Jesus was forsaken by god

JESUS WAS FORSAKEN BY GOD
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 27:46 46Aboutthree in the afternoonJesus
cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"
(which means "My God, my God, why have you
forsakenme?").
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
ForsakenBy God
Matthew 27:46
W.F. Adeney
We cannotfathom the depths of the dark and mysterious experience of our
Lord's lastmortal agony. We must walk reverently, for here we stand on holy
ground. It is only just to acknowledgethat the great Sufferer must have had
thoughts and feelings which pass beyond our comprehension, and which are
too sacredand private for our inspection. Yet what is recordedis written for
our instruction. Let us, then, in all reverence, endeavourto see what it means.
I. CHRIST AS A TRUE MAN SHARED IN THE FLUCTUATIONS OF
HUMAN EMOTION. He quoted the language ofa psalmist who had passed

through the deep waters, and he felt them to be most tree in his own
experience. Jesus was notalways calm; certainly he was not impassive. He
could be rousedto indignation; he could be melted to tears. He knew the
rapture of Divine joy; he knew also the torment of heart-breaking grief. There
are sorrows whichdepend upon the inner consciousness more than on any
external events. These sorrows Jesus knew and felt. We cannotcommand our
phases of feeling. It is well to know that Jesus also, in his earthly life, was
visited by very various moods. Dark hours were not unknown to him. Having
experiencedthem, he can understand them in us, and sympathize with our
depressionof spirit.
II. CHRIST AS THE ATONEMENTFOR SIN FELT THE DARK HORROR
OF ITS GUILT. He could not own himself to be guilty when he knew he was
innocent. But he was so one with man that he felt the shame and burden of
man's sin as though it had been his own. As the greatRepresentative ofthe
race, he took up the load of the world's sin, i.e. he made it his own by deeply
concerning himself with it, by entering into its dreadful consequences, by
submitting to its curse. Such feelings might blot out the vision of God for a
season.
III. CHRIST AS THE HOLY SON OF GOD WAS UNUTTERABLY
GRIEVED AT LOSING THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF HIS FATHER'S
PRESENCE.There are men who live without any thought of God, and yet this
is no trouble to them. On the contrary, they dread to see God, and it is fearful
for them to think that he sees them. These are men who love sin, and therefore
they do not love God. But Jesus lived in the love of his Father. To lose one
whom we love with all our heart is a cause for heart-breaking anguish. Jesus
seemedto have lost God. To all who have the love of God in their hearts any
similar feeling of desertion must be an agonyof soul.
IV. CHRIST AS THE BELOVED SON IN WHOM GOD WAS WELL
PLEASED COULD NOT BE REALLY DESERTED BYGOD. Not only is
God physically near to all men, because he is omnipresent, but he is spiritually
near to his own people to sustain and save them, even when they are not
conscious ofhis presence. The vision of God is one thing, and his presence is
another. We may miss the first without losing the second. Our real state

before God does not rest on the shifting sands of our moods of feeling. In the
hour of darkness Jesus prayed. This is enough to show that he knew that he
was not really and utterly abandoned by his Father. In spiritual deadness,
when it is hard to pray at all, the one remedy is in prayer. Our cry can reach
God through the darkness, and the darkness will not last forever; often it is
the gate to a glorious light. - W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsakenMe?
Matthew 27:46
The forsakenChrist
B. Noel, M. A.
THE DESERTIONITSELF IS PLAIN. "Why hast Thou forsakenMe?" Then
He felt Himself to be forsaken?The Divine nature could not be separated
from the human; He was eternally God. Norcould the Father be separated

from the Sonin the Divine Godhead, since that in affectionand will He was
insolubly one. Norcould the Father forsake the Son in any sense that He
ceasedto love and uphold Him; for at that moment Christ was accomplishing
that actof holy obedience worthiestof the admiration of Deity.
I. THERE REMAIN THREE SENSES IN WHICH IT MIGHT BE SAID
THAT HE WAS DESERTEDOF HIS FATHER.
1. In the first place, it might be said that He bore at that moment the wrath of
God on accountof our sins. How could the Almighty, as He loved His Son,
convey to the mind of Christ a sense of that wrath which was not real?
2. In the sense that Godforbore to interfere on Christ's behalf to terminate
those sufferings, and rescue Him from the hands of His enemies. But many
saints have endured as greatphysical sufferings without complaint.
3. That our Lord was sufferedin this hour of anguish to be left destitute of the
sense ofHis Father's love, and care, and protection. There is a close
connectionbetweenmind and body; so that when the body is languishing in
pain, the mind contracts a sensibility as keen, and shudders at the approach of
the leastsuffering, which in a state of health it would meet unmoved. But
there was far more than this in Christ. The comunications which God makes
to the minds of His people are directly from Himself; this he is free to give or
withdraw. I suppose that on this occasionour Saviour had it withdrawn. It is
clearthat howeverpious, howeverconvinced of acceptancewithGod, there
can be a state of mind in which a Christian may be deprived of the present
sense ofthe Being of God; and that this will inflict greatmisery.
II. OUR SAVIOUR'S COMPLAINT UNDER THE DESERTION. Our Lord
made no complaint of the nails and spear, but is now urged to lament.
1. Considerthe nature of that sorrow which our Lord at this time
experienced. Love is a greatsource of misery or happiness; the former if
withdrawn. If so in human objects, how much more as regards Divine.
2. The complaint of these words — "Why hastThou?" He was forsakenby
His disciples, but now forsakenby His best Friend, and at a moment when He
most needs consolationand help. The Almighty thus marks His view of sin.

Christ hung upon the cross that we might never be forsakenby God. Every
ungodly person is advancing to that sentence, "Departfrom Me," etc.
3. That God may desertfor a moment in the same sense, and in that sense
alone, those whom He still loves and upholds. There is nothing in the
relationship of a child of God to prevent that experience, and it may be a
requisite discipline, by which sin is embittered.
(B. Noel, M. A.)
The Redeemer's desertion
J. R. Mackenzie.
I. THE IMPORT OF THE REDEEMER'SLANGUAGE.
1. It does not mean that the Godheadof Christ was separatedfrom His
manhood, so that His humanity alone was presenton the cross.
2. The language is not that of murmuring.
3. It is not indicative of distrust.
4. It is not that of despair. All sensible comfortis eclipsed.
II. SOME OF THE GREAT DESIGNS TO BE EFFECTED THROUGH
THIS DESERTION.
1. The punishment due to the sins of the people was herein endured.
2. The manifestation of God's regardfor the honour of His law.
3. That He might be like unto His people in all things.
4. The brightest pattern of confidence in God.
5. To enable Him to enter upon His mediatorial glory.
(J. R. Mackenzie.)

