‘Why Have You Forsaken Me?’ — Seven Sayings, Part Four

‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ — Matthew 27:46

These verses describe the lowest point in Jesus’ life. For months and years Jesus has predicted that He would suffer.

In Gethsemane as His ‘hour’ approached He longed to avoid it (Matt 26: 39) but to no avail. Matthew now describes Jesus hoisted upon a cross. This was torment enough for anyone and a public disgrace forbidden for a Roman citizen. And yet Matthew hints at something darker, something still more terrible than His lacerations and the nails which tortured His body.

On this occasion Jesus’ words are recorded in His native Aramaic. We don’t know why exactly, it could be because of their importance. Some present mistook ‘Eli,’ the Aramaic word for God, for Elijah, adding a touch of authenticity.

In v 45 Matthew describes a supernatural darkness. This was no solar eclipse as at Passover there was a full moon. The Jews present who knew their Old Testament Scriptures would have quickly grasped the meaning. Amos had predicted the day of judgement of Israel in which God declares “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight” (Amos 8 v 9). Here was God’s judgement – the loss of the life giving, light giving sun. Even a solar eclipse is an unsettling event as birds fall quiet expecting night to fall, but this darkness lasted for three hours from the middle of the day and no one was sure it would end.

So where was God’s judgement in this darkness? Christians believe this judgement fell upon Jesus and not upon the nation. The thick darkness hints at the terror of God’s eternal judgement. And worst of all Jesus’ separation from His Father All His life Jesus had walked in perfect intimacy with His father, always delighting Him. He was able to teach His followers the revolutionary way to pray by saying ‘Father’ but now Jesus calls out to ‘God,’ and Jesus is no longer the beloved Son, but the cursed sin bearer fulfilling His mission (Matt 20 v 28, 1 Peter 2 v 24).

Now Jesus feels abandoned – ‘forsaken.’ He has been progressively abandoned by His country, His disciples, the crowd and now His Father. Of all the people ever born, no one less deserved to be abandoned by God. We know loneliness can be a terrible thing that gnaws away at our soul; solitary confinement is a punishment. Here Jesus is all alone as He carries the terrible judgement of sin on behalf of His followers.

This fourth cry teaches Jesus’ sufferings were very real, and very deep. These were not because of His own failings but yours and mine; how great they must be if Jesus suffered so much for us. His cry teaches us of His great love, He feared these sufferings and they were unparalled, but He wanted to go through them to bring you and me into His Father’s kingdom and never face that same separation from God.