unify all people. And sometimes pain works its way into one person’s words that others seem to respond to, as well. Take, for instance, these real country songs: How Can I Miss You If You Won’t Go Away? She Chews Tobacco, But She Didn’t Choose Me. I Don’t Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling. I Keep Forgettin’ I Forgot About You. I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well. I Still Miss You, Baby, But My Aim’s Gettin’ Better. I Wouldn’t Take Her To A Dog Fight, ‘Cause I’m Afraid She’d Win. I’m So Miserable Without You, It’s Like Havin’ You Here. If I Had Shot You When I Wanted To, I’d Be Out By Now. My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, And I Don’t Love You. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, And I Sure Do Miss Him. Please Bypass This Heart. I Baked My Sweetie A Pie, But He Left With A Tart. I Lost My Honey Bunny On A Bad Hare Day. I Found The Recipe For Heartbreak In A Cookbook On Your Shelf. Now That We’re Miserable, I Hope You’re Happy. And finally, I Just Bought A Car From The Guy That Stole My Girl, But The Car Don’t Run So I Figure We Got An Even Deal.
Well, from the ridiculous to the sublime, as they say, even Christian songwriter Rich Mullins, author of “Awesome God”, wrote these words in his brutally honest song, “Hard to Get” – “And I know You bore our sorrows, and I know You feel our pain, and I know it would not hurt any less, even if it could be explained. And I know that I am only lashing out at the One who loves me most…”
Even those of us who have been walking with God for years are still confused about God’s ways. We often try to hide our pain and doubts, thinking that they are a sign of lack of spirituality, a sign of carnality and doubt. And we carry a superficial faith, a pseudo-faith, never being honest before God, who knows our hearts anyway. And so, these superficial, plastic people read Jesus’ words and try to dismiss them: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”
Jesus spoke these words – rather, cried out these words – sometime between noon and 3PM on Friday afternoon, as the miraculous darkness lay over the land. Now, you need to know that these words have caused a great deal of confusion over the years among people who have known the Bible well. “What did Jesus mean? Did God the Father really leave Jesus? Did Jesus have doubts? Did the Father really forsake the Son?”
Different commentators have come up with entirely different answers. For example, the esteemed Matthew Henry said, Yes, God really did forsake Jesus. 1) Jesus said so, which might even be enough there. But, 2) 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that Jesus became sin for us, and so God turned His back on Jesus, because He cannot look at sin.
Well, the equally esteemed Adam Clarke, who was more of the Wesleyan persuasion, said, No, God did not really forsake Jesus. 1) Colossians 2:9 says that in Jesus is all the fullness of the Deity. So how can God forsake Himself? Well, He can’t – 2 Timothy 2:13. 2) 2 Corinthians 5:19 says that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. God was there, in Christ, using the cross to bring the world to Himself. And 3) Psalm 139 says you can’t escape God’s Spirit.
Well, the question is easy enough to understand if Matthew Henry is right, and God did turn away from Jesus in the darkness on the cross. But, what if Adam Clarke is right, that it would be impossible fro God to forsake Jesus? What did Jesus mean, then?
Some have looked at Psalm 22, because the first verse is quoted word for word by Jesus. They look at Ps.22:8, which is more or less quoted by the Pharisees, and say, “The Pharisees fulfilled prophecy written 800 years earlier, so Jesus quoting the same psalm shows that He fulfilled prophecy, too, proving that He was the Messiah.”
Now, there is no doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, the hero of God that the OT talked about, but is that what Jesus meant? If fulfilling prophecy by His words was all He wanted, couldn’t He have quoted something less controversial?
Personally, I think that idea was created by people who try to leave emotion out of Christianity, and figure that no one else has feelings either. Their faith is a logical system of beliefs. But I must say, if your relationship with God doesn’t involve some feelings and emotions from time to time, your relationship is very close to being shallow or hollow. If nothing about God or worship or church or the Bible actually engages your emotions sometimes, I doubt it’s really alive in your life.
“So Pastor, what you’re saying is, God didn’t forsake Jesus, but Jesus felt as if He did?” Well, as far as I can tell, yes. God removed His felt presence from Jesus on the cross.
In the darkest moment of His life, for the 1st time in His life, Jesus felt alone and abandoned. In John 12, less than a week before, as Jesus was in turmoil over dying, He heard a voice from heaven. In Luke 22, the night before, as He was asking God to provide another way, an angel appeared and strengthened Him. And now… nothing. Jesus did not feel the presence of God, even if He knew the Father was there and everywhere. So we ask the same question as Jesus – why? Why did God take away his felt presence in Jesus’ darkest time?
Well, if you will use your imagination for a moment or 2, picture Jesus, having died and risen again and ascended to heaven, talking to the Father.
“Father, I’m so glad for Your work through me. You have brought the glory and focus to yourself and the world will know that You are perfect and merciful, gracious and loving. But, looking back, I asked You that horrible question. I cried out to You, and I felt alone. Where were You? Why did You not speak to Me when I needed You the most? Why couldn’t I feel You?”
And picture God the Father answering in return: “My Son, I love You. You have now walked in the sandals that every person ever created has walked in, or will walk in. You felt alone. You felt that Your mission had failed, even if You only felt it for a moment. You have now tasted the worst sting of sin – separation from Me. You felt it, and it hurt You incredibly. All Your days on earth, ou saw the empty, pain-filled lives that have been stained by sin and rebellion, but now You do not ust see them – You feel them. You now know what it feels like to be lost. And every one of those hurting ones of mine, the lost, the last, and the least, can now turn to You for comfort and strength. And You can wrap them in Your arms and whisper in their ears, ‘I understand.’”
So are you hurting tonight? Do you feel as if God has forsaken you? That word means neglected, abandoned, thrown out, and forgotten. We use the phrase “God-forsaken” to mean a place that’s desolate and hard to live in. I wonder if you know anybody whose heart feels God-forsaken. Maybe, in Jesus’ words, You are the person.
Well, if you do feel forsaken, ignored, passed over, alone, rejected, outcast or misfit, the good news is that Jesus has been there. He knows exactly where you are today, and He’s right there alongside you. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.” Jesus can sympathize with your weakness, because He felt them too.
And perhaps even He was tempted to turn away from the Father when He felt that the Father had turned from Him, but He did not. So He knows the temptations you face when your life is dark and God is silent.
You need to know that He has not forgotten, forsaken or cast away your hurting heart. It’s OK to hurt and feel alone sometimes – it has to be – Jesus felt it. But take courage in the truth of God’s Word. After all, John 8:32 says, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
So claim the promises of God meant for you. 1 Peter 1:7 – “These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
1 Corinthians 15:57 – “thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Timothy 2:11-13 – “2TI 2:11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
Reflect on the words of Romans 8:28-39, and take to heart the positive words of the old song, “The Road to Zion”. “Sometimes a shadow, dark and cold, lays like a mist across the road. But be encouraged by the sight – where there’s a shadow, there’s a light.”