The despairing cry of Jesus on the cross
S. V. Leech, D. D.
I. The surroundings of the sufferer uttering this wail of distress.
II. What is the import of this lamentation of Jesus.
1. It is not the result of any corporealpain being endured. There are two
primary causes forthis cry.(1) In a manner beyond finite comprehensionGod
then withheld from His dying Son, as the latest and most appalling ingredient
of His atoning sufferings, a cloudless consciousnessofHis supporting
presence.(2)TrackHis public ministry and He is never found murmuring as
to His Father's absence. In demonstration of his moral fidelity Danielwent
down into the den of lions; but Godwas with him. Jesus Christ, the purest
character, was the only one dying for the Father's glory, who could not by
possibility secure a consciousnessofthe Divine presence and favour amidst
His pains.
2. This seeming abandonment of His suffering Son was the crowning
manifestation of God's wrath againstsin. Christ was man's representative at
Calvary. The cross at the ninth hour of gloomis the loftiest observatoryfrom
which men look at sin.
3. The value at which God rates a human soul is seenin this cry, and the
responsibility of the unsaved.(S. V. Leech, D. D.)
Victory in desertion
G. Macdonald, LL. D.
Thus the will of Jesus, in the very moment when His faith seems about to
yield, is finally triumphant. It has no feeling now to support it, no beatific
vision to absorbit. It stands nakedin His soul and tortured, as He stoodnaked
and scourgedbefore Pilate. Pure and simple and surrounded by fire, it
declares for God. The sacrifice ascends in the cry, "My God." The cry comes
not out of happiness, out of peace, outof hope. Not even out of suffering comes

that cry. It was a cry in desolation, but it came out of faith. It is the last voice
of truth, speaking when it canbut cry. The divine horror of that moment is
unfathomable by human soul. It was blackness ofdarkness. And yet He would
believe. Yet He would hold fast. God was His God yet. "My God" — and in
the cry came forth the victory, and all was over soon. Of the peace that
followedthat cry, the peace ofa perfect soul, large as the universe, pure as
light, ardent as life, victorious for God and His brethren, He Himself alone
can ever know the breadth and length, and depth and height.
(G. Macdonald, LL. D.)
Reasonsfor Christ's desertion
J. E. Vaux, M. A.
He does not even say "My Father," the term of endearment, but employs the
sterner word, as though more fully to express the desolationwhich He feels.
We may not, however, understand these words as though they signified that
the union of the Godheadand the Manhood was at this time dissolved; that
could never be. The union betweenthe Father and the Son could never be
severed, though for a while the vision of the eternalPresence ofGod was
removed from our Lord's human nature. Let us try to discoverwhy it was
ordained that this terrible desertionshould take place.
1. It was no doubt designed in order to prevent our supposing that the
indissoluble union of the Godhead with the Manhood in our Lord's Person
would interfere with His suffering, to the full, the agonyof death as Man. It
was for our sakes,that we might be established in the true faith concerning
Himself.
2. Hence we gatherfrom it that it was not only possible for Him to suffer, but
that He really did suffer as none ever did before or since. His martyrs in their
hour of trial were strengthened and refreshed by spiritual consolations, but
He would die the very bitterest death, bereft of all.

3. From our Lord's privation of all sensible comfort we may learn somewhat
concerning the sinfulness of sin. One drop, indeed, of that precious blood
would have been enough to save the world from the punishment of sin, and
from its power, but He would pay the full price, and drink the cup of sorrow
to the very dregs.
4. In the abandonment of Christ we may learn, if we will, what our deserts
would be if we were dealt with only in rigid justice. He was forsakenthat we
might never be forsaken. He was left to suffer the loss of all consolationin
order the more fully to convince us of the greatness ofHis love.
5. How very terrible it must be to be deprived for ever (as the finally
reprobate will be) of the presence ofGod.
(J. E. Vaux, M. A.)
Comfort not the measure of grace
W. Gurnall.
Take heedthou thinkest not grace decays becausethy comfort withdraws ....
Did ever faith triumph more than in our Saviour crying thus! Here faith was
at its meridian when it was midnight in respectof joy. Possiblythou comest
from an ordinance, and bringest not home with thee those sheaves ofcomfort
thou used to do, and therefore concluded, grace actednot in thee as formerly.
Truly, if thou hast nothing else to go by, thou mayest wrong the grace ofGod
in thee exceedingly;because thy comfort is extrinsical to thy duty, a boon
which God may give or not, yea, doth give to the weak, anddeny to the strong.
The traveller may go as fast, and ride as much ground, when the sun doth not
shine as when it doth, though indeed he goes not so merrily on his journey;
nay, sometimes he makes the more haste;the warm sun makes him sometimes
to lie down and loiter, but when dark and cold he puts on with more speed.
Some graces thrive best (like some flowers)in the shade, such as humility and
dependence On God.
(W. Gurnall.)

God's comfort may be withdrawn, but not His presence
J. Cumming, D. D.
Sometimes God takes awayfrom a Christian His comfort, but He never takes
awayHis sustaining presence. You know the difference betweensunshine and
daylight. A Christian has God's daylight in his soul when he may not have
sunlight; that is, he has enough to light him, but not enoughto cheerand
comfort him.
(J. Cumming, D. D.)
The true sense ofthis cry
Henry Grove.
Two reasons why Christ chose to express Himself on this occasionin the
language ofDavid.
1. That the Jews might callto mind the great resemblance betweenHis case
and that of this illustrious king and prophet.
2. This psalm was allowedto belong to the Messiah, and to have its ultimate
completion in Him.
I. Considerthe style Christ makes use of in addressing Himself to God — "My
God, My God." This seems to denote His innocence, His choice ofGod for His
God, and His filial trust and confidence in Him.
II. In what sense was Christ forsakenby God in His passion?
1. Are we to believe that Godwas angry with His well-belovedSon?
2. If God was not angry, might not the Sonapprehend that He was, orat least
doubt of the continuance of His Father's love to Him?
III. The reasons ofGod's thus forsaking His beloved Son.

1. To add the greaterperfection to His example.
2. To increase the perfection of His atonement.
3. To contribute to the perfectionof His priesthood.
4. To render His triumph the more glorious.Tworeflections:
1. How should this endear the Redeemerof the world to us, who was willing to
suffer such things for our sakes.
2. This part of the history of our Saviour's passioncarries in it a greatdeal of
instruction and consolationto His faithful disciples when they are in like
circumstances with Him.
(Henry Grove.)
The Hebrew term, "Forsaken
Whitby.
In the Hebrew way of speaking, Godis said to leave or forsake any person
when He suffers him to fall into greatcalamities, and to lie under great
miseries, and does not help him out of them; and therefore Zion, being long
afflicted, is brought in by the Prophet Isaiah(ch. 69:14)thus complaining:
"The Lord has forsakenme, the Lord has forgottenme." And the psalmist, as
he is frequent in this complaint, so does he manifestly explain himself in the
words following the complaint of his being forsaken:"Why art Thou far from
helping me, and from the words of my roaring?"
(Whitby.)
Christ forsaken
R. Sibbs.
I. That Christ, being in extremity, was forsaken.

II. Being forsaken, He was very sensible of it, and from sensibleness
complains, pouring out His soul into the bosomof the Father.
III. He not only complains, but believes certainly that His Fatherwill help
Him.
IV. And to strengthen His faith the more, He puts it forth in prayer, the fire of
faith in His heart kindled into a flame of prayer.
(R. Sibbs.)
The forsaking itself
R. Sibbs.
I. In what sense was Christforsaken?
II. In what parts He was forsaken.
III. Upon what ground He was forsaken. And
IV. To what end all this forsaking ofChrist was. Christ was forsakenin
regard of His present comfort and joy, and He positively felt the wrath and
fury of the Almighty, whose just displeasure seizedupon His soul for sin, as
our surety.
(R. Sibbs.)
A true human experience
George Macdonald.
Without this lasttrial of all, the temptations of our Masterhad not been so
full as the human cup could hold; there would have been one regionthrough
which we had to pass wherein we might callaloud upon our Captain-Brother,
and there would be no voice or hearing: He had avoided the fatal spot.
(George Macdonald.)

