Abandoned (Good Friday, 2018)

Song: “Were You There?”

It isn’t unusual for people to enjoy time to themselves.

Some people are completely happy to read, watch TV, or hang out on their phones all day without having to talk to many people.

Being alone can be a good thing, as it gives you time to reflect on life and process what is happening in the world around you.

Being alone may be good, but I think it is safe to say that no one likes to be abandoned.

That’s a different level all together.

We are abandoned when people we know and love break ties with us.

It isn’t just that we are alone, it’s that we are alone with no hope of reconciliation.

When we choose to be alone, we are in control. However, when we are abandoned, we feel hurt and betrayed.

People who love us, people who support us, people we care deeply about leave us alone, and we feel unwanted.

Has that happened to you? Have you been abandoned?

Tonight, we want to remember the day when Jesus, the Son of God, was abandoned.

Jesus’ abandonment started with his friends.

There were twelve men Jesus had pulled close to him on the night before he died.

They had walked with him, learned from him, eaten with him, hung out with him, and had been there with him for years.

After he enjoyed his last meal with them, they left and headed toward a place called the Mount of Olives.

As they were going, Jesus warned them that they would all abandon him:

Mark 14:27–31 CSB

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away, because it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away, I will not.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” And they all said the same thing.

They may have denied it, but Jesus’ words would come true in only a matter of hours.

They began abandoning him almost immediately. Although they were physically there, his disciples began to mentally check out on him as soon as they got to a place called Gethsemane.

They were tired, so while Jesus went off to pray, they began to doze off. Jesus came back multiple times and tried to wake them, but each time, they went back to sleep, leaving him alone.

One of the disciples had already abandoned Jesus, though.

His name was Judas, and he had gone to the religious leaders to betray Jesus into their hands.

As Jesus woke up his disciples one last time, Judas arrived back on the scene with a group of Roman soldiers in tow.

After a brief exchange where Peter tried to kill one of the high priests servants, the soldiers arrested Jesus.

Here’s what Mark says happened:

Mark 14:50 CSB

Then they all deserted him and ran away.

In his greatest hour of need, Jesus was abandoned by his friends.

Song: “When I Survey”

It wasn’t only that Jesus’ friends abandoned him.

During that night and the following day, he experienced an even greater abandonment: Jesus, as the Son of God in the flesh, was abandoned by God the Father.

In a mystery that we cannot fully understand or explain, we know that Jesus never stopped being God, and God’s nature didn’t change.

However, as Jesus was heading towards the cross, he experienced a distancing from the Father that never happened before or since.

Scholars debate when it was that the Father withdrew his comfort and presence from Jesus.

Some say it happened while he was praying in the Garden.

In Mark’s Gospel, we find that Jesus went and prayed this prayer three different times:

Mark 14:34–36 CSB

He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.” He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.”

Mark 14:35–36 CSB

He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.”

That was what Jesus was praying while his disciples were sleeping.

He went back three different times and prayed the same thing each time.

Why? Why would he pray that same prayer three times?

Perhaps it is because heaven was silent in response.

Every time that Jesus called out to the Father during his life on earth, he would get a response.

Here, facing the most terrifying moment in history, there is no response.

Luke tells us that the anguish of these moments was such that he began to sweat great drops of blood.

That likely was a medical condition where the stress he was under was causing the capillaries throughout his body to burst and mix with sweat.

The weight of his abandonment was already taking a toll on his body.

Even if the Father had not abandoned him in the Garden, we know that at some point while he was on the cross, Jesus felt abandoned by the Father.

Having been beaten by the Jews and the Romans, having been mocked and scorned, Jesus, the perfect, sinless Son of God, was hung on a cross.

After he had been on the cross for three hours, Mark records this:

Mark 15:33–34 CSB

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 abandoned me?”

Jesus was quoting , which foretold the suffering that the Messiah would endure.

Here are some of the verses from that Psalm:

Psalm 22:1 CSB

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning?

Psalm 22:6–7 CSB

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by people. Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads:

Psalm 22:15–18 CSB

My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people look and stare at me. They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.

Psalm 22:

David wrote these words hundreds of years before Christ came.

He was using poetic language to describe his suffering, and yet these things were fulfilled literally in Jesus in his death.

On Good Friday, Jesus was abandoned by God.

Song: “There Is A Fountain”

Why? Why would Jesus endure all this suffering?

