Abandoned

One of the last seven statements of Jesus on the cross was a cry of abandonment which he felt as he was dying for you and for me. It turns out it is also the fulfillment of prophecy in which King David wrote a psalm describing what the Lord Jesus would endure that day…

45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. 49 But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”
Matthew 27:45-49 NLT

1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?

7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
let the Lord rescue him!”

14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
melting within me.
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
an evil gang closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing.
Psalm 22:1, 7-8, 14-18 NLT

Some of the bystanders assumed Jesus was calling Elijah. Jesus was not – in the midst of their mocking, Jesus was expressing how lonely and forsaken he felt in that moment. Everyone and everything seemed to be against him. As we might express in that moment, Jesus expressed that when you are persecuted, attacked, and even put to death wrongly by aggressors, it is the loneliest place on earth. Where was God the Father?

We know from further investigation that Jesus was also quoting Psalm 22. He wanted us to know that his experience on the cross was a fulfillment of this psalm of King David. The resemblance of the psalmist’s experience to Jesus’ crucifixion is alarming. It is as if David was writing, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, of this exact scene in which Jesus was left for dead, surrounded by his enemies, pierced in hands and feet.

He was pierced, by Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 53:5, for our transgressions and our rebellion against the God who loved us. He was crushed for our sins. And therefore, his sense of isolation, having been led there by the Father’s will, was profound. He felt forsaken even while he was willing to be obedient to the Father’s will.

For before time, we know that this plan was conceived. Peter shares that Jesus was ordained to be the lamb of God, sacrificed for our ransom, long before the world began. This was always the plan. This was the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in unity of purpose and will, determining how we could be reconciled to our Creator.

Why has God forsaken Jesus? It is for you and for me. It is for our redemption and our restoration that Jesus was forsaken. We are forgiven because Jesus was forsaken. And we shall be eternally thankful.

Amen.

Marc Kinna