God withdrawn
George Macdonald.
This is the faith of the Son of God. God withdrew, as it were, that the perfect
will of the Sonmight arise and go forth to find the will of the Father.
(George Macdonald.)
The cry a model cry
George Macdonald.
Troubled soul, will thou His will. Sayto Him, "My God, I am very dull, and
low, and hard; but Thou art wise. and high, and tender, and Thou art my
God. I am Thy child, forsake me not." Then fold the arms of thy faith, and
wait in quietness until light goes up in thy darkness. Foldthe arms of thy
faith, I say, but not of thy action. Bethink thee of something that thou oughtest
to do, and go and do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room, or the preparing of
a meal, or a visit to a friend. Heed not Thy feelings. Do thy work.
(George Macdonald.)
Significance ofsmall cries
R. M. McCheyne.
The pennant at the mast-headis a small thing, yet it shows plainly which way
the wind blows. A cloud no bigger than a man's hand is a small thing, yet it
may show the approachof a mighty storm. The swallow is a little bird, and yet
it shows that summer is come. So is it with man. A look, a sigh, a half-uttered
word, a broken sentence, mayshow more of what is passing within than a long
speech. So it was with the dying Saviour. These few troubled words tell more
than volumes of divinity.

(R. M. McCheyne.)
The Eloi
R. M. McCheyne.
I. The completeness ofChrist's obedience.
1. Words of obedience.
2. Words of faith.
3. Words of love.
II. The infinity of Christ's sufferings.
1. He suffered much from His enemies.
(a)He suffered in all parts of His body;
(b)He suffered in all His offices;
(c)He suffered from all sorts of men;
(d)He suffered much from the devil.
2. He suffered much from those he afterwards saved.
3. From His owndisciples.
4. From His Father.Three things show the infinity of His sufferings.
1. Who it was that forsook Him.
2. Who it was that was forsaken.
3. What God did to Him — forsook Him.
III. Answer the Saviour's "Why?" BecauseHe was the surety of sinners, and
stoodin their room.

1. He had agreedwith His Father, before all worlds, to stand and suffer in the
place of sinners.
2. He set His face to it.
3. He knew that either He or the whole world must suffer.
(R. M. McCheyne.)
The desertion
A. L. R. Foote.
I. These words do not imply, on the part of the Father, an entire and
perpetual abandonment of His Son.
II. These words do not imply, on the part of the Son, any discontentor
rebellion againstHis Father.
(A. L. R. Foote.)
God forsakesonly for sin
A. L. R. Foote.
I venture to lay down this as a fundamental principle — an axiom, it may
almost be called— that God never forsakesanyone but for one cause, and
that cause, sin. He must have seensin in Christ, or on Him. He must have seen
real or imputed sin to warrant His acting towards Him as He did. There is no
way of accounting for the sufferings of the Son of God — from His
incarnation to His death, from the manger to the grave, from His cradle to His
cross — but on the supposition of His being, in the eye of justice and the law, a
sinner, the sin-bearer, the sinner's substitute. Excepton the grand principle of
an atonement, all this is unaccountable.
(A. L. R. Foote.)

Christ our surety
R. Sibbs., T. Manton.
Christ took not the desertof punishment upon Him (from any fault in
Himself), He took whatsoeverwas penalupon Him, but not culpable. As He
was our surety, so He everyway dischargedour debt, being bound over to all
judgments and punishments for us.
(R. Sibbs.)
I. WHAT WAS CHRIST'S DESERTION?Ishall for more distinctness,
handle it negativelyand affirmatively. First — Negatively.
1. It was not a desertion in appearance and conceitonly, but real. We often
mistake God's dispensations. Godmay be out of sight and yet we not out of
mind. When the dam is abroad for meat the young brood in the nest is not
forsaken. The children cry as if the mother were totally gone when she is
employed about necessarybusiness for their welfare (Isaiah49:14, 15). So we
think that we are cut off when God is about to help and deliver us (Psalm
31:22). Surely when our affections towards Godare seenby mourning for His
absence, He is not wholly gone; His room is kept warm for Him till He come
again. We mistake God's dispensations when we judge that a forsaking which
is but an emptying us of all carnal dependence (Psalm 94:18, 19). He is near
many times when we think Him afar off; as Christ was to His disciples when
their eyes were withheld that they knew Him not, but thought Him yet lying in
the grave (St. Luke 24:16). But this cannotbe imagined of Christ, who could
not be mistaken. If He complained of desertion, surely He felt it.
II. THOUGH IT WERE REAL, THE DESERTIONMUST BE
UNDERSTOOD SO AS MAY STAND WITH THE DIGNITYOF HIS
PERSON AND OFFICE. Therefore —(1)There was no separationof the
Father from the Son; this would make a change in the unity of the Divine
essence(St. John 10:30). This eternal union of the Father and Son always
remained.(2) There was no dissolution of the union of the two natures in the
person of Christ, for the human nature which was once assumedwas never
after dismissedor laid aside.

III. The love of God to Him ceasednot. We read(St. John 3:35).
IV. His personalholiness was not abated or lessened. The Lord Jesus was "full
of grace and truth" (St. John 1:4). Neither His nature nor His office could
permit an abatement of holiness (Hebrews 7:26). The Son of God might fall
into misery, which is a natural evil, and so become the object of pity, not of
blame; but not into sin, which is a moral evil, a blot and a blemish.
V. God's assistanceand sustaining grace was not wholly withdrawn, for the
Lord saith of Him (Isaiah 42:1). The power, presence, andprovidence of God
was ever with Him, to sustain Him in His difficult enterprise.Secondly —
Positively.
I. GOD'S DESERTIONOF US OR ANY CREATURE MAY BE
UNDERSTOOD WITHA RESPECTTO HIS COMMUNICATING
HIMSELF TO US. We have a twofold apprehension of God — as a holy and
happy being: and when He doth communicate Himself to any reasonable
creature it is either in a way of holiness or in a way of happiness. These two
have such a respectto one another, that He never gives felicity and glory
without holiness (Hebrews 12:14). And a holy creature can never be utterly
and finally miserable. He may sometimes give holiness without happiness, as
when for a while He leaveth the sanctifiedwhom He will try and exercise
under the cross — or in a state of sorrow and affliction. Now apply this to
Christ. It is blasphemy to say that Christ lost any degree of His holiness, for
He was always pure and holy, and that most perfectly and exactly. Therefore
He was desertedonly as to His felicity, and that but for a short time.
II. THE FELICITY OF CHRIST MAY BE CONSIDEREDEITHER AS TO
HIS OUTWARD AND BODILY ESTATE, OR ELSE TO HIS INWARD
MAN OR THE ESTATE OF HIS SOUL.(1) Some say His desertion was
nothing else but His being left to the will and power of His enemies to crucify
Him, and that He was then deserted when His Divine nature suspendedthe
exercise ofHis omnipotency so far as to deliver up His body to a reproachful
death.(a) Why should Christ complain of that so bitterly, which He did so
readily and willingly undergo, and might so easilyhave prevented.(b) If we
look merely to bodily pains and sufferings certainly others have endured as

