I'll Never Forget - Matthew 27:45

Homily

King James Version (Chapter 27)

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Call DHR, God’s son is on the cross after He’s been beaten, bruised, battered, nailed, pierced, crowned with thorns, stripped of His clothes, spat on, given vinegar to drink, mocked, scoffed, scourged, falsely accused, incriminated and executed. And now He’s up there on the cross - its dark at 12 o’clock in the afternoon and He’s asking why He has been forsaken by His Father. To make matters worse, all of this has happened, and Jesus has an audience watching His pain, a crowd of folks all except for His Father.

The words Jesus spoke over 2000 years ago still reverberate today as the most despairing cry in history. Jesus reaches back to the Hebrew hymn book called Psalms, Psalm 22 of the words from David in his Psalm of Lament. There is a glorious illumination in the text that at times in your life when your hurt hurts all of the latest stuff on the radio won’t necessarily help you - you’ve got to lean back to a song of the ages, a great hymn of the church and be strengthened there in. Hymns like father I stretch, my hands to thee… Hymns like I need thee oh I need thee… In Jesus’ darkest hour he reached back and grabbed a hymn of old.

Jesus on the cross at the height of His pain and agony calls forth a song not just about God… but He adds the possessive pronoun to say my God as to say even when my body is wracked with pain, when my enemies seem like they are triumphing against me, when its dark at 12’ o clock in the afternoon, blood everywhere - you’re still my God! No matter His agony, Jesus having said it twice made a conscience choice to remember I don’t feel your presence near but He’s still my God! Because pain and grief are often voices that attempt to speak louder than what you know about your God. But to your grief and your pain you’ve got to do what Jesus did and cry sometimes with a loud voice signaling God this hurts but you’re still my God! Jesus words signify I’m hurting but we’re still connected, we’re still in relationship… I am in You and You are in me we are one. Jesus was down but He had always been up. So when He was down He was just acting like He had been up. I told my church what goes up must come down. But when it comes down it must act like its been up. Jesus has to go down but… nevermind, we’ll save that for Sunday morning.

He said my God why has thou forsaken me. Of course considering the whole counsel of Scripture we know that God placed upon Jesus the sins of the world. The Bible says Isaiah 53:4-7, Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows:

Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.

6  All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way;

And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Who put Jesus on the cross? You put Jesus on the cross. but you weren’t by yourself I did too.

There is constantly a question in theological and scholarly circles: why has thou forsaken me; is it really a question or is it a statement? Remember that Jesus was fully man and fully God - He had never experienced human death before. Here he is having to deal with being full God yet having a full human experience of death to His flesh. Since He is the resurrection and the life He must prove such by dying in body.

Yet it was in that body that God laid our iniquities upon Him. God hates sin and sin without salvation means eternal separation. Jesus bore the penalty of our sins so that we through His sacrifice would be able to have eternal life.

And I want to tell you I love God’s cancel culture. I’m glad Jesus was temporarily forsaken. Because God’s temporary abandonment of His son cancelled my permanent damnation and condemnation to hell.

How dare us when we’re going through something charge God of forsaking us? Jesus was forsaken so that I would not have to be.

There’s a song we sing in church Jesus, I’ll never forget what You’ve done for me. Jesus I’ll never forget how You made me free. Jesus I’ll never forget how your brought me out. Jesus I’ll never forget no never.

And it is a reality then that when I remember Jesus crying out having not been able to sense the presence of the Omnipresent God because of the sin that was laid upon Him.... it is a realization to me that since Jesus was forsaken… Since I am in Christ I never have to be!

In sickness, He won’t leave me. In death, He won’t leave me. In persecution, He won’t leave me. I’ve seen the lightening flashing. I’ve heard the thunder role. I’ve felt sins breakers dashing, trying to conquer my soul. But I heard the voice of Jesus bidding me still to fight on… He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!

And I’ll never forget!