Forsaken: What Did Jesus Mean?

Matthew 27:46 by Derek Gentle

What did Jesus mean when He cried out on the cross, "My God, My God, why have ou !orsaken Me?" "Matthew #$:%&, 'salm ##:() Was He really and truly !orsaken by the Father, or was it a !i*ure o! s+eech? Was He doubtin* God? Why did He ask? Did he not know the answer? ,o understand the answer to these -uestions one must understand the nature o! the +erson o! .hrist, the nature o! His su!!erin*s, and the nature o! His -uestion/ The Nature of His Humanity: Real and Complete Humanity ,here are several reasons !or the incarnation o! .hrist/ 0ne is that God is immortal and cannot die1 Jesus took on humanity in order to be able to die/ God is immortal/ ,he +salmist +rays, the heavens are the work o! our hands/ ,hey will +erish, but ou will endure1 es, they will all *row old like a *arment/ / / 2ut ou are the same, 3nd our years will have no end/" "'salm (4#:#56#$)/ 'aul blesses God as the, "the 7in* eternal, immortal, invisible" "(st ,imothy (:($)/ 8ince God is immortal, how is He to die on the cross/ God cannot die/ ",here!ore, when He came into the world, He said: 9/// a body ou have +re+ared !or Me9" "Hebrews (4:%65)/ Jesus took on humanity and a body in order to be able to die/ 3nother reason !or the incarnation is that God .annot be ,em+ted/ ":et no one say when he is tem+ted, 9; am tem+ted by God91 !or God cannot be tem+ted by evil, nor does He Himsel! tem+t anyone" "James (:(<)/ 3nd He would have to be tem+ted in order to become a sinless sacri!ice "not merely innocent, but tested and +roven without sin)/ He would have to be tem+ted in order to, as man, undo the mess man *ot us into/ Jesus took on humanity in order to be really and truly tem+ted/ "Hebrews a!!irms that Jesus was "in all +oints tem+ted as we are, yet without sin" "Hebrews %:(56 (&)/ ;t was not His deity, but His humanity which made that +ossible/ Jesus was not merely God encased in a body/ His humanity was real inside and out/ He +ossessed a human s+irit and was +sycholo*ically human/ ",his sel!same one is +er!ect both in deity and in humanness1 this sel!same one is also actually God and actually man, with a rational soul =meanin* human soul> and a body/ He is o! the same reality as God as !ar as his deity is concerned and o! the same reality as we ourselves as !ar as his humanness is concerned1 thus like us in all res+ects, sin only e?ce+ted/" 66 De!inition o! .halcedon, %5( Jesus E perien!ed Real Human Emotions" #e$eral e amples are: :ove: ,he disci+le "whom Jesus loved" John (<:#< .om+assion: "2ut when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with com+assion !or them, because they were weary and scattered, like shee+ havin* no she+herd/" "Matthew @:<&) ":iterally, "moved in one9s internal or visceral or*ans") Distress: "He be*an to be sorrow!ul and dee+ly distressed/ ,hen He said to them, 9My soul is e?ceedin*ly sorrow!ul, even to death/ 8tay here and watch with Me/9" "Matthew #&:<$)

Joy: ";n that hour Jesus reAoiced in the 8+irit and said, "; thank ou, Father, :ord o! heaven and earth, that ou have hidden these thin*s !rom the wise and +rudent and revealed them to babes/ / /" ":uke (4:#() 3n*er: "3nd when He had looked around at them with an*er, bein* *rieved by the hardness o! their hearts" "Mark <:5) ;ndi*nance: "When Jesus saw this, he was indi*nant/ He said to them, ":et the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, !or the kin*dom o! God belon*s to such as these/" "Mark (4:(%, B;C)