much if not more; as the thieves that were crucified with Him lived longerin
their torments, and the goodthief did not complain that he was forsakenof
God.(c)It would follow that every holy man that is persecutedand left to the
will of his enemies, might be said to be forsakenof God, which is contrary to
Paul's holy boasting (2 Corinthians 4:9).(d) This desertionwas a punishment
one part or degree of the abasementof the Son of God, and so belongeth to the
whole nature that was to be abased, not only to His body, but His soul (Isaiah
53:10).(2)As to the felicity of His inward estate, the state of His soul. Christ
carried about His heavenwith Him, and never wanted sensible consolation,
spiritual suavity, the comfortable effects of the Divine presence, till now they
were withdrawn that He might be capable of suffering the whole punishments
of sins.
1. I will show how this sort of desertionis — Possible. The union of the two
natures remaining; for us the Divine nature gave up the body to death, so the
soul to desertion. Christ, as God, is the fountain of life (Psalm36:9). And yet
Christ could die. The Divinity remained united to the flesh, and yet the flesh
might die; so it remained united to the soul, and yet the soulmight want
comfort. There is a partial, temporal desertion, when God for a moment
hideth His face from His people (Isaiah 54:7). This is so far from being
contrary to the dignity of Christ's nature that it is "necessaryto His office for
many reasons.
2. That it is grievous. This was an incomparable loss to Christ.(1) Partly
because it was more natural to Him to enjoy that comfort and solace thanit
can be to any creature. To put out a candle is no greatmatter, but to have the
sun eclipsed, which is the fountain of light, that sets the world a wondering.(2)
Partly because He had more to lose than we have. The greaterthe enjoyment,
the greaterthe loss or want. We lose drops, He an ocean.(3)Partlybecause he
knew how to value the comfort of the union, having a pure understanding and
heavenly affections. God's children count one clay in His presence better than
a thousand (Psalm 84:10). One glimpse of His love more than all the world
(Psalm 4:7).(4) Partly because He had so near an interest and relation to God
(Proverbs 8:30).(5) Partly from the nature of Christ's desertion. It was penal.
There was nothing in Christ's person to occasiona desertion, but "much in
His office;so He was to give body for body and soul for soul. And this was a

part of the satisfaction. He was belovedas a son, forsakenas our Mediator
and Surety. Why was Christ forsaken? Answer. With respectto the office
which He had takenupon Himself. This desertionof Christ carrieth a
suitableness and respectto our sin, our punishment, and our blessedness.
1. Our sin. Christ is forsakento satisfyand make amends for our wilful
desertionof God(James 2:13). Now we that forsook Goddeservedto be
forsakenby God, therefore what we had merited by our sins, Christ endured
as our Mediator. It is strange to considerwhat small things draw us off from
God. This is the first degeneracyand disease ofmankind that a trifle will
prompt us to forsake God, as a little thing will make a stone run down hill; it
is its natural motion.
2. It carries a full respectto the punishment appointed for sin (Galatians
3:13). It is true the accidentals of punishment Christ suffered not. As —(1) To
the place, He was not in hell. It was not necessarythat Christ should descend
to the hell of the damned. One that is bound as a surety for another, needs not
go into prison provided that he pay the debts.(2) For the time of continuance.
The damned must bear the wrath of God to all eternity, because they can
never satisfy the justice of God. Therefore they must lie by it world without
end. Christ hath made an infinite satisfactionin a finite time. lie bore the
wrath of God in a few hours, which would overwhelm the creature. Christ did
not bear the eternity of wrath, but only the extremity of it; intensive, not
extensive. The eternity of the punishment arisethfrom the weakness ofthe
creature, who cannotovercome this evil and getout of it.(3) There is another
thing unavoidably attending the pains of the seconddeath in reprobates, and
that is desperation, an utter hopelessness ofany good(Hebrews 10:27).
3. With respectto our blessedness,whichis to live with God for ever in
heaven. Christ was forsakenthat there might be no longerany separation
betweenus and God.Application:
1. How different are they from the Spirit of Christ that can brook God's
absence without any remorse or complaint?
2. It informeth us of the grievousness ofsin. It is no easymatter to reconcile
sinners to God, it costChrist a life of sorrows, andafterwards a painful and

accurseddeath, and in that death, loss of actualcomfort, and an amazing
sense ofthe wrath of God.
3. The greatness ofour obligationto Christ, who omitted no kind of sufferings
which might conduce to the expiation of sin.
4. The infiniteness of God's mercy, who appointed such a degree ofChrist's
sufferings — as in it He gives us the greatestground of hope to invite us the
more to submit to His terms.
(T. Manton.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(46) Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.—The cryis recordedonly by St. Matthew and
St. Mark. The very syllables or tones dwelt in the memory of those who heard
and understood it, and its absence from St. John’s narrative was probably due
to the fact that he had before this takenthe Virgin-Mother from the scene of
the crucifixion as from that which was more than she could bear (John 19:27).
To the Roman soldiers, to many of the by standers, Greeks orHellenistic
Jews, the words would be, as the sequel shows, unintelligible. We shrink
instinctively from any over-curious analysis of the inner feelings in our Lord’s
humanity that answeredto this utterance. Was it the natural fear of death? or
the vicarious endurance of the wrath which was the penalty of the sins of the
human race, for whom, and insteadof whom, He suffered? Was there a
momentary interruption of the conscious union betweenHis human soul and
the light of His Father’s countenance?or, as seems implied in John 19:28, did
He quote the words in order to direct the thoughts of men to the great
Messianic prophecywhich the Psalmcontained? None of these answers is
altogethersatisfactory, and we may well be contentto leave the mystery
unfathomed, and to let our words, be wary and few. We may remember (1)

that both the spokenwords of His enemies (Matthew 27:43)and the acts of the
soldiers (Matthew 27:35) must have recalledthe words of that Psalm; (2) that
memory thus roused would pass on to the cry of misery with which the Psalm
opened; (3) that our Lord as man was to taste death in all its bitterness for
every man (Hebrews 2:9), and that He could not so have tasted it had His soul
been throughout in full undisturbed enjoyment of the presence ofthe Father;
(4) that the lives of the saints of God, in proportion to their likeness to the
mind of Christ, have exhibited this strange union, or rather instantaneous
succession, ofthe sense ofabandonment and of intensestfaith. The Psalmist
himself, in this very Psalm, is one instance;Job (Job 19:6-9, Job 19:23-26)and
Jeremiah(Jeremiah 20:7-9; Jeremiah20:12-13)may be named as others.
Conceive this conflict—and the possibility of such a conflict is postulated in
John 12:27 and in the struggle of Gethsemane—andthen, though we cannot
understand, we may in part at leastconceive, how it was possible for the Son
of Man to feel for one moment that sense of abandonment, which is the last
weaponof the Enemy. He tastedof despair as others had tasted, but in the
very actof tasting, the words “My God” were as a protest againstit, and by
them He was delivered from it. It is remarkable, whateverexplanation may be
given of it, that as these words are recorded by the first two Gospels only, so
they are the only words spokenon the cross which we find in their report of
the Crucifixion.
BensonCommentary
Matthew 27:46. About the ninth hour — Just before he expired; Jesus cried
with a loud voice — Our Lord’s greatagonyprobably continued these three
whole hours, at the conclusionof which he thus cried out, while he suffered
from God himself, and probably also from the powers of darkness, whatwas
unutterable; Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani — These words are quoted from the
first verse of the twenty-secondPsalm. (where see the note,) but it is to be
observed, that they are not the very words of the Hebrew original; but are in
what is called Syro-Chaldaic, at that time the language ofthe country, and the
dialect which our Lord seems always to have used. Mark expresses the two
first words rather differently, namely; Eloi, Eloi, which comes nearerto the

