The Fourth Word From The Cross: "Eloi, Eloi, Lema Sabachthani?" Series

The last section is the most complicated of all—"why have you forsaken me?" Martin Luther, as his practice, gone into seclusion to study these words, after a long time he came out even more confused. These are words have deep mystery beyond human understanding.

The problem comes with the nature of God—how can God forsake himself! It is called sovereign departure by theologians! Somehow, a mysterious ways God separate Himself from God! This notion is out of our comprehension and experience.

In the final moments at the cross, Jesus could have sensed the abrupt loss of eternal communion with His Father. It was an inexplicable event—no words to explain.

Early Church father, Tertullian understand it in the Trinitarian economy—"the son suffered, being "forsaken" by the father, and the father sovereignly suffered much, inasmuch as he forsook the son." (Against Praxis, 7.30).

Tertullian understood this words as father handing over his son for physical rejection, suffering, and death, which in sense is forsaking his son. In such handing over for Tertullian, is seeing as disowning of the Son by the Father! Both the Father and Son suffered in the events leads to crucifixion process.

The traditional understanding of these words as God turned His back when Jesus was on the cross because he could not look upon sin, even in his own son.

Habakkuk declares, your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and you cannot look on wickedness with favor!" (1:13).

Let us listen to several bible verses illustrating Christ work on the cross:

Jesus bears "our transgression ... our iniquities (Isa 53:5), It pleased the Lord to bruised him; he has put him to grief; when you shall make his soul an offering for sin (Isa 53:10). Jesus was delivered up because of our transgression (Rom 4:25). He died for our sins according to scriptures (1 Cor 15:3). He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf (2 Cor 5:21), he became a curse for us (Gal 3:13). He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24), died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust (1 Pet 3:18) and became the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10).

John 19:29 talks about a hissop branch, which remind us Ex 12, the pascal lamb.

B. H. Price (1914, "Alone) says, " Alone, alone, he bore it all alone; He gave himself to save His own; He suffered, bled and died, alone, alone."

The serpent has bruised the feet of Woman's seed and the consequences are bitter death in utter loneliness is due to the temporary separation from God the Father!

People who doubt the validity of these words argue two ways: These words are taken, by Some as coming out of imaginary mental state or a disillusionment that Jesus experience in His last moments of suffering. Other scholars argue that these words are not the "very words" of Jesus (ipsissima verba) but a theological expressions of the Marken or Matthean church. They say that "very voice" (ipsissima vox), which is summarization or repacking by Gospel writer or the faith community or the church tradition.