Jesus %un!tioned as a True Human %un!tions Jesus +layed by the rules we have to +lay by/ "2ut when the !ullness o! the time had come, God sent !orth His 8on, born o! a woman, born under the law" "Galatians %:%)/ ,hou*h !ully and truly God, Jesus did not e?ercise His +rero*atives as God/ He never ceased to be who He was/ He sim+ly chose not to e?ercise His +owers as God/ ;nstead He !unctioned as the +rototy+e o! the 8+irit !illed man/ "3lthou*h !rom the be*innin* He had the nature o! God He did not reckon His e-uality with God a treasure to be ti*htly *ras+ed/ Bay, He stri++ed Himsel! o! His *lory, and took on Him the nature o! a bondservant by becomin* a man like other men/ 3nd bein* reco*niDed as truly human, He humbled Himsel! and even stoo+ed to die1 yes, to die on a cross/" "'hili++ians #:&6E, Weymouth) He 3cce+ted, !or a while, :imitations to which Humans are 8ubAect/ For e?am+le, He re!used to e?ercise His omniscience as God/ He chose to know only what the Father would reveal to Him/ He did not know when the second comin* would take +lace/ "2ut o! that day and hour no one knows, not even the an*els in heaven, nor the 8on, but only the Father" "Mark (<:<#)/ While there were times when the Father revealed the thou*hts and secrets o! those with whom He came in contact, but when s+eakin* to the !ather o! one boy tormented by a demon, He did not know the answer and asked !or in!ormation: "8o He asked his !ather, 9How lon* has this been ha++enin* to him?9 3nd he said, 9From childhood9" "Mark @:#()/ Jesus, in His incarnation, chose to be limited to one +lace at a time, re!usin* to e?ercise !or a time, omni6+resence/ He could have chosen to call in twelve le*ions o! an*els to rescue Himsel! !rom the cross "Matthew #&:5<), but He chose to acce+t the limitations o! humanity and o! su!!erin*/

Jesus li$ed in !omplete dependan!e upon the %ather& as man'ind was desi(ned to do" He +layed by the rules by which we have to +lay/ He re+lied on the Father to lead Him in what to say, "For ; have not s+oken on My own authority1 but the Father who sent Me *ave Me a command, what ; should say and what ; should s+eak" "John (#:%@ .+: John $:($, E:#&, (#:54, (%:(4, #%)/ He relied on the Father9s +ower to +er!orm His si*ns and miracles/ 3s God, He could have done so in His own +ower, but as Man, He relied on the Father/ ",hen Jesus answered and said to them, 9Most assuredly, ; say to you, the 8on can do nothin* o! Himsel!, but what He sees the Father do1 !or whatever He does, the 8on also does in like manner9" "John 5:(@)/ He answered His critics statin* that ";! ; cast out demons with the !in*er o! God, surely the kin*dom o! God has come u+on you" ":uke ((:#4, see also John %:<%, 5:<&)/ ,he assum+tion, a*ain, is that He relied on the Father !or the +ower/

When Jesus selected His disci+les, He relied on the Father !or direction/ "Bow it came to +ass in those days that He went out to the mountain to +ray, and continued all ni*ht in +rayer to God/ 3nd when it was day, He called His disci+les to Himsel!1 and !rom them He chose twelve whom He also named a+ostles" ":uke &:(#6(<)/ Jesus lived in continuous !ellowshi+ with the Father, in continuous obedience to the Father, in continuous de+endence u+on the Father, and thus e?+erienced continuous em+owerment !rom the Father/ 0n earth, He was the +roto6ty+e o! the 8+irit6!illed man/ The Nature of His #ufferin(s: Real )rath and *lienation +od,s *ttitude Towards #in is -ne of )rath and %ury" :ook at what the 2ible says about God9s wrath/ ;t is stron* and !ri*htenin*/ 8ome wish to make God one6dimensional: "God is love" 66 as i! love were His only -uality/ ,hat is not the +icture we !ind in 8cri+ture/ 'salm $:(( says that, "God is a Aust Aud*e, 3nd God is an*ry with the wicked every day" Bahum (:# says, "God is Aealous, and the :0FD aven*es1 ,he :0FD aven*es and is !urious/ ,he :0FD will take ven*eance on His adversaries, 3nd He reserves wrath !or His enemies/" ;t is in the Bew ,estament as well as the 0ld, "For the wrath o! God is revealed !rom heaven a*ainst all un*odliness and unri*hteousness o! men, who su++ress the truth in unri*hteousness" "Fomans (:(E)/ ,he reason !or this horri!yin* wrath is the horrid, o!!ensive nature o! sin/ God hates sin/ ;t deserves to be +unished/ ;t should be +unished/ God is Aust1 it will be +unished/ Bahum (:< a!!irms, ",he :0FD is slow to an*er and *reat in +ower, 3nd will not at all ac-uit the wicked/" God cannot sim+ly overlook sin/ He is too holy to Aust +retend it didn9t ha++en/ He is not a 8anta .laus !i*ure, who !or all the threatenin* about bein* nice, still comes any way/ Christ,s #[Link] )or' on the Cross Made Him the -./e!t of +od,s )rath 0n the cross .hrist was e?+eriencin* sin !or us/ "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin !or us, that we mi*ht become the ri*hteousness o! God in Him" "#nd .orinthians 5:#()/ Botice the stunnin* words the 8cri+tures use to describe the e?+erience o! .hrist "em+hasis added)/// ".hrist has redeemed us !rom the curse o! the law, havin* become a !urse !or us "!or it is written, [Link] is everyone who han*s on a tree9)" "Galatians <:(<) "8urely He has .orne our griefs 3nd carried our sorrows/ / / He was wounded !or our trans*ressions, He was bruised !or our ini-uities1 ,he chastisement !or our +eace was u+on Him, 3nd by His stri+es we are healed/ / / the :0FD has laid on Him the ini0uity of us all / / / it pleased the 1-R2 to bruise Him1 He has put Him to (rief/ When ou ma'e His soul an offerin( for sin" ";saiah 5<:&6E, (4) 0ne key word to e?+lain what ha++ened at the cross is propitiation 66 "3nd He Himsel! is the +ro+itiation !or our sins" "(st John #:#)/ ,he word means to turn away wrath by sacri!ice, and thus make God !avorable toward us/ ;n +a*an reli*ions, its like the tribe throwin* the vir*in into the volcano/ ;s this a .hristian conce+t? ,he di!!erence between that and +a*an tribesmen chuckin* the *irl down the volcano is that, !irst, the volcano deity is a !ictional character and second, true Deity has come Himsel! to be the sacri!ice/ Jesus turned the wrath !rom us by absorbin* it within Himsel!/