Syriac. Some think our Lord, in his agony, repeatedthe words twice, with
some little variation, saying at one time, Eloi, and the other, Eli. “This,” says
Dr. Doddridge, “is possible, and if it were otherwise, I doubt not but Mark has
given us the word exactly, and Matthew a kind of contractionof it.” Both the
evangelists have added the interpretation of the words, My God, my God, why
hast thou forsakenme? which words the last-mentioned divine paraphrases
thus: “O my heavenly Father, wherefore dostthou add to all my other
sufferings, those which arise from the want of a comfortable sense ofthy
presence? Wherefore dostthou thus leave me alone in the combat, destitute of
those sacredconsolations, whichthou couldst easilyshed abroad upon my
soul, and which thou knowestI have done nothing to forfeit.” — Thus, in a
most humble and affectionate manner, he intimated to his heavenly Father
that he was only by imputation a sinner, and had himself done nothing to
incur his displeasure, and showedthat the want of the light of God’s
countenance on his soul, and the sense ofdivine wrath due to the sins of
mankind, were far more than all his complicatedsufferings;but that his
confidence in his Father, his love to him, and submissionto his will, were
unabated, even in that dreadful hour. In other words, while he utters this
exclamationof the psalmist, he at once expresses his trust in God, and a most
distressing sense ofhis withdrawing the comfortable discoveries ofhis
presence, and filling his soul with a terrible sense ofthe wrath due to the sins
which he was bearing. Some would interpret the words, My God, my God, to
what a degree, or, to what length of time, or, to what [sort of persons] hast
thou forsakenme? because lama, in the Hebrew, may have this signification,
and the expressionεις τι, whereby Mark has rendered it. But certainly the
word ινατι, which answers to it here in Matthew, is not liable to such
ambiguity; nor cansuch an interpretation of Psalm22:1, be made in any
degree to accordwith the verses immediately following, as the reader will see,
if he will please to turn to them. The truth is, our Lord’s words here must be
viewed in the same light with his prayer in the garden. For as that prayer
expressedonly the feelings and inclinations of his human nature, sorely
presseddown with the weightof his sufferings, so his exclamationon the cross
proceededfrom the greatness ofhis sufferings then, and expressedthe feelings
of the same human nature, namely, an exceeding griefat God’s forsaking him,
and a complaint that it was so. But as his prayer in the garden was properly

tempered with resignationto the will of his Father, while he said, Not as I will,
but as thou wilt; so his complaint on the cross was doubtless tempered in the
same manner, though the evangelists have not particularly mentioned it. For
that in the inward disposition of his mind he was perfectly resigned while he
hung on the cross, is evident beyond all doubt, from his recommending his
spirit to his Father in the article of death, which he could not have done if he
had either doubted of his favour, or been discontented with his appointments.
That the sufferings which made our Lord utter this exclamation, “were not
merely those which appeared to the spectators, namely, the pains of death
which he was then undergoing, is evident from this consideration, that many
of his followers have suffered sharper and more lingering bodily torture,
ending in death, without thinking themselves on that accountforsakenof
God; on the contrary, they both felt and expressedraptures of joy under the
bitterest torments. Why then should Jesus have complained and been dejected
under inferior sufferings, as we must acknowledgethem to have been, if there
were nothing in them but the pains of crucifixion? Is there any other
circumstance in his history which leads us to think him defective in courage or
patience? In piety and resignationcame he behind his own apostles? Were his
views of God and religion more confined than theirs? Had he greater
sensibility of pain than they, without a proper balance arising from the
superiority of his understanding? In short, was he worse qualified for
martyrdom than they? The truth is, his words on the cross cannotbe
accountedfor but on the supposition that he endured in his mind distresses
inexpressible, in consequence ofthe withdrawing of his heavenly Father’s
presence, and a sense ofthe wrath due to the sins of mankind, which he was
now suffering.” — See Macknight. It is justly observedhere by Dr.
Doddridge, “That the interruption of a joyful sense of his Father’s presence
(though there was, and could not but be, a rational apprehensionof his
constantfavour, and high approbation of what he was now doing) was as
necessaryas it was that Christ should suffer at all. For had God
communicated to his Sonon the cross those strong consolations whichhe has
given to some of the martyrs in their tortures, all sense ofpain, and
consequentlyall real pain, would have been swallowedup; and the violence
done to his body, not affecting the soul, could not properly have been called
suffering.” Some think Jesus onthis occasionrepeatedthe whole twenty-

secondPsalm. And, as it contains the most remarkable particulars of our
Lord’s passion, being a sort of summary of all the prophecies relative to that
subject, it must be acknowledged, thatnothing could have been uttered more
suitable to the circumstances whereinhe then was, orbetter adapted to
impress the minds of the beholders with becoming sentiments. For by citing it,
and thereby applying it to himself, he signified that he was now accomplishing
the things predicted therein concerning the Messiah. Seethe notes on that
Psalm.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
27:45-50 During the three hours which the darkness continued, Jesus was in
agony, wrestling with the powers of darkness, and suffering his Father's
displeasure againstthe sin of man, for which he was now making his soul an
offering. Neverwere there three such hours since the day God createdman
upon the earth, never such a dark and awful scene;it was the turning point of
that greataffair, man's redemption and salvation. Jesus uttered a complaint
from Ps 22:1. Hereby he teaches ofwhat use the word of God is to direct us in
prayer, and recommends the use of Scripture expressions in prayer. The
believer may have tastedsome drops of bitterness, but he can only form a very
feeble idea of the greatness ofChrist's sufferings. Yet, hence he learns
something of the Saviour's love to sinners; hence he gets deeper conviction of
the vileness and evil of sin, and of what he owes to Christ, who delivers him
from the wrath to come. His enemies wickedlyridiculed his complaint. Many
of the reproaches castupon the word of Godand the people of God, arise, as
here, from gross mistakes. Christ, just before he expired, spake in his full
strength, to show that his life was not forced from him, but was freely
delivered into his Father's hands. He had strength to bid defiance to the
powers of death: and to show that by the eternal Spirit he offeredhimself,
being the Priestas well as the Sacrifice, he cried with a loud voice. Then he
yielded up the ghost. The Son of God upon the cross, did die by the violence of
the pain he was put to. His soul was separatedfrom his body, and so his body
was left really and truly dead. It was certain that Christ did die, for it was
needful that he should die. He had undertaken to make himself an offering for
sin, and he did it when he willingly gave up his life.

Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Eli, Eli ... - This language is not pure Hebrew nor Syriac, but a mixture of
both, calledcommonly "Syro-Chaldaic."This was probably the language
which the Saviour commonly spoke. The words are taken from Psalm22:1.
My God, my God ... - This expressionis one denoting intense suffering. It has
been difficult to understand in what sense Jesuswas "forsakenby God." It is
certain that Godapproved his work. It is certain that he was innocent. He had
done nothing to forfeit the favor of God. As his own Son - holy, harmless,
undefiled, and obedient - God still loved him. In either of these senses God
could not have forsakenhim. But the expressionwas probably used in
reference to the following circumstances, namely:
1. His greatbodily sufferings on the cross, greatlyaggravatedby his previous
scourging, and by the want of sympathy, and by the revilings of his enemies
on the cross. A person suffering thus might address God as if he was forsaken,
or given up to extreme anguish.
2. He himself said that this was "the powerof darkness,"Luke 22:53. It was
the time when his enemies, including the Jews and Satan, were suffered to do
their utmost. It was saidof the serpent that he should bruise the heelof the
seedof the woman, Genesis 3:15. By that has been commonly understood to be
meant that, though the Messiahwould finally crush and destroy the powerof
Satan, yet he should himself suffer "through the powerof the devil." When he
was tempted Luke 4, it was saidthat the tempter "departedfrom him for a
season."There is no improbability in supposing that he might be permitted to
return at the time of his death, and exercise his power in increasing the
sufferings of the Lord Jesus. In what way this might be done can be only
conjectured. It might be by horrid thoughts; by temptation to despair, or to
distrust God, who thus permitted his innocent Son to suffer; or by an
increasedhorror of the pains of dying.
3. There might have been withheld from the Saviour those strong religious
consolations,those clearviews of the justice and goodness ofGod, which
would have blunted his pains and soothedhis agonies. Martyrs, under the
influence of strong religious feeling, have gone triumphantly to the stake, but

