To Feel Forsaken

Introduction

Easter is a month away, a time where we celebrate Christ making the ultimate sacrifice in order for us to be redeemed for a relationship with Him

But on that day 2000 years ago the disciples there would have felt so forsaken by God, something so great seemed to be ending before it even had time to get going

Here 2000 years later serving a risen savior and even now going into the holiday season we still experience times where we feel forsaken by God

And as we read the Easter story we are tempted to say even Jesus felt forsaken by God, which brings us to our first text for the morning, Matthew 27:45-50

Matthew 27:45–50 ESV

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 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?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And 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. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken me?

This has been a statement that has grabbed people’s attention for centuries, when we pause reading we ask ourselves what in the world could Jesus have meant by saying that?

Growing up I always heard people say that in that moment God had to turn his back because he could not look upon sin

I will be honest with you that explanation never set right with me because Jesus is God

A lot of times when we talk about Jesus we talk almost as He is lesser, and in application

Trinity Side Note

Define: One Divine nature in the unity of three persons

The terms of Father, Son, and Spirit are to describe how they interact amidst themselves and with us

Father as he seres as the head and Son as in he chooses to submit to the will of the Father

And please do not use an analogy to explain the Trinity, there is not one that works, and chances are the one you use does not really explain the Trinity, but rather will explain a heresy

I go down this rabbit hole for a reason

Jesus ate in the presence of sinners (Jesus was looking at sinners from the cross)

Matthew 9:10–13 ESV

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

God the Father and God the Son have the same divine nature, so if Jesus could look upon sin, does it not stand to reason God the Father could also

a quick survey of scripture shows God the Father in fact can look upon sin

Job 1:6–7 ESV

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

So where did God could not look upon sin come from, if we take a deep dive into Scripture you will discover it results from Habakkuk 1:13 being taken out of context

Habakkuk 1:13 ESV

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

If you stop at the first half of this verse you could support God could not look, but the second half goes on to say you idly look at traitors

In context this verse is saying God cannot look favorably on sin

Is that not the reason for Jesus going to the cross, He could not look favorably upon sin and there was nothing we could do to regain his favor?

The only way we could be returned to good favor is through his sacrifice

Imitators of Christ

As we are called back into his favor we are called to be imitators of Him

Ephesians 5:1–2 ESV

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Just off what we talked about this morning, how are we to be imitators of God

Not turning our back to abandon the sinner

Which means we love even when it hurts to love

Which means we love even when it means great sacrifice

Which means we live a life in every aspect with living life in such a way to maximize the Gospel going forward

1 Corinthians 10:26–11:1 ESV

For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

We should also though not look favorably upon sin just as God

Including our own, all the way from the “biggest” all the way to the “smallest” of sins

Ecclesiastes 10:1 ESV

Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

I have never had a kidney stone, but I have heard the many stories...many horror stories

If you had one that was not bigger than a grain of sand, what would you say if I responded with oh that is not that big of a deal, you can live on normally with that without being hindered?

Rather our sin is the size of a grain of sand or the size of a grapefruit, it is hindering the way you should walk and it should bother you

Just as a kidney stone does not belong in your kidneys, sin does not belong in us

You may be going Brother Austin we are only human, we sin. None of us are perfect

I am not saying once saved you will never sin again, you are going to sin again and again

But...

You should sin less frequent

Your attitude about sin should change

You should hunt out every thing that makes you impure and impacts your walk

Baptism shows we were completely redeemed

We did not get baptized holding on of these things up

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Outro

Let us bring this all together on imitating Christ

We are called to live set a part in our actions (holiness) but as we do so we are not to isolate from the sinner but go into the world with the sinner and to love them sacrificially so the gospel may be heard by all.

This is what Easter is about, God who came and lived a holy human life to set an example for us, but to also die for us

And I know it gets tough living a holy life in a world that does feel God-forsaken, Imagine that day 2,000 years ago

The same words though that carried the disciples through are powerful enough to carry us through a world that has forsaken God, and those words that were spoken from the cross were the words from Psalm 22.

We are going to start journying through those words next week, but now we are going to come to a time of invitation

Believer this morning, how well have you be imitating Christ?

Have you been ok with a grain of sin in your life?

I would like to leave you with this:

Jesus ate with and sought out sinners, but did that mean he approved of their sinful lifestyle? No. he lived among them and took the gospelto them where they were at not where they should be. He took a bold stand agaisnt sin, but also loved people and showed them the Gospel. If we don’t go to where sinners are with the Gospel, how else will they hear?