Aug 16| My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? Understanding the Profound Meaning Behind Jesus's Cry from the Cross
The Words That Echo Through Eternity
In the history of human suffering, no cry has resonated more deeply than the anguished words Jesus spoke from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" These seven words, preserved in Matthew 27:46, represent the ultimate paradox of Christianity - the moment when the Son of God experienced the depths of human abandonment. Yet within this cry of desolation lies the seed of humanity's greatest hope.
The Supernatural Darkness: When Heaven Itself Mourned
Three Hours That Changed Everything
Picture the scene: It's noon in Jerusalem, the time when the Middle Eastern sun blazes at its strongest. Suddenly, an unnatural darkness engulfs the land. This isn't a passing cloud or a brief eclipse - this supernatural darkness lasts for three full hours, from the sixth hour to the ninth hour. Creation itself seems to be mourning the suffering of its Creator.
The Gospel writer Matthew carefully preserves this moment, wanting us to understand that this wasn't ordinary darkness. This was a cosmic event, a divine punctuation mark on the most significant moment in human history. The One who spoke light into existence at creation was now hanging in darkness, bearing the weight of humanity's separation from God.
The Aramaic Cry: Raw, Unfiltered Anguish
What makes this moment even more powerful is that the Gospel writers preserved Jesus's exact words in Aramaic: "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" They didn't just give us a Greek translation; they wanted us to hear the raw, unfiltered cry in Jesus's native tongue. This wasn't a composed theological statement crafted for posterity. This was a scream of absolute desolation from the depths of unimaginable suffering.
The Hidden Depth: Psalm 22 and the Bigger Picture
More Than Just Despair
Here's where understanding Jewish culture transforms our perception of this moment. Jesus wasn't simply expressing His pain - He was quoting the opening line of Psalm 22. Every Jewish listener at the foot of the cross would have immediately recognized this reference. In Jewish tradition, quoting the first line of a psalm was equivalent to invoking the entire psalm.
Psalm 22 begins with abandonment but ends in triumph. It starts with "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" but concludes with declarations that "future generations will be told about the Lord" and "they will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn." Even in His darkest moment, Jesus was pointing toward the victory that would come through His suffering.
Teaching Through Torment
Consider the profound nature of this moment: Jesus, even while experiencing the full weight of human sin and separation from God, was still teaching. He was still revealing Scripture. He was still showing us the path forward. In His most agonizing hour, He remained our Rabbi, our teacher, guiding us through the valley of the shadow of death by walking through it first.
The Paradox of Abandonment: Feeling Forsaken While Staying Connected
"MY God" - The Relationship That Endures
Notice the crucial detail in Jesus's cry. Even while expressing feelings of abandonment, He still says "MY God." Not "Where is God?" Not "Is there a God?" But "MY God." This possessive pronoun reveals something profound: even in the abyss of feeling forsaken, the relationship remains intact.
This teaches us a vital truth about our own spiritual struggles. Feeling disconnected from God doesn't mean we are disconnected from God. Our emotions, no matter how overwhelming, don't have the power to sever the relationship that God has established with us through Christ.
The Humanity of the Divine
For those who have ever wondered if God truly understands human suffering, this moment provides the definitive answer. The Son of God didn't just observe human pain from a distance - He entered into it fully. He experienced the crushing weight of feeling abandoned, the suffocating darkness of spiritual isolation.
This means that when you're lying awake at 3 AM, tears streaming down your face, wondering if your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling - Jesus knows exactly how that feels. When you're sitting in a hospital waiting room, begging God for a miracle that seems to never come - Jesus has been in that place of desperate pleading met with apparent silence.
The Immediate Aftermath: Signs of Transformation
The Temple Curtain: Barrier Destroyed Forever
The moment Jesus breathed His last, Matthew records an astounding event: the temple curtain tore from top to bottom. This wasn't just any piece of fabric. This curtain, known as the veil, was approximately 60 feet high and 4 inches thick. It was woven so tightly that horses pulling in opposite directions couldn't tear it apart.
The direction of the tear is crucial - from top to bottom, not bottom to top. Human hands pulling from below couldn't have done this. This was divine action. God Himself was tearing down the barrier that had separated humanity from His presence since the fall in Eden.
The Centurion's Declaration: Recognition in Death
Perhaps one of the most remarkable conversions in Scripture happens at this moment. A Roman centurion - a hardened military officer who had likely overseen hundreds of crucifixions - looks at how Jesus died and declares, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
This pagan soldier didn't witness Jesus walking on water. He didn't hear the Sermon on the Mount. He didn't see Lazarus raised from the dead. He simply observed how Jesus handled His darkest hour, and in that observation, he recognized divinity. Sometimes, our lowest moments become our greatest testimony.
The Theological Implications: What This Means for Believers Today
Your Darkness Is Not Disqualification
If Jesus, the perfect Son of God, could feel forsaken, then your moments of spiritual darkness don't disqualify you from being a faithful believer. Those times when God feels distant, when prayers seem unanswered, when faith feels impossible - these aren't signs of spiritual failure. They're part of the human experience that even Christ Himself entered into.
The Hidden Work in the Darkness
Often, God's most powerful work happens in what feels like His absence. At the very moment Jesus felt most separated from the Father, the Father was orchestrating humanity's reconciliation. The darkness that seemed to signal abandonment was actually the backdrop against which redemption was being painted.
This principle continues in our lives today. Your season of darkness might be exactly where God is doing His deepest work. The silence you're experiencing might be the pause before the breakthrough. The absence you feel might be the preparation for a presence more powerful than you've ever experienced.
The Promise of Resurrection
Jesus's cry of abandonment wasn't the end of the story - it was the dark middle chapter before the glorious conclusion. Three days later, He rose from the dead. The One who cried "Why have you forsaken me?" became the One who declared "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Your Friday darkness isn't permanent. Sunday is coming. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in your situation right now, even if you can't see it or feel it.
Practical Application: Living Through Your Own Forsakenness
Hold On to "MY God"
When you find yourself in your own Garden of Gethsemane or hanging on your own cross of suffering, follow Jesus's example. Even when you can't feel God, hold on to the possessive pronoun - "MY God." Claim the relationship even when you can't sense the presence. Faith isn't about feeling; it's about holding on when feelings fail.
Remember the Torn Curtain
In your moments of feeling separated from God, remember that the curtain has already been torn. The barrier has been permanently destroyed. Nothing - not your doubts, not your fears, not your feelings of abandonment - can rebuild what God has torn down. Access to the Father remains open, even when your emotions tell you otherwise.
Look for God's Work in the Darkness
Instead of seeing dark seasons as God's absence, begin looking for evidence of His hidden work. What might God be tearing down in your life that needs to be destroyed? What resurrection might He be preparing that requires this temporary death? What testimony might emerge from your current trial?
The Cry That Brings Comfort
The cry of Jesus from the cross - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - stands as an eternal reminder that feeling forsaken doesn't mean being forsaken. It means you're standing exactly where your Savior stood. And just as surely as He didn't remain in that place of suffering, neither will you.
Your darkness is not the end of your story. It's the chapter before resurrection. The God who seemed silent on Friday was preparing Sunday's victory. The same is true in your life. Hold on through the darkness. Keep claiming "MY God" even when you can't feel Him. Because the curtain has been torn, the barrier has been broken, and nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
An Invitation to go Deeper….
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