Talk - The Last Words of Christ

Matthew 27:46 (ESV)

And 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?”

The days and hours leading up to this moment were a terrible mix of torture, mockery, abandonment and betrayal. By this time Jesus had to be utterly exhausted, physically and emotionally. Even just breathing was excruciating and required Him to alternately push up and pull down on the nails in his wrists and feet in order to exhale and inhale. He was already covered in blood from a scourging that itself had nearly killed him. His heart was likely failing, and after six hours of the most painful death ever invented, the end was near. And all this coming after several days that included not only torture, but mockery, abandonment and betrayal.

This was a profound and holy moment .

But today, I don’t feel our best response is sympathy, or pity or even sorrow. We should be grateful I think - oh, it’s natural for us to be saddened - but I think the Lord may prefer us to learn something about Him in these events, to know Him in this suffering and.... to at least try as finite human beings to get just a glimpse of how He was experiencing it, how he handled it, and what that might mean.

In my early days as a young believer, verses like this one in Matthew would sometimes cause me to struggle. It appeared to me to be a paradox:

If Jesus was sinless and had perfect faith, how could He think that the Father had forsaken Him?

Wasn’t that accusation blasphemy?

How could God doubt Himself?

How could He accuse Himself of abandonment?

These questions were paradoxical and somewhat confusing on the surface. I mean, the trinity had planned this death on the cross from the beginning, right? They were all on board, but here on the cross AND shortly before this in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus seemed to struggle :

Matthew 26:39 (ESV)

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

But a paradox is what the English writer and “lay theologian” GK Chesterton defined as “truth standing on its head to gain attention.” I’m sometimes slow to dig into hard to understand, challenging concepts, but some of the richest teachings in the Bible are wrapped in a shroud of paradox just waiting for us to study and prayerfully unwrap.

So what treasure of truth, what insight into our faith, what glimpse of Christs’ character is hidden here?

Jesus was a well known and respected Teacher, who was even called Rabbi by a member of the Jewish elite (Sanhedrin). He had amazed teachers of the law at the Temple courts from a very young age (12yo) (Lk 2:47). He knew the scriptures very, very well. So, when he cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” he was without question aware of what it meant and where it came from. He chose to say these words for a reason. Why?

We know these words are a verbatim quote from the first line of Psalm 22 … a Psalm of lament that turns to triumph.

Jesus knew this Psalm, and He certainly knew it started as an honest cry of lament from King David that eventually turns into a proclamation of triumph! He knew that within these verses there were embedded pictures foretelling the events of the day of the crucifixion in great detail. … even though written by David over 1000 years prior.

Psalm 22 opens with David’s anguish and feelings of being forsaken, it describes being publicly humiliated, being physically weak, surrounded by his enemies and asking God to deliver him… and then it turns to hope and praise as he expresses his thankfulness towards God for being faithful.

Where Psalm 22:18 says “they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing” .. it’s obvious this is not just about David’s experiences, because this very thing happened to Jesus while on the cross (in Matt 27:35).

Where Ps 22:16 says “they have pierced my hands and feet” we see that this is not just the story of David, but it’s the story of the “Son of David”… Jesus. And there are many places where it expresses the heart and experiences of the Jesus while on the cross. But one specific line in verse 24 stands out to me, where it turns towards hope:

Ps 22:24 - “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.”

In this verse, the Son of David expresses this not as a moment of abandonment by the Father, but as an expression of something that we as finite humans don’t have the capacity to experience - some mix of God-level-profound pain and sadness CARRIED TOGETHER with an unwavering passion of Love and partnership with the Father to overcome the sin in us - no matter the cost to Him. With His heart set towards the triumph that will come in the end.

This is the message of “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me”. A resolute, determined passion to love us and set us free from sin. Sorrow at the loss and the pain, but never relinquishing the love and hope that will soon resolve in triumph.

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One final thought-

I have a notion that Jesus wants us to look at this dark hour of His life on earth, and know that we can identify with Him in our own despair and suffering, to know that it isn’t meaningless, that there is hope, and that even if we face the prospect of the end of this life, there is a victory that is beyond death.

He has walked through suffering, and in fact he walks through it again and again, today with each of us, whenever we are in physical or emotional pain and suffering.

Ps 34:18 says “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Is 53:4 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”

Is 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

So, although it appears on the surface to be one thing, it is in fact something much more meaningful. He was not losing heart! And neither should way! There is purpose, even in pain.