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?" Matthew 27:46
As a child, I was terrified when I was home and unable to find anyone in the house. I can remember several occasions where I called out each one of my family member's names, searching for anyone who was home. Instantly, I felt abandoned. What was my family doing without me? Somehow, not knowing where my family was made me feel fearful and alone. I remember the relief I felt when my family returned, knowing I was no longer by myself. When Jesus lived on this earth, He was no stranger to feeling abandoned. The loneliness and abandonment He felt, however, was much, much greater than what I felt as a young child searching for my family. When He was dying on the cross, He experienced a time where He no longer sensed the presence of God the Father with Him, which must have felt like an excruciating sense of loss and loneliness.
In Matthew 27, as Jesus was dying on the cross, He said loudly, "My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?" (Matthew 27:46). You see, at this time, Jesus had taken on the sin of the world, and God the Father, being sinless and perfect, could not look on His sin. Knowing this and probably sensing that His presence was far from Him, Jesus called out, asking God the Father why He abandoned Him. When He said the words written in Mathew 27:46, Jesus was quoting Psalm 22:1. In this psalm, written years and years before Jesus' birth, the writer of most of the Psalms, David lamented feeling abandoned by God. He felt as if God had forsaken him. His psalm, however, does not end with these feelings of abandonment. As he ends this psalm, he declares that God hears His people and is attentive to them. Despite what he may feel, he knows that God will not abandon His people.
This was proven true with the death and resurrection of Jesus. God stopped at nothing to restore humanity. He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on a cross so we would not have to pay the price for our sins. You see, because Jesus willingly took on our sin and faced loneliness and feeling abandoned by God, we will never have to experience abandonment if we place our faith in Him. Even on our darkest days, we are not alone.
Laura CourtneySagebrush Staff Writer
Take a few moments and imagine how Jesus must have felt on the cross, feeling as if God the Father had abandoned Him. Despite the physical and emotional pain Jesus underwent, He did it for you so that you could have a restored relationship with Him. Spend some time in prayer, thanking God that Jesus took your sin so that you would never have to experience that feeling. He experienced the feeling of abandonment by God the Father so that you would never have to. Oh, what love He has for you!
Read Psalms 22:1-31 (NLT)
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them.They cried out to you and were saved. They trusted in you and were never disgraced.
But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all!Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying,“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!”
Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.I was thrust into your arms at my birth. You have been my God from the moment I was born.
Do not stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me.My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls; fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!Like lions they open their jaws against me, roaring and tearing into their prey.My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.My heart is like wax, melting within me.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.My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet.I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat.They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.
O Lord, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!Save me from the sword; spare my precious life from these dogs.Snatch me from the lion’s jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen.
I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people.Praise the Lord, all you who fear him! Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.
I will praise you in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him.For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations.
Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust.Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done.
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