Forsaken

“When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Look, He’s calling for Elijah!” Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a reed, offered Him a drink, and said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take Him down!” But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. Then the curtain of the sanctuary was split in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “This man really was God’s Son! ” (Mark 15:33-39 HCSB)

Mark’s story about Jesus is quickly drawing to an end. But some of the most important elements of the story are yet to be told. As we saw last week, the scourging and crucifixion are cruel elements of Roman torture and are used to keep the people submissive to Caesar and Roman rule. We often see the crucifixion depicted with Jesus hung upon a tall and inaccessible cross. In reality, the dying would have been just a few feet higher than those standing nearby observing or guarding and those passing by along the road. Just high enough to need a rod to offer the dying a drink of wine and myrrh or a sponge soaked with cheap sour wine. But not so high as to be distant and unreachable. Near enough to hear the taunts, ridicule and blasphemy of the crowd and the others condemned to die alongside them and also to be heard by them.

All three of the synoptic Gospels relate the darkness that descended upon the land at noon and lasted for three hours. Some try to account for this by finding natural reasons, like a solar eclipse, sandstorm, or very heavy cloud coverage. But it seems that our gospel witnesses clearly imply a more elemental or divine reason. Nature responds to its Creator’s suffering and impending death. As the “light of the world” goes dark so do the lights He spoke into existence and set in the heavens to light our existence. As Paul says, “For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it — in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. And not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits — we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:20-23 HCSB)

Then Jesus cries out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” Mark translates for us, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” This is clearly a quote from the opening verse of Psalm 22 and a reference to the righteous sufferer of that Psalm. While the lament and suffering of the Psalmist obviously moves from suffering into praise, we must not miss the central point – the cry of agony at being forsaken by God. We want to rush along and move quickly to the end of the Psalm and the end of this crucifixion tale. We want to leave these laments of forsaken-ness and rejoice in the glorious aftermath – the resurrection. Perhaps we want to move along a little too quickly.

So, linger with me a few moments and hear the groans and cries of a Son forsaken. If you read this Psalm, you hear a vivid description of suffering that sounds eerily similar to the very things Jesus is suffering: distress, ridicule, mocking, scorned by men and despised by the people, disjointed bones, heart melting like wax, no strength and tongue sticking to the roof of the mouth, surrounded by those who have pierced him, garments divided among them as they cast lots for each piece. But that’s not the worst part of this. The bad part is that the sufferer is forsaken by His God – worse yet, the Son is forsaken by His Father!

But why? Why would the Father abandon the Son in this time of great suffering? Why leave Him alone in His hardest and darkest hour? From a theological perspective, I can tell you why even though I’m not sure I fully comprehend it. I know it with my head but I’m certain I’ve not fully grasped it. Jesus was forsaken so that We would never be forsaken. Jesus was abandoned so that we would never know abandonment. Jesus was left alone in His suffering so that we might know God’s presence in ours.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 HCSB)

Have you felt the sorrow of God’s silence or His perceived absence? Don’t misunderstand, our experience of a “dark night of the soul” is not the same as that suffered by the Son. The Son was forsaken by the Father so that we would not be forsaken by Him. As Paul states in the verses cited above, God was reconciling the world to Himself through Christ’s suffering and abandonment on the cross. So, whenever you feel alone in your suffering you can rest assured that God has NOT abandoned you. Whenever He seems silent in your suffering trust that He has not left you alone. Just remember Abraham, “He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:20-22 HCSB)

That is the essence of faith… believing that God will do what He has promised to do. And that is the essence of Jesus’ faith upon the cross, God will do what He has promised to do. Paul goes on to say a few verses after these, “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:25 HCSB)

But even in the midst of Jesus suffering, the irony of the cross continues. Jesus has just called out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” and yet, the people standing nearby misunderstood and thought He was calling for Elijah. They rightly believed that Elijah would precede the Messiah, but they wrongly believed that Elijah would come and rescue one who was truly righteous. Therefore, they surmised that if Jesus truly was who He claimed to be – the Son of God, the Messiah, the King of Israel – then surely Elijah would come and rescue Him. Yet, they forget that “He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6 HCSB)

Now Mark tells us that Jesus’ let out a loud cry and breathed His last. We aren’t told what He cried, just that He did so loudly and then breathed out His last breath. As He did so, Mark says the curtain in the sanctuary (or Temple) was split in two from top to bottom. There are two curtains in the sanctuary, one that separated the public area of the Temple from the Holy Place and another that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. While it’s not clear which curtain was torn, the way in which it was torn is quite telling. Mark says the curtain was torn from top to bottom and that could not have been done by man. At the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain was torn by some divine means. It would seem that God Himself tore the curtain and opened the way by which man would reach God.

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 HCSB)

Ironic isn’t it? Those who knew the promises of God and even told stories of God keeping those promises, misunderstood His word. Instead of hearing the heartfelt words of the Psalmist in Jesus’ cry, they thought He called for Elijah and sarcastically stood by to see if Elijah would come rescue Him. But a Roman centurion standing nearby, watched Him die, heard His final cry and proclaimed, “This man really was God’s Son!” It would seem that those who often proclaim the loudest to know the most about God really know the least about Him and those who seem to know the least about Him find themselves standing in His presence, marveling at what they’ve just experienced.

We can only speculate what the Centurion heard and saw as Jesus “breathed His last” and what prompted this soldier’s insight and proclamation. But if we consider Mark’s comments regarding the rending of the Temple veil and the reaction by the Centurion to what he saw and heard, Jesus manner of death does not appear to have been an ordinary crucifixion. I think that is precisely Mark’s point. There’s nothing ordinary about this event. The Son of Man died alone on that hill, forsaken by God and bearing the sin and guilt of all mankind. Creation reacted as the sun grew dark. Heaven reacted as the veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. And man reacted, some with doubt and derision but others with wonder and expressions of faith.

How will you respond? This gospel started with heaven being torn open and God declaring that this man, Jesus of Nazareth, is “My beloved Son.” It ends in a similar fashion with the veil in the Temple being torn open and men declaring, “surely this was the Son of God!” This was no ordinary execution, God’s Son willingly gave His life so that you and I might become sons of God. He was forsaken by God and bore man’s sin all alone so that you and I might never be forsaken by God. He took our punishment and we received His righteousness. He died alone so you won’t have to. He took up our sin so that we might take up His righteousness.

He calls to you, “Come walk with Me…” Will you? If you will, He will never leave or forsake you. He promised.