Why Have You Forsaken Me?

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, He’s calling Elijah.” Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave Him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take Him down,” he said. (Mark 15:33-36 NIV)

A diamond has many facets, and from different angles, will sparkle in new and beautiful ways. The same thing is often true of Scripture. I believe there are at least three angles from which to view Jesus' proclamation from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

The first angle is this: With our sin on His shoulders, Jesus experienced our forsakenness. Sin separates us from the God who created us in His own image and loves us with an everlasting and unconditional love.

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. (Isaiah 59:1-3 NIV)

When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", He had not lost faith. He was not somehow sinning by proclaiming He was God-forsaken. He was expressing the feeling of the moment which He had never before experienced - the separation sin causes between humans and God. Jesus lived a sinless life, and never experienced this separation until He entered fully into our forsakenness to bring us back into unbroken fellowship with God. He experienced our forsakenness when our sin was laid on Him.

I am greatly encouraged by this angle. This means it's never a sin to be completely honest with God. We can be honest about our doubts, our struggles, our weakness and our sin. And God does not leave us in that place of forsakenness. Instead, He comes to us to bring us into His life-giving presence. We don't have to get stuck in far-from-God-mode. Even though we may feel abandoned by God when horrible things happen in our lives, our feelings are not accurate portrayals of the reality of God's Presence, who promises in Hebrews 13:5: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

The second angle from which to view this Scripture text is this: Jesus was pointing to something deeper when He said, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” You see this phrase is a direct quote of Psalm 22:1. That Psalm goes on to describe things that were happening in real time as Jesus hung on the cross, even though it was written centuries earlier.

The Psalm pictures the mocking of the crowd in verses 7 and 8. It speaks of Jesus' thirst on the cross in 14 and 15. The Psalm predicts the public humiliation and the gambling of the soldiers for Jesus clothing in verses 17 and 18. The overall message of Psalm 22 is to trust God when it is darkest and know you are not abandoned. In speaking the first verse Jesus drew attention to the entire Psalm, knowing His hearers would have the words memorized just like we know the words of Amazing Grace.

From this angle, Jesus is pointing to the hope that God plays the long game. He knows our situation better than we do, and works out His plans in our history, even if we cannot see how it is possible. I believe both angles are reality. Jesus both experienced our forsakenness and declared, "God's got this!"

The third angle for viewing Mark 15:34 is this: God used this ugly crucifixion to redeem and reconcile us. Nothing here was accidental. God didn't mess up by allowing His Son to be crucified. Jesus laid down His life as a willing sacrifice for our sin in this redemptive act. Jesus entered our forsakenness to bring us into unbroken fellowship with the Father, which was the whole point of God's work of redemption throughout history, from Adam's and Eve's sin onward.

And one day, on the other side of physical death, we will enjoy that unbroken fellowship with God's sweet presence forever, with no more sorrow, no more death, no more pain, no more illness, no more injustice or cruelty. We will live life and enjoy love forever. Jesus entered our forsakenness to bring us into unbroken fellowship with the Father. What a Savior!