Forsaken for Me

"About three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lena sabachthani?' (which means 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?')" - Matthew 27:46

Loneliness and abandonment are situations that most people hate enduring.  Feeling like you don't belong and that you're forgotten can bring even the most strong-minded person down in a deep, dark valley full of tears, hurt, and depression.  Thankfully, we know that no matter what we go through in this life, Jesus is our constant and ever-present friend that sticks closer than any brother ever could (and maybe even would).  We don't have to fear being completely forsaken in this life because we know Jesus will be there to walk with us through ever single moment - good or bad.

Can you stop and imagine, however, if Jesus wasn't there for us during our hardest moments?  If you're like me, you probably don't want to even imagine it.  To imagine going through pain and hardship completely and utterly alone seems like more than I could ever endure.  Yet someone did just that...and it is the very person that is with each one of us during our pain and hardship - our precious Savior, Jesus.

Matthew 27 outlines - in detail - the events leading up to the death of Christ.  He endured far more than hardship...He endured torture and agony.  He was accused of lying, when all His words were complete truth.  He was mocked by those who, just days earlier, had praised Him.  He was scourged and beaten and forced to carry part of the cross to which He would soon be nailed.  As hard as all of this is for us to even read, none of it compared to the torment of abandonment Christ felt as He was breathing His final breaths.  Matthew writes that around 3:00 in the afternoon, Jesus yelled to His Father, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).  While this was actually a portion of a Psalm that Christ was quoting (Psalm 22:1), I don't think He was saying this to "just" quote Scripture, I believe that when Jesus said this, He meant it with every fiber in His being.  The torture of having to endure this horrendous suffering alone was now a reality for Jesus - He was completely alone with people laughing at his demise, with blood pouring from his head, hands, and feet, and with death waiting right around the corner.  And God wasn't - really He couldn't be - there.  That is scarier than any horror movie could ever be.

God still loved His Son, He just couldn't be there for Him because God knew that this action and the feelings - all the feelings - associated with it were a necessary step in the redemption of mankind.  As humans, sin separates us from God, and as we learn in Romans 6:23, the punishment for sin is death - eternal separation from God.  When Jesus was nailed to the cross, He took that punishment for us which meant He had to endure it - being separated from everyone and every.single.thing.  So when Jesus was on the cross crying out in a loud voice this portion of Scripture, it wasn't just a repeating of a verse He had learned as a child in Hebrew AWANAs, it was a proclamation of how He felt at that exact moment.

My NLT Study Bible commentary states, "Jesus was not questioning God; he was quoting the first line of Psalm 22 - a deep expression of the anguish he felt when he took on the sins of the world, which caused Him to be separated from His Father.  This was what Jesus dreaded as he prayed to God in the garden to take the cup from him (26:39).  The physical agony was horrible, but even worse was the period of spiritual separation from God.  Jesus suffered this double death so that we would never have to experience eternal separation from God."

As hard as being forsaken by others may feel to us, Jesus is the one constant we have to depend on - always.  Jesus had no one.  He was forsaken so we wouldn't ever have to be.  What a friend we have in Jesus!  

As you reflect on this past Easter weekend, I hope you will continue to take to heart the sacrifice Jesus has made just for you.  He sacrificed everything - His relationships, His emotion, His identity, and His life - all so you wouldn't have to endure eternal separation from God and be alone for eternity.  He loves you THAT much.

If you are struggling with feeling forsaken or abandoned by others or someone in particular, remember Jesus' last words on earth and let them be an encouragement to you as you walk through this lonely time - "And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).

Below is a video clip of the song that inspired this blog post...one of my favorite songs that has ministered to me so strongly over the past few months.

The Cross at Christmas

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given” (John 1:14a, 16)

Quite a number of years ago I invited a friend to a Christmas program put on by the church I was attending at that time.  As with many church Christmas programs, the presentation featured the entire story of Jesus – from the manger to the cross to the resurrection.  I knew my friend had attended the program and the following week asked her what she thought of it.  Her reply, “Well, I thought the music and everything was great, but I just don’t understand why we have to see all the cross stuff.  That’s what is celebrated at Easter, not Christmas!”  What a statement...and one that I know she's not alone in voicing at this time of year.

When we attend community Christmas programs, get Christmas cards, or display figurines during the holiday season, we see images of or resembling the nativity – Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, angels, shepherds, wisemen, and maybe a sheep here or there.  Rarely, if ever, are images of the crucifixion prominently displayed.  Our music around this time of the year also centers around baby Jesus and those individuals who were a part of that First Christmas.  While some carols do discuss Jesus in his later years, many times those verses are skipped for time or for the simple fact that they don’t relate to this “season.”  

The fact that Jesus’ later life is overlooked for many during this time of year is an utter shame because without the things he accomplished and did during his later years, He wouldn’t be who we celebrate Him to be at this time of year – our Savior, Christ the Lord.

Crucifixion scene at the recent 2015 Sevier Heights Baptist Church Christmas Program

We sing that “Christ the Savior is born,” but had He saved anyone at the time of his birth?  No.  Yes, Christ had come to earth, but it wasn’t until 33 years later as He died upon the cross did He really and truly become our Savior.  When He died, He took with Him the punishment of all of our sins, “‘He Himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’” (1 Peter 2:24)  At the moment He cried “It is finished,” and breathed His last breath, He became the Savior of the world.  Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth as a baby those 33 years prior had now been fulfilled.  God so loved the world…past, present, and future…that He freely sacrificed His Son, Jesus, so that anyone who believes and trusts in His Son’s name would have never-ending life in heaven with Him (John 3:16, paraphrased).

Now I know that thinking about image of the cross, as it carries with it the horrors and violence that Jesus endured during his crucifixion, is hard, especially during this time of year.  The Christmas season is for the most part a very happy and joyous season and we are urged to spread “tidings of comfort and joy” to others.  I wholeheartedly believe this and I’m not discounting this at all.  Yes, we need to show love to others this year.  Yes, we should give gifts to others to remind us of God’s gift to us.  Yes, we should sing and rejoice about this little baby born in Bethlehem.  With all of that, however, it is vitally important for us also to remember the cross and Jesus’ sacrifice for us in order to be truly and fully aware of how important this time of year is for us as followers of Christ. 

If Jesus hadn’t come to earth as a baby to grow and be the man who died on the cross for our sins, He wouldn’t be the Savior we celebrate Him to be at this time of year.  Without His sacrifice, we wouldn’t know the true meanings of love, sacrifice, mercy, grace, service, forgiveness, and the list of characteristics could go on and on and on. 

At Christmas, as believers in Christ, we should be ever aware what John began his gospel proclaiming, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given” (John 1:14a, 16).  And as we reflect on His sacrifice, we can rejoice and celebrate the fact that He did not stay dead.  He arose!  This baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes at His birth, and as a man wrapped in grave clothes at His death, conquered the grave and now lives!  Now THAT is reason to sing “joy to the world!”

It’s somewhat unconventional (and uncomfortable) to think about the cross at Christmas, but it’s important because it helps us to remember, appreciate, and rejoice at the life, death, and resurrection, not just the birth, of this baby who changed everything just for you and me.

Take time this Christmas to reflect on the cross...it's how we remember the reason for the season.