Was it because he deserved it?

Not at all! Jesus was the perfect, sinless, spotless Son of God.

He had never sinned, never done anything wrong, and was truly the only innocent person to ever live.

He is God! Why would he let his closest friends be men who were so cowardly that they would turn and run in his greatest hour of need?

He knew what was going on, so why didn’t he stop it?

Why would he be willing to have people arrest him, beat him, and hang him exposed on a criminal’s cross?

Why would he allow himself to be separated from the Father as he endured all these things?

Why? He did for the glory of God and to rescue you.

He was abandoned so you could be rescued.

Isaiah 53:6 CSB

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-

Isaiah 53:4–5 CSB

Yet 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 rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.

You see, we had abandoned God.

He made us to walk with him and know him, and we chose to do what we wanted instead of what he wanted.

We abandoned him, and we couldn’t make our way back to him on our own.

Jesus knew that, so he took the punishment for what you and I have done and paid for it so we wouldn’t have to.

He was abandoned for us!

He was pierced because we rebelled. He was crushed because we broke the Law. He was punished so we could have piece, and his death brings the ultimate healing to our souls.

All of this abandonment, all of it, was to show how incredibly loving and gracious our God is. It was to free us from our sin and take away the shame of our rebellion and offer us new life in its place.

I don’t know what brought you here tonight, but I do know this: Jesus was abandoned so you could come back to him.

He wasn’t abandoned so you could keep living life your way. He was abandoned so you could live the life you were created to live.

1 Peter 1:18–19 CSB

For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.

He bought you out of the empty rat race of life and into a glorious life of living on mission with him.

What are you going to do about it?

A few moments ago, we sang these words:

Were the whole realm of nature mine

That were an offering far too small

Love so amazing, so divine

Demands my soul, my life, my all

Is that how you are loving him today?

Just before he was abandoned, Jesus gave us a picture of what was to come.

He was celebrating the Passover with his disciples, and he took what had been an incredible memorial for Israel and made it an incredible marker for the church.

He took the bread, and he took the cup, and he used them as symbols of the covenant he was making with us.

Tonight, we want to commemorate his sacrifice using those same symbols.

If there has been a time in your life where you have turned from sin and have turned to following Jesus as your Lord, Leader, and Savior, and you are walking with Jesus and his church with a right heart attitude, you are welcome to take and eat with us.

If, however, you haven’t made that decision to follow Christ personally, or there is a sin issue between you and the Lord or you and another believer that you haven’t made every effort to make right, then please pass the plates on and don’t take. The Bible is clear that this is something only those who have a personal walk with Christ should participate in.

There isn’t anything magical about the bread our the juice, but it is a special symbol that God has given us to commemorate what Jesus has done.

Our ushers know not to pay any attention to who takes and who doesn’t, so that is between you and the Lord.

We will pass out the bread first, which symbolizes the body of Christ that was broken for us.

While you hold it, reflect again on Jesus’ abandonment for us.

<Pass out the bread>

Mark 14:22 CSB

As they were eating, he took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.”

<Take bread>

<Pray>

Now, we will pass out the cup of juice.

This cup symbolizes the blood that Jesus poured out on the cross for you and for me.

<Pass out cup>

Mark 14:23–24 CSB

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Mark 14:22–23 CSB

As they were eating, he took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

Mark 14:23 CSB

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

Writing about this ceremony, the Apostle Paul says

1 Corinthians 11:26 CSB

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

This small piece of bread and small drink of juice point to a great celebration that is coming.

One day, Jesus will return and take us to be with him, and we are going to feast like never before.

However, until that day, we want to keep the message of the cross near to us at all times.

We don’t want to forget the pain, the suffering, the abandonment that Jesus suffered.

We want to commemorate his death until he comes, which is why we are going to conclude tonight by asking Jesus to keep us near the cross.

Tonight has been dark, somber, and reflective. We are praying for Sunday to be just as powerful, but in a different way as we celebrate with joy, excitement, and light.

T

May we never forget that he was abandoned for us.Keep in mind that the story isn’t over. We want you to join us Sunday as we celebrate the rest of the story together.

Tonight has been dark, somber, and reflective. We are praying for Sunday to be just as powerful, but in a different way as we celebrate with joy, excitement, and light.

May we never forget that he

However, tonight is our time to stay near the cross.

Song: “Near the Cross”