Forsaken by God

And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46

The anguish expressed through words, point us to the condition of the soul. Jesus, hanging on the cross for 3 hours now, lifts his voice and expresses the pain and torture of facing the judgement and wrath of God, for the sins of the world that were placed upon Him. He probably felt the heavy weight of being forsaken even as it appeared that the Father had turned his face away from him as he bore the punishment for the sins of His chosen ones.
The Son of God, the second person of the Triune God, the obedient Son who had taken on human nature and condescended to take on the posture of a servant, is crying out to the Father in deep-seated pain and anguish. Was this the cry of a weak man looking for help and rescue? Is the pain and suffering too great for Him to bear? Is it a call that is desiring to know and experience God’s love and assurance at this difficult moment? Well, it was the repulsion of the sin in the cup of suffering that He partook off and the righteous wrath of God’s judgement that he took upon himself, that made Jesus cry out to God calling him ‘My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?’. So much so, that even that momentary separation from the Father was unbearable to Jesus. Even in that difficult time, his life was so saturated with scripture, that he mouthed Psalm 22:1 which says ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? The Psalmist David’s expression of pain was having experienced distance from God, because of his own wrongdoing and as a just punishment for his sins. But not so for Jesus. There was no sin in Him. He was blameless and innocent, yet suffering for the fulfilment of the redemptive plans of God.

Truly sin separates us from the presence of God. He is a holy God, who cannot bear sin. Yet, he welcomes sinners like us who come to Him in genuine repentance. It is for our sake that Jesus died and faced anguish of the soul. It should have been us who should have been forsaken by the Father, but out of His divine mercy and grace, his judgement came on His own begotten Son, Jesus, and we who are truly undeserving of his love, have been saved and redeemed, set free from our bondage to sin, and have the gift of a new and abundant life both now and for all of eternity. Jesus faced separation from the Father, so that we would be united to Him in and through Jesus Christ. What should have been our plea and cry to the Father if we were to be punished for our sins, was on the lips of Christ. Come and be reconciled with the Father, through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.