The Cry Of Loneliness

The Cry of Loneliness

Thesis: Jesus cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” is a desperate cry of loneliness. I believe this was the worst and the most horrible moment of the crucifixion of Jesus. When sin invaded His life and the Father walked away!

Scripture Text: Mark 15:33-39

33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?“—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

36One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Introduction: Jesus’ lonely cry of, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” is a desperate cry of loneliness. I believe this was the worst and the most horrible part of the crucifixion for Jesus.

I believe it was worst than the beatings, the betrayal of Judas, the desertion of the disciples, the humiliation of the crucifixion, being spit upon, the crown of thorns, the nails in His hands, the mocking, the emotional torment, and even the mental torment. None of these compared to what He is facing at this moment on the cross. This was the worst moment of the crucifixion. Jesus is all alone at this moment in His life. Not even the Father is with Him.

Can you hear His lonely cry?

Jesus had never been out of God’s presence before. God the Father “Abba” was always right there with Jesus. These two were in the habit of communicating on a daily basis. Just read the Gospel’s and you will see that they had an active vibrant relationship. They loved each other and they communicated with each other on a regular basis.

Jesus received His strength in the garden because He was not totally alone the Father was with Him. Yes, it was a very lonely moment for Jesus but it was the depth of their relationship that helped Him to say, “Not my will but yours be done!” They wrestled together there in the darkness and Jesus wanted to know if there was any other way. But God said, “No there was no other way!” Jesus asked if He could by pass this torture and this humiliation of the crucifixion. But God said, “ It’s the only way!” Jesus responded after much mental and emotional struggle with “Yes Lord!”

I watched this garden scene this week from The Passion of the Christ again and it reminded me how alone Jesus was in the Garden, but then it hit me, “He still had the Father!” He still had His strength in the midst of a desperate lonely moment. He still had His hope and His rock. God was still with Him at this time. God gave him the ability to face the rage of the enemy and to press on to the crucifixion. He was not totally alone at this horrible moment God was with Him.

But then as I watched The Passion I came to the part of the crucifixion were He cried out in pain with these words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” And I saw something I never saw before. This moment in time is freeze framed into my mind and into my heart.

The darkness has settled in at this point, the physical agony is ripping at Jesus’ life. Then it happens it’s a flash flood of something foreign to His very nature. Sin enters into His sinless life. Yes, sin invades like a Cancer into His being and the horror of sin rushes over Him.

I thought about the darkness for a moment and this thought entered my mind, “The darkness of the day is reflective of the darkness that invaded the light of the world. Light has been invaded by the darkness and the loneliness of sin is setting in.”

At this moment in my life I heard His lonely cry?

The light is fading as sin takes over the life of Christ. He hangs their in agony of spirit and soul as sin eats at His holiness. Then the most horrible moment in the Life of Christ happened God walks away from Him. God His “Abba Father” walks away from Him in His agony because sin has enveloped Jesus. Jesus sees God’s departing from sin – He experiences utter loneliness for the first time in His life and He cries out in desperation, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Where are you going God! Please don’t leave me! Don’t leave me to face this horror all alone!