3" The Conte t and Nature of Jesus, 4uestion )as Jesus *!tually %orsa'en5 ;n that He, in !act, e?+erienced the wrath o! God on the cross Jesus was in some way, !orsaken/ Jesus, as Man, had :ived in continuous !ellowshi+ with the Father 6 "3nd He who sent Me is with Me/ ,he Father has not le!t Me alone, !or ; always do those thin*s that +lease Him/" "John E:#@)/ et, now, at the cross His !ellowshi+ with the Father is broken/ ,here is a thick darkness coverin* the day "verse %5)/ ;t is not merely the absence o! li*ht, it is s+iritual and it is thick/ Jesus is e?+eriencin* the wrath o! God, the wrath which we deserved, as our substitute/ ,he word He uses !or this, He takes !rom 'salm ##:(, forsaken/ "My God, My God, why have ou !orsaken Me?" "; remember, also, that our blessed :ord had lived in unbroken !ellowshi+ with God, and to be !orsaken was a new *rie! to him/ He had never known what the dark was till then: his li!e had been lived in the li*ht o! God/// His !ellowshi+ with the Father was o! the hi*hest, dee+est, !ullest order1 and what must the loss o! it have been? We lose but dro+s when we lose our Aoy!ul e?+erience o! heavenly !ellowshi+1 and yet the loss is killin*: but to our :ord Jesus .hrist the sea was dried u+ ; mean his sea o! !ellowshi+ with the in!inite God/" 66 .harles 8+ur*eon Botice that Jesus s+eaks as Man to God, not as 8on to Father/ His +rayer addresses, "My God, My God," not "My Father/" Jesus is !unctionin* as a man !unctions and dies on the cross !unctionin* as a man/ 3s it addresses God, it is not a cry o! total des+air/ ;t is a cry o! submission and de+endance/ ;n 'salm ##, the conte?t is o! one who is trustin* in the :ord/ ",he -uestion has been asked, 9How can God !orsake God?9 ,he answer must be that God the Father deserted the 8on9s human nature/ / /" "William Hendriksen, Bew ,estament .ommentary on Matthew, +a*e @$()/ Jesus is God incarnate, with all the -ualities which make man man includin* a human s+irit and emotions/ Wayne Grudem maintains that ";t is better to understand the -uestion/ / / as meanin*, 9Why have you le!t me !or so lon*/ ,his is the sense it has in 'salm ##/" ,hat would make sense in terms o! Jesus ado+tin* limited knowled*e in His incarnation/ Grudem *oes on to observe, "Jesus in his human nature knew he would have to bear our sins, to su!!er and die/ 2ut, in his human consciousness, he +robably did not know how lon* this su!!erin* would take/" "8ystematic ,heolo*y, +a*e 5$&) 0n the cross Jesus never ceased to be who He is 66 God/ "God was in .hrist reconcilin* the world to Himsel!" "#nd .orinthians 5:(@)/ Jesus !unctioned as a man, really and !ully man 66 and He died as a man, e?+eriencin* su!!erin* and death and the unknown as a man/ He was !orsaken not only as our sin bearer, but as a man/ He was !orsaken as our substitute/// He was !orsaken that God mi*ht never leave nor !orsake us/ "Hebrews (<:51 Fomans E:<(6<@)