Forsaken?

Part 4 of 4

The last instance I want to look at is a very solemn one: "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?" (Matt 27:46). In short, these brief words uttered by our Lord pronounce God's inflexible justice against evil and sin. They teach us of the vehement indignation that we, in turn, should likewise possess: "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil" (Eph 4:26-27). As we witness the Lord of glory upon His cross, crying out, our hearts should be moved with gratitude for His great propitiation, and a righteous indignation should be born: "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Pet 1:15-16).

How agonizing it must have been to taste death for all humankind! What great pain Jesus must have realized as the precious and constant communion with His Father was experientially halted. Jesus had communed with His Father in fullness for years, but now was relinquished into the hands of evil and plotting men. The Father simply could not look upon the sin that was now being atoned for (Jn 1:29; Heb 9:26). God's holiness demanded that He look away, and what a "forsaking" this must have been for Jesus, as God's countenance can only behold "the upright" (Ps 11:7). Because of this, perpetual communion suddenly became chastisement: "...the chastisement of our peace was upon him..." (Isa 53:5).

No pen on earth could adequately tell of the holiness of God! Such must be so if this instance demanded an interruption of divine communion. His holiness is unsullied, and will always remain as so. God is so holy that the very heavens are unclean in His sight (Job 15:15); He is so holy that even the Seraphim veil their faces before Him. Abraham stood before God and could do nothing but say, "[I] am but dust and ashes" (Gen 18:27). Both Job and Isaiah abhorred themselves in the presence of God's holiness (Job 42:6; Isa 6:5). When Daniel caught this glimpse, he could do nothing but say "there remained no strength in me, for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption" (Dan 10:8).

Verily, God simply cannot behold iniquity and evil: "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity..." (Hab 1:13). In another place, Scripture says, "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry... [but] the face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth" (Ps 34:15-16). In fact, the Psalm which prophesied this instance in the crucifixion likewise tells us the reason for this forsaking: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? ... But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel" (Ps 22:1, 3). And it was because our Savior was bearing the sins of wretched humanity that God could not readily gaze at Him, as He had continually done prior (Matt 3:17). As another has said, "The Lord made to meet on Christ the iniquities of us all: and our sins being on Him as our Substitute, the divine wrath against our offenses must be spent upon our sin offering". Surely, what a "forsaking" this must have been!

Some suppose “that the divinity had now departed from Christ, and that his human nature was left unsupported to bear the punishment due to men for their sins.” But this is by no means to be accepted, as it would deprive His sacrifice of its infinite holiness and merit, and consequently leave the sin of the world without an atonement. A proper "mediator" is one who is fully acquainted with both parties. Thus, Jesus' deity was essential for a sufficient mediation to occur. Take deity away from any redeeming act of Christ Jesus, and REAL redemption is ruined. Rather, His perfection was hung in our stead; He was made a curse for us (Gal 3:13); He was made a sin offering in our place (2 Cor 5:21). He wholly experienced the manifestation of God's hatred of sin; it "pleased the LORD to bruise Him" (Isa 53:10), because it was the Father's will (Jn 6:38)... Jesus suffered as our scapegoat so we wouldn't have to! Instead, we can now be righteously presented before His presence with exceeding joy (Jd 24)! What a wonder!

How interesting that these words are included in the very few that were uttered from Calvary's cross.. As we have before determined, each spoken phrase possesses special significance. This phrase is no exception. Just as Jesus left us with a desire for communion ("I thirst"), a picture of His mercies ("Disciple, behold thy mother"), and a model for a genuine "Christian walk" ("Father, forgive them"), even so now He leaves us with the proper attitude toward sin: How should we treat sin? We should view sin as that very thing which caused our beloved Savior the greatest pain: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." We should see sin as the "grief" that He carried, and the "sorrows" He bore (Isa 53:4a).. Our sin was the very thing that caused Jesus to be "stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted" (Isa 53:4b). May such a truth humble our hearts today.