My God, My God…

By Pastor Jeff,

Matthew 27:46, “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?”

I have heard an explanation for this cry by Jesus that I have to say I have a hard time accepting. The thought that God the Father at the most horrific time would turn His back on the one that will reconcile us with Him I find just wrong.

It is clear in the scriptures that Jesus is God in the flesh, Colossians 2:8-9, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
The entire Old testament points to a day when God would take upon Himself “Flesh” to redeem us to Himself, Is 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
I don’t think I can do this message justice by not talking about the oneness of God, because when you try to make Jesus a separate co-equal, co-eternal part of some triune Godhead, you get into trouble. You must understand that the man Jesus, the Son was never co-eternal, He was begotten, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”.
When we look at the life of Jesus we find one that shows both His divinity and humanity, Jesus the one who multiplied the fish and loaves declared to His disciples one day that, Matthew 21:18, “Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.” The one who turned water into wine thirsted, John 19:28, “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.” The one who created all and knows all had to learn,” Luke 2:52, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

With the suffering Jesus was going through in His flesh how cannot you want to scream out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Remember at any moment Jesus could of called on 12 legions of angels to end His suffering, Thank God He didn’t!  For the very reason that He was sentenced to death was that He didn’t deny being equal with God, Mark 14:61-62, “But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

So if God did forsake Jesus what part in the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did God separate Himself from the man Jesus Christ? In the Garden? At His trial? At His beating? when He carried the cross? When He was nailed to the cross, when He cried out My God, My God?

My God declares several times that He will never leave us, never forsake us, never fail us, I can’t believe that this does not hold true for His only begotten, in fact scripture bares this out, John 16:32-33, “the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”

So why did Jesus cry out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Let’s look at Psalms 22:1, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”
Now if you look at the entire 22nd chapter of Psalms you can see that it is describing the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, 6-8, “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”
15-16, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” (What a description of a crucifixion)
18, “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”
In essence Jesus was giving further evidence that He was indeed to Messiah as He fulfilled the scriptures exactly.

I don’t know about you but I need to know without hesitation that no matter what I’m going through that I have a God that will be there. He will never leave me, never forsake me, and for Jesus Christ on the cross, God was with and in Jesus till the very end!

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