it is possible that those views might have been withheld from the Redeemer
when he came to die. His sufferings were accumulated sufferings, and the
design of the atonement seemedto require that he should suffer all that
human nature "could be made to endure" in so short a time.
4. Yet we have reasonto think that there was still something more than all this
that produced this exclamation. Had there been no deeper and more awful
sufferings, it would be difficult to see why Jesus shouldhave shrunk from
these sorrows and used such a remarkable expression. Isaiahtells us Isaiah
53:4-5 that "he bore our griefs and carriedour sorrows;that he was wounded
for our transgressions, andbruised for our iniquities; that the chastisementof
our peace was laidupon him; that by his stripes we are healed." He hath
redeemedus from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us Galatians
3:13; he was made a sin-offering 2 Corinthians 5:21; he died in our place, on
our account, that he might bring us near to God. It was this, doubtless, which
causedhis intense sufferings. It was the manifestationof God's hatred of sin,
in some way which he has not explained, that he experiencedin that dread
hour. It was suffering endured by Him that was due to us, and suffering by
which, and by which alone, we can be savedfrom eternal death.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Mt 27:34-50. Crucifixionand Deathof the Lord Jesus. ( = Mr 15:25-37;Lu
23:33-46;Joh 19:18-30).
For the exposition, see on[1375]Joh19:18-30.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Matthew 27:50".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And about the ninth hour,.... Or three o'clock in the afternoon, which was
about the time of the slaying and offering of the daily sacrifice, whichwas an
eminent type of Christ. The Jews say(i), that "everyday the daily sacrifice
was slain at eight and a half, and was offered up at nine and a half:

about which time also the passoverwas killed, which was another type of
Christ; and as they say(k), "was offeredfirst, and then the daily sacrifice."
Though the accountthey elsewhere (l) give of these things, is this,
"the daily sacrifice was slainat eight and a half, and was offered up at nine
and a half; (that is, on all the common days of the year;) on the evenings of the
passover, it was slain at sevenand a half, and offered at eight and a half,
whether on a common day, or on a sabbath day: the passovereve, that
happened to be on the sabbath eve, it was slain at six and a half, and offered at
sevenand a half, and the passoverafterit.
At this time,
Jesus criedwith a loud voice: as in greatdistress, having been silent during
the three hours darkness, and patiently bearing all his soul sufferings, under a
sense ofdivine wrath, and the hidings of his Father's countenance, and his
conflicts with the powers of darkness;but now, in the anguish of his soul, he
breaks out,
saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani:which words are partly Hebrew, and partly
Chaldee;the three first are Hebrew, and the last Chaldee, substituted in the
room of "Azabthani"; as it was, and still is, in the Chaldee paraphrase of the
text in Psalm22:1, from whence they are taken,
that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsakenme? He calls him his
God, not as he was God, but as he was man; who, as such, was chosenby him
to the grace ofunion to the Son of God; was made and formed by him; was
anointed by him with the oil of gladness;was supported and upheld by him in
the day of salvation;was raisedby him from the dead, and highly exalted by
him at his ownright hand; and Christ, as man, prayed to him as his God,
believed in him, loved him, and obeyed him as such: and though now he hid
his face from him, yet he expressedstrong faith and confidence of his interest
in him. When he is saidto be "forsaken"ofGod; the meaning is not, that the
hypostaticalunion was dissolved, which was not even by death itself; the
fulness of the Godhead still dwelt bodily in him: nor was he separatedfrom
the love of God; he had the same interestin his Father's heart and favour,
both as his Son, and as mediator, as ever: nor was the principle and habit of

joy and comfort lost in his soul, as man, but he was now without a sense ofthe
gracious presence ofGod, and was filled, as the surety of his people, with a
sense ofdivine wrath, which their iniquities he now bore, deserved, and which
was necessaryfor him to endure, in order to make full satisfactionforthem;
for one part of the punishment of sin is loss of the divine presence. Wherefore
he made not this expostulationout of ignorance:he knew the reasonof it, and
that it was not out of personaldisrespectto him, or for any sin of his own; or
because he was not a righteous, but a wickedman, as the Jew (m)
blasphemously objects to him from hence;but because he stoodin the legal
place, and steadof sinners: nor was it out of impatience, that he so expressed
himself; for he was entirely resigned to the will of God, and contentto drink
the whole of the bitter cup: nor out of despair; for he at the same time
strongly claims and asserts his interest in God, and repeats it; but to show,
that he bore all the griefs of his people, and this among the rest, divine
desertion; and to setforth the bitterness of his sorrows, thatnot only the sun
in the firmament hid its face from him, and he was forsakenby his friends
and disciples, but even left by his God; and also to express the strength of his
faith at such a time. The whole of it evinces the truth of Christ's human
nature, that he was in all things made like unto his brethren; that he had an
human soul, and endured sorrows and sufferings in it, of which this of
desertionwas not the least:the heinousness ofsin may be learnt from hence,
which not only drove the angels out of heaven, and Adam out of the garden,
and separates, with respectto communion, betweenGod and his children; but
even causedhim to hide his face from his own Son, whilst he was bearing, and
suffering for, the sins of his people. The condescending grace ofChrist is here
to be seen, that he, who was the word, that was with Godfrom everlasting,
and his only begottenSon that lay in his bosom, that he should descendfrom
heaven by the assumption of human nature, and be for a while forsakenby
God, to bring us near unto him: nor should it be wondered at, that this is
sometimes the case ofthe saints, who should, in imitation of Christ, trust in
the Lord at such seasons, andstay themselves on their God, and which may be
some support unto them, they may be assuredof the sympathy of Christ, who
having been in this same condition, cannotbut have a fellow feeling with
them. The Jews themselves own(n), that these words were said by Jesus when
he was in their hands. They indeed apply the passageto Esther; and say(o),

that "she stoodin the innermost court of the king's house;and when she came
to the house of the images, the Shekinahdeparted from her, and she said,
"Eli, Eli, lama Azabthani?" my God, my God, why hast thou forsakenme?
Though others apply the "Psalm" to David, and others to the people of Israel
in captivity (p): but certainit is, that it belongs to the Messiah;and many
things in it were fulfilled with respectto Jesus, mostclearlyshow him to be
the Messiah, andthe personpointed at: the first words of it were spokenby
him, as the Jews themselves allow, and the very expressions which his enemies
used concerning him while suffering, togetherwith their gestures, are there
recorded;and the parting his garments, and casting lots on his vesture, done
by the Roman soldiers, are there prophesied of; and indeed there are so many
things in it which agree with him, and cannotwith any other, that leave it
without all doubt that he is the subjectof it (q),
(i) T. Hieros. Pesachim, fol. 31. 3, 4. (k) lb. (l) Misn. Pesachim, c. 5. sect. 1.((m)
Vet. Nizzachon, p. 162. (n) Toldos Jesu, p. 17. (o) Bab. Megilia, fol. 15. 2. &
Gloss. in T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 29. 1.((p) Vid. Jarchi& Kimchi in Psal. xxii. 1.((q)
See my Book of the Prophecies ofthe Old Test. &c. p. 158.
Geneva Study Bible
And about the ninth hour Jesus criedwith a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou {o} forsakenme?
(o) That is, in this misery: And this crying out is a natural part of his
humanity, which, even though it was void of sin, still felt the wrath of God, the
wrath which is due to our sins.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 27:46 Ἀνεβόησεν] He cried aloud. See Winer, de verbor. cum
praepos. compos, usu, 1838, III. p. 6 f.; comp. Luke 9:38; LXX. and Apocr.,
Herod., Plato.

