Forsaken by God
Matthew 27:45-49 (ESV)
45Now from the sixth hour[a]there was darkness over all the land[b]until the ninth hour.
46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”48And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.
49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”
I once read a story about a boy who got lost one day; he couldn’t find his way home and began to cry because he felt so lost. A stranger noticed the little boy crying and ap proached him to offer comfort. He asked, “What’s wrong, son?” The little boy replied through a flood of tears, “I can’t... I can’t find my home. I’m lost.” Wanting to help, the man inquired, “Is there anything near your house that you remember?” The boy thought for a mo ment and said, “There’s only one thing I remember: there’s a building near my home with a cross on it.” The man immediately recognized the place the boy was describing. He took the boy by the hand and walked him to the church, the building with a cross. Once the boy ar rived at the church, he knew exactly how to find his home. When he found the cross, he found home.
This is the main reason we need to discuss the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s a blessing that every year, as we celebrate Holy Week, we have the opportunity to reflect on the significance of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us. This year, we chose to highlight the seven last words or statements of Jesus on the cross before He died. This morning, we will specifically study the fourth statement found in Matthew 27: 46, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which translates to “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Why did Jesus utter these words? Was this a statement of resentment or complaint? How should we understand these words? Obviously, the mocking crowd at the cross that day completely misunderstood what Jesus was saying. They thought it was amusing that Jesus was calling on Elijah to save Him. Without a doubt, they totally miss the main impact of those words. The last thing we need is to overlook the true essence of this mysterious state ment from Jesus Christ. In reality, these words carry immense theological and emotional sig-
nificance for all of us who believe in Him. Therefore, allow me to highlight three essential lessons from this statement:
I. SCRIPTURAL PROPHECY
First of all, we must understand that everything that was happening on the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ was not random but part of the over-all plan of God in eternity past regarding the work of salvation. I remember when I preached about the second statement, ““Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” I mentioned Isaiah 53:12, which says”
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
We stated that more than five hundred years before the crucifixion, the prophet Isaiah had already foretold that Jesus would be crucified alongside “transgressors” or criminals. In other words, he would be treated like a criminal. Therefore, being hung between thieves on both sides was anticipated.
Now, as we reach the fourth statement, we can easily recognize that it is connected to Psalm 22:1-2:
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
Psalm 22 is a Messianic Psalm written by David during one of his most challenging times. Here, we find the prophecy that Jesus fulfilled at the cross. Do you know that Bible scholars approximate that more than 300 Old Testament prophecies were directly related to the Messiah. 28 of those prophecies were fulfilled at the crucifixion of Jesus. Here are some good examples for us:
• Betrayal for 30 pieces of silver: (Zechariah 11:12)
• Mockery: (Psalm 22:7,8)
• Crucifixion: (John 3:14)
• Pierced: (Psalms 22:16)
• No broken bones: (Exodus 12:46)
• Garments divided by lot: (Psalm 22:18)
Why must we emphasize all these prophecies? They were given to
help us recognize who the true Messiah is. Since Jesus fulfilled them in His life, it clearly establishes that He is the genuine Savior; He is the real Messi ah. Now, it is up to us to decide how we will respond to Him. If we reject Him, there will be no salvation for us. But if we believe in Him, we will find our hope of eternal life in Him!
II. SUBSTITUTIONARY PRICE
The second lesson we need to highlight from the fourth statement of Jesus is the depth of the substitutionary price that Jesus was willing to pay to save humanity from their sin. He did not just experience enormous physical pains, but the deep emotional pain that came out of His spiritual separation from the Father at the cross. John MacArthur in his book, The Murder of Jesus, commented on this statement, saying:
Here’s what happened at the cross: God was punishing His own Son as if He had com mitted every wicked deed done by every sinner who would ever believe. And He did it so that He could forgive and treat those redeemed ones as if they had lived Christ’s per fect life of righteousness.”
These words perfectly describe the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Of course, there are direct statements of this truth in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
1. Isaiah 53: 5-6 (ESV)
5But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Clearly, the Lord Jesus was punished for all of our sins. The Lord laid all of our sins on Jesus.
2. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The verse speaks of an exchange of garments. Our dirty, sinful garments were worn by Jesus on the cross, allowing us to wear His clean and righteous garment. Jesus had to suffer
severely so we could have the privilege of standing before our Holy God as if we had never sinned. What a grace indeed!
The late J. I. Packer, a well-known English-born Canadian theologian
acknowledged the beauty of this substitutionary work and commented:
“The cross of Christ is a revelation of the love of God, for it reveals what that love is prepared to suffer for the one loved. I believe that the presentation of the death of Christ as substitution exhibits the love of the cross more richly, fully, gloriously and glowingly than does any other presentation. It gets nearer to the heart of that love than any of the other pictures that the New Testament contains.”
Consider this: How many of you would willingly trade places with a criminal facing exe cution for a crime? If it were for a loved one, would you accept their punishment so that they could live their life freely? Paul referred to this truth in Romans 5:6-8 (ESV): 6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If you are seeking proof of God’s love towards us, then consider the cross. The cry of Jesus on the cross speaks to how much He would suffer to save us from our sins, truly just as the beautiful hymn declares.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
III. SALVATION’S PRIVILEGE
In the Old Testament, David, the man after God’s own heart, often prayed that God won’t abandon him and sought His presence always. Listen to some of these verses:
1. Psalm 71:18 (ESV)
18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.
2. Psalm 38:21 (ESV)
21Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me!
3. Psalm 27:9 (ESV)
9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my sal vation!
Apparently, if there was anything David feared in his life, it was not Goliath or his coun try's enemies; it was the possibility of being abandoned by God’s presence. And so, when he wrote his songs, it became a repeated theme.
Today, we don’t need to worry about being abandoned by Jesus Christ. The theology behind Christ’s abandonment on the cross brings us hope and encouragement as believers. Why? It is because His abandonment was designed for our greatest privilege. Christ was abandoned for our sins, so He will never be able to abandon us again. Remember these beautiful promises:
1. John 14:18 (ESV)
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
2. Matthew 28:20 (ESV)
20 . . . And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
3. Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)
5Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
I intentionally repeated verses with the same essence because if they were mentioned only once, some of us might say, “It was only a slip of the tongue.” But no, you have been giv en the same promise repeatedly, so you can have this deep assurance that Jesus truly meant these words. He promises to always be there for us and never to forsake us.
What a comfort it is for people like us who frequently encounter challenging situations in life! The truth is that whenever we find ourselves in those situations, the Devil comes along and attacks our minds, accusing God of being distant or absent, suggesting that He doesn’t truly care about us. I hope we won’t be easily deceived. He is there for us. I remem ber at one point I was struggling preparing a funeral sermon for one of our members. The member struggled with cancer and her dear husband was there throughout her deteriora tion and cared for her. They didn’t have kids and so he would be left by himself because of the passing away of his wife. As I prepared, I was struggling of what passage to use for the funeral. What can I say that could comfort this dear brother in the Lord. Then, the Lord re-
minded me of Romans 8:35-39:
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or dis tress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You see, our greatest comfort will always be the truth that no matter what happens, we will never be abandoned, because nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Verses 38-39 summarize our toughest threats, but none of them can separate us from Jesus Christ. Praise God that Jesus was abandoned on the cross, so He will never abandon us again!