Forsaken?

“And at three, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

The traditional interpretation of this verse is that Jesus was abandoned on the cross by the Father because God cannot look on sin. Some have preached elaborate and passionate sermons to that effect. A closer scrutiny and understanding, however, may show an alternate interpretation.

The Old Testament scriptures at that time did not have chapters and verses. Those were not added to the Bible until many centuries later. When a rabbi or other teacher wanted to cite a text for teaching purposes, they would typically quote the first line of the passage. They did so with the understanding that others who knew the scriptures would recognize the entire passage.

What Jesus did on the cross was to quote the first verse of Psalm 22. As a teacher, His purpose in doing so would not necessarily have been to express His own sense of abandonment by the Father, but to point all those around Him to the whole of Psalm 22. When you read the whole of Psalm 22, what you find is a description of the entire events around the cross. Even as He was dying on the cross, Jesus would thus have been trying to bear witness to the fulfillment of prophecy, with the intent of calling people there to faith. Particularly, for His disciples who may have been around the cross, He would have wanted them to understand what was really happening.

The fact is, if God looks on you and me, He looks on sin all the time. His Spirit dwells in us, people who are saved sinners. He has forgiven our sins and cleansed our hearts. Yet, we deal with sin all the time, and still He remains in us, leading us away from it.

Further, the Spirit who was in Jesus did not abandon Him during this suffering. And there is no reason to assume, or interpret, that God somehow abandoned Jesus, or that Jesus even felt abandoned. It is just as possible, and actually more than possible, that Jesus – the Master Teacher – was taking one of the most opportune times for teaching to make a point. Teachers do that.

Father, We know that You have never abandoned us, and we believe that You never will, since that is what You have promised. Help us each day to walk with You, turning away from sin, and seeking a life that demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit. Amen.