On the cross, Jesus cried, “My God, why have you left me?” Why do we sometimes feel forsaken by God?
Scripture:
2 Samuel, chapter 18; Psalm 56; Matthew, chapter 27
Matthew 27:45-54 (CEB):
From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. At about three Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?” After hearing him, some standing there said, “He’s calling Elijah.” One of them ran over, took a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink. But the rest of them said, “Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.”
Again Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died. Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised. After Jesus’ resurrection they came out of their graves and went into the holy city where they appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what had just happened, they were filled with awe and said, “This was certainly God’s Son.”
Observations – Forsaken by God?
“My God! My God, why have you left me all alone? Why are you so far from saving me – so far from my anguished groans?” (Psalm 22:1). As Jesus suffered on the cross, he cried out this prayer from Psalm 22. At some point in our lives, we’ve all cried out to God: Where are you? Why have you left me alone? What strikes me – every time I read this passage – is that Jesus felt that way, too! The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus can sympathize with us in every trial, because he was tested in every way like we are – and did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). Even when we feel completely abandoned by God, Jesus understands.
I find it interesting that the bystanders didn’t understand what Jesus was saying. He cried out in Aramaic – a language they all should have understood – yet they thought he was calling Elijah! What makes it worse is that they should have been familiar with Psalm 22, the passage that Jesus was quoting. How could they have misunderstood him? Just before this, the religious leaders had commented on the fact that he claimed to be the Son of God. “He trusts in God, so let God deliver him now if he wants to. He said, ‘I’m God’s Son’” (Matthew 27:43). So why did they now think he was calling Elijah?
Sin and hardness of heart blinds people to even the most obvious spiritual truth. The religious leaders and the bystanders – Jews – refused to believe, refused to listen to Jesus. Their hearts were so hardened that they wouldn’t even acknowledge the connection between Jesus’ cry and the prayer of his human ancestor David. In the depths of his suffering, his human emotions – his heart – tried to convince him that God had forsaken him. But God had not forsaken Jesus, and he won’t forsake us either!
Application – Forsaken by God?
One of the most popular credos of our culture is “follow your heart.” But Scripture tells us the danger of this (see my earlier post, “Don’t ‘Follow Your Heart’”):
- “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV)
- “Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things” (1 John 3:20, CEB)
Our “hearts” will lie to us, because apart from God, our hearts are warped and twisted by sin. That’s why God promised to remove our hearts of stone – hard hearts. He promises to replace hard hearts with hearts of flesh that will be sensitive to his direction (see Ezekiel 11:19).
We also need to remember that the enemy of our souls will lie to us, telling us that God has forsaken us. But when that happens, we need to remind ourselves that he is a liar! (See John 8:44).
God understands that we will feel as though he has abandoned us at times. He has given us language in the Psalms to express those feelings in ways that will help us to recognize that in fact he has not abandoned us. Jesus promised that he would be with us always (Matthew 28:20). He also assured us that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, would not only be with us but in us (John 14:17).
God hasn’t forsaken his people. and he won’t forsake you!
Prayer:
Father, thank you for reminding us that you will never forsake us. When the enemy tries to tell us otherwise, remind us that he is a liar. You have given us language to express those feelings in prayer; as we do, we trust that you will draw near to us as we draw near to you. Thank you for your presence and your work in our lives. Amen.
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