Part 3 - My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me

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

Matthew 27:32–46 NKJV

32 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. 33 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. 35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” 36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. 37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS 38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. 45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Have you ever felt forsaken by God?

Have you ever been in a place where you felt God wasn’t paying attention - He was ignoring you in your time of need?

Have you ever felt like God must have fallen asleep on the job and something happened in your life while He was napping?

Then, you talk to a Christian friend and they offer you one of those automatic easy answers:

TYPICAL CHRISTIAN ANSWERS FOR HARD TIMES:

• IT’S YOUR FAULT.

You must have sinned. You must have done something stupid. What did you do to bring this on yourself?

John 9:2–3 NKJV

2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

What we see in this passage is that the son’s blindness was not the result of sin. He was born blind. It was most likely a genetic defect. But we see in Jesus’ statement that God has an answer in mind the whole time. Jesus, the Word Made Flesh was intentionally in his path to deliver Him so that the end result was the glory of God!

• IT’S SATAN’S FAULT.

John 10:10 NKJV

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Luke 11:14 NKJV

14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

The attack of the enemy does explain many things, but not everything.

Yet, we love to blame everything on the Devil!

• IT’S GOD’S WILL.

God is putting this suffering on you because He trying to teach you a lesson.

Luke 11:9–13 NKJV

9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

If you wanted to teach your child a lesson, that things aren’t always what they seem, or that they are not entitled to get everything they ask for, you could employ one of these methods Jesus mentioned above. But we would never do that. That would be cruel. Jesus was talking to unsaved, unredeemed people when he said this. He had not gone to the cross yet. So He correctly refers to them as “evil.” They were born with the sinful nature handed down from Adam, Yet the God-given conscience instilled in sinful humanity would not allow to do these unthinkable things. So why would a Holy, Righteous, Pure, Perfect, never tainted by sin God do such things to His children?

Let me tell you that every lesson you need to learn is contained in the Word of God. From my own life I can tell you that when I have failed to learn those lessons there, I have gone down paths by my own misunderstanding, that have brought me back to the truth that was in God’s Word all along.

While there may be a small grain of truth in any one of those statements, whichever one of the answers you are given is never the whole truth.

From Bill Vines: Jesus the vinedresser wis working to make you a productive vine. He is never absent. He is willing to get His hands dirty dealing with the stuff in your life. He can even take the manure that’s piled up in your life and use it to help you grow and become fruitful. He turns what was meant for harm into good.

Plug Wednesday Classes.

The truth you almost never hear is this:

We live in a messed up world full of messed up people and that creates messed up situations!

Look at your neighbor and say, “That’s messed up!”

Because of sin, the balance of creation was upset.

Romans 8:22 NKJV

22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

The Question that these often misapplied doesn’t address are the questions I asked at the beginning. It’s the question Jesus asked, Why have you forsaken me? Why is God not here?

For we know in part…Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:9–12 NKJV

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

What did Jesus say?

Luke 11:13 NKJV

13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

So WHY?

1) THE FATHER FORSOOK JESUS BECAUSE HE BECAME SIN.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

(God’s) eyes are too pure to look on evil; (He) cannot tolerate wrong. Habakkuk 1:13

Habakkuk 1:13 NKJV

13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?

2) THE SON WAS FORSAKEN SO WE COULD BE FORGIVEN.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24

1 Peter 2:24 NKJV

24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

• God is holy and will not tolerate sin.

• God is just and will judge sin where it is found.

• God is love and devised a way that justice would be satisfied and forgiveness made available.

3) THE SON WAS FORSAKEN SO WE COULD WOULD NEVER BE FORSAKEN.

Hebrews 13:5 NKJV

5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Jesus became sin for us and the Father had to turn away so that we could become righteous so that the Father would never turn away.

From Last Week:

Luke 23:39 NKJV

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”