The circumstance ofthe following exclamation being given in Hebrew) is
sufficiently and naturally enough accountedfor by the jeering language of
Matthew 27:47, which language is understood to be suggestedby the sound of
the Hebrew words recordedin our present passage.
σαβαχθανί] Chald.: ְׁ‫ב‬ ַ‫ק‬ְׁ‫ת‬ ַַּ‫נ‬ִ‫י‬ = the Heb. ‫נ‬ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ב‬ ַ‫ְׁת‬‫נ‬ִ‫י‬. Jesus gives vent to His feelings in
the opening words of the twenty-secondPsalm. We have here, however, the
purely human feeling that arises from a natural but momentary quailing
before the agonies ofdeath, and which was in every respectsimilar to that
which had been experiencedby the author of the psalm. The combination of
profound mental anguish, in consequence ofentire abandonment by men,
with the well-nigh intolerable pangs of dissolution, was all the more natural
and inevitable in the case ofOne whose feelings were so deep, tender, and real,
whose moral consciousnesswas so pure, and whose love was so intense. In
ἐγκατέλιπες Jesus expressed, ofcourse, what He felt, for His ordinary
conviction that He was in fellowship Godhad for the moment given way
under the pressure of extreme bodily and mental suffering, and a mere
passing feeling as though He were no longer sustainedby the power of the
divine life had takenits place (comp. Gess, p. 196);but this subjective feeling
must not be confounded with actual objective desertionon the part of God (in
opposition to Olshausenand earlier expositors), which in the case ofJesus
would have been a meta-physicaland moral impossibility. The dividing of the
exclamationinto different parts, so as to correspondto the different elements
in Christ’s nature, merely gives rise to arbitrary and fanciful views (Lange,
Ebrard), similar to those which have been based on the metaphysical
deduction from the idea of necessity(Ebrard). To assume, as the theologians
have done, that in the distressful cry of abandonment we have the vicarious
enduring of the wrath of God (“ira Deiadversus nostra peccata effunditur in
ipsum, et sic satisfitjustitiae Dei,” Melanchthon, comp. Luther on Psalms 22,
Calvin, Quenstedt), or the infliction of divine punishment (Köstlin in the
Jahrb. f. D. Theol. III. 1, p. 125, and Weiss himself), is, as in the case ofthe
agonyin Gethsemane, to go farther than we are warranted in doing by the
New Testamentview of the atoning death of Christ, the vicarious characterof
which is not to be regardedas consisting in an objective and actual equivalent.

Comp. Remarks afterMatthew 26:46. Others, again, have assumedthat Jesus,
though quoting only the opening words of Psalms 22., had the whole psalm in
view, including, therefore, the comforting words with which it concludes
(Paulus, Gratz, de Wette, Bleek;comp. Schleiermacher, Glaubensl. II. p. 141,
ed. 4, and L. J. p. 457). This, however, besides being somewhatarbitrary,
gives rise to the incongruity of introducing the element of reflectionwhere
only pure feeling prevailed, as we see exemplified by Hofmann, Schriftbew. II.
1, p. 309, who, in accordance withhis view that Jesus was abandonedto the
mercies of an ungodly world, substitutes a secondarythought (“requestfor
the so long delayed deliverance through death”)for the plain and direct sense
of the words. The authenticity of our Lord’s exclamation, which the author of
the Wolferibüttel Fragnents has singularly misconstrued(in describing it as
the cry of despair over a lost cause), is denied by Strauss (who speaks of
Psalms 22 as having servedthe purpose of a programme of Christ’s passion),
while it is strongly questioned by Keim, partly on accountof Psalms 22 and
partly because he thinks that the subsequent accompanying narrative is
clearly (?) of the nature of a fictitious legend. But legendwould hardly have
put the language of despair into the mouth of the dying Redeemer, and
certainly there is nothing in the witticisms that follow to warrant the idea that
we have here one legend upon another.
ἵνατι] the momentary but agonizing feeling that He is abandonedby God,
impels Him to ask whatthe divine object of this may be. He doubtless knew
this already, but the pangs of death had overpoweredHim (2 Corinthians
13:4),—a passing anomaly as regards the spirit that uniformly characterized
the prayers of Jesus.
ἐγκαταλείπω]means:to abandon any one to utter helplessness.Comp. 2
Corinthians 4:9; Acts 2:27; Hebrews 13:5; Plat. Conv. p. 179 A; Dem. p. 158,
10, al.; Sir 3:16; Sir 7:30; Sir 9:10.
Expositor's Greek Testament

Matthew 27:46. ἠλί, ἠλί, etc.:the opening words of Psalms 22, but partly at
leastin Aramaic not in Hebrew, wholly so as they stand in Codex [155]
(W.H[156]), ἐλωί, ἐλωί, etc., corresponding exactlyto the version in Mark.—
ἠλί, ἠλί, if the true reading in Matthew, seems to be an alterationmade to suit
what follows, whereby the utterance of Jesus becomesa mixture of Hebrew
and Aramaic. It is not likely that Jesus wouldso express Himself. He would
speak wholly either in Hebrew or in Aramaic, saying in the one case:“eli eli
lamah asavtani”;in the other: “eloieloi lema savachtani”. The form the
utterance assumed in the earliestevangelic report might be an important clue.
This Reschfinds in the reading of Codex [157], which gives the words in
Hebrew. Reschholds that [158]often preserves the readings of the
Urevangelium, which, contrary to Weiss, he believes to have contained a
Passionhistory in brief outline (Agrapha, p. 53). Brandt expresses a similar
view (E. G., pp. 228–232). The probability is that Jesus spoke in Hebrew. It is
no argument againstthis that the spectators might not understand what He
said, for the utterance was not meant for the ears of men. The historicity of
the occurrence has beencalledin question on the ground that one in a state of
dire distress would not express his feelings in borrowed phrases. The
alternative is that the words were put into the mouth of Jesus by persons
desirous that in this as in all other respects His experience should correspond
to prophetic anticipations. But who would have the boldness to impute to Him
a sentiment which seemedto justify the taunt: “Let Him deliver Him if He
love Him”? Brandt’s reply to this is: JewishChristians who had not a high
idea of Christ’s Person(E. G., p. 245). That in some Christian circles the cry
of desertion was an offence appears from the rendering of “elieli” in Evang.
Petri—ἡ δύναμίς μου ἡ δ. μ. = my strength, my strength. Its omissionby Luke
proves the same thing.
[155]Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889
under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[156]Westcottand Hort.

[157]Codex Bezae
[158]Codex Bezae
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
46. Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?](Psalm 22:1). Eli is the Hebrew form. In Mark
15:34 the Aramaic words are preservedexactly as they were pronounced by
Jesus. The repetition, “My God! My God!” gives a deeply pathetic force;cp.
ch. Matthew 23:37. It is an expressionof utter loneliness and desolation, the
depth of which it is not for man to fathom. “It is going beyond Scripture to say
that a sense ofGod’s wrath extorted that cry. For to the lastbreath He was
the well-belovedof the Father, and the repeated‘My God! My God!’ is a
witness even then to His confidence in His Father’s Love” (Canon Perowne.
Psalm22:1).
This was probably the fourth word from the cross;the fifth “I thirst” (John);
the sixth “It is finished” (John); the seventh “Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit” (Luke). It is thought by some that after these words the
darkness, whichhad lastedto the ninth hour, rolled away;others think that it
lastedtill the death of Jesus.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 27:46. Περὶ δὲ, κ.τ.λ., but about, etc.) From this connection, it may
be inferred that the darkening of the sun (at the full moon[1200])represented,
not so much the malice of the Jews, as the derelictionof Jesus;which lasted, as
it may be supposed, the whole of that three hours, at the conclusionof which
He uttered this exclamation. St Luke (Luke 23:45)joins the darkening of the
sun with the rending of the veil without mentioning the dereliction. As soonas
the derelictionwas ended, the Holy of Holies became immediately open to the
Mediator.[1201]—ἀνεβόησεν, criedout) Both this cry (repeated in Matthew
27:50), and the silence which preceded it, are of the utmost importance.—

σαβαχθανὶ, sabachthani)i.e. ‫,ניתקתש‬ hast Thou forsakenMe? The ‫ק‬ is
rendered in Greek by χ, [1202][1203], whenθ, th, follows.—Θεέ Μου, My
God) On other occasions He was accustomedto say, “Father”:now He says,
“My God,” as being now in a degree estranged;[1204]yetHe does so twice,
and adds “MY” with confidence, patience, and self-resignation. Christwas
retsaM ton ,doG miHsllac eH tey dna [5021]:droL eht fo tnavres eht,‫עתר‬
(δεσπότην). In Psalms 22(21):1, the LXX. have ὁ Θεὸς ὁ Θεός μου, πρόσχες
μοι, ἱνατί ἐγκατέλιπές με; “My God, My God, protectMe! Why hast Thou
forsakenMe?” where the meaning is evident from the remainder of that and
the following verse. He does not only saythat He has been delivered by God
into the hands of men, but also that He has suffered something, to us ineffable,
at the hand of God.—ἱνατί, why?) Jesus knew the cause, andhad prepared
Himself for all things: but yet the why expresses thatthe Son would not have
had to endure the dereliction on His own account, but that it happened to Him
for a new cause, and would last but for a short time; after which His yearning
desire[1206]towards the Fatherwould be againgratified.—ἘΓΚΑΤΈΛΙΠΕς,
hast Thou forsaken)The past tense.[1207]At that very instant the dereliction
came to an end, and shortly afterwards the whole Passion. In the midst and
deepestmoment of dereliction He was silent. He complains of the dereliction
alone.[1208]
[1200]This could not have been an eclipse of the sun, for the passoverwas
celebratedat the time of full moon, when the moon is opposite to the sun.
Luke 23:45 says, “The sun was darkened.”—ED.
[1201]ἐννάτην ὥραν, the ninth hour) Some one has thrown out the surmise
that it was at mid-day the definitive sentence was pronouncedby Pilate, and
that His being led forth was delayed up to that point of time, so that the
crucifixion would thus take place on the third hour from mid-day (3 o’clock),
at the time of the evening sacrifice. Nay, rather His death occurredat that
time, after that the gracious Saviourhad hung for six whole hours on the
cross.—Harm., p. 571.

[1202]Colbertinus, do.
[1203]Primasius in Apocalypsin.
[1204]In the original, “quasi jam alienior.”—(I. B.)
[1205]Isaiah42:1.—ED.
[1206]In the original, “desiderium,” a word which is said by some to have no
equivalent in any other language. It implies here longing and love in the
highest and fullest degree, accompaniedby sorrow for, and privation of, the
objectdesired; and corresponds very nearly with the Portuguese word
saudade, which I believe to be utterly untranslatable.—(I. B.)
[1207]Some recentinterpreters render it, Why (How) can it (ever) come to
pass, that thou shouldest forsake Me? And yet that interpretation, however
soothing it be to natural weakness(softness), does not satisfythe demands of
divine rigorous strictness in this most momentous transaction. We may term
it, as it were, a filial expostulation, wherein, if we may be permitted to express
the sense with some little change of the words, the beloved Son speaks thus to
His beloved Father, What is this that thou hast done unto Me? In truth, the
best of deeds! Mostexcellentlyendured! A brief time so extraordinary, that,
on accountof it, He is to have [or else feel]everlasting thanks.—Harm., p. 573.
[1208]Notof His sufferings.—ED.

The Greek πόθος.—ED.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 46. - Cried (ἀνεβόησεν, cried out) with a loud voice. The loud cry at this
terrible moment showedthat there was still an amount of vitality in that
mangled form from which extreme anguish of soul and body forcedthat
pleading utterance. Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say (that is), My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken(ἐγκατέλιπες, didst thou forsake)me? This is
the only one of our Lord's sevensayings from the cross recordedby St.
Matthew and St. Mark. The other evangelists do not mention it at all. The
language is Aramaic, doubtless that used commonly by our Lord. He quotes
the words of the twenty-secondpsalm as applicable to himself, as offering a
foreordainedexpressionof his agonyof soul. Into the full meaning of this
bitter cry we cannot venture irreverently to intrude. At the same time, thus
much may be said. It was not mere bodily anguish that elicited it; it arose
from some incalculable affliction of soul. He was bearing the sins of the whole
world; the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all; there was no one to
comfort him in his heaviness;and the light of God's countenance was for the
time withdrawn from him. He was "left" that he might bear man's sins in
their full and crushing weight, and by bearing save. Yet there is no despair in
this lamentable outcry. He who could thus call upon God has God with him,
even in his utter loneliness. "Amid the faintness, or the confusionof mind, felt
at the approachof death, he experiences his abandonment by God; and yet his
soul rests firmly on, and his wilt is fully subjectto, God, while he is thus
tasting death forevery man through God's grace .... He held firmly to God and
retained the Divinity of his life, at the time when in his unity with mankind,
and in his human feeling, the feeling of abandonment by God amazed him"
(Lange). The verb "forsaken" is not in the perfecttense, as translatedin the
Authorized Version, but in the aorist; and it implies that during the three
hours of darkness Christhad been in silence enduring this utter desolation,
which had now come to its climax. The Man Christ Jesus askedwhy he was
thus deserted;his human heart would fain comprehend this phase of the
propitiatory sufferings which he was undergoing. No answercame from the
darkenedheaven; but the cry was heard; the unspeakable sacrifice,a sacrifice

necessaryaccording to the Almighty's purpose, was accepted, and with his
own blood he obtained eternalredemption for man.
Vincent's Word Studies
Ninth hour
"Early on Friday afternoonthe new course ofpriests, of Levites, and of the
'stationary men' who were to be the representatives ofall Israel, arrived in
Jerusalem, and having prepared themselves for the festive seasonwentup to
the temple. The approachof the Sabbath, and then its actualcommencement,
were announced by threefold blasts from the priests'trumpets. The first three
blasts were blown when one-third of the evening-sacrifice service wasover, or
about the ninth hour; that is, about 3 p.m. on Friday" (Edersheim, "The
Temple").
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
RAY PRITCHARD
The ForsakenChrist
Matthew 27:45-46
Until a few days ago most of us had never given any serious thought to a place
calledBangladesh. We knew it was somewhere onthe other side of the world,
but that’s all we knew. Then a typhoon hit the Bay of Bengaland suddenly
Bangladeshwas front page news. The latestreports suggestthat 125,000
people are dead and millions more were left homeless. Manypeople simply
vanished beneath the rising water, their bodies sweptout to sea. As the waters
abate, rescuers are finding devastationthat is almost beyond belief.
Bangladeshwas alreadyone of the poorestcountries in the world. Now amid

the death, disease andstarvation, the anguishedcry rises from the survivors,
“Why has God forsakenus?
In a hospital room in a major city a little girl lies quietly. She has a strange
form of cancer, a strain so virulent that it has her doctors baffled. No one
knows how a girl so young could become so sick so quickly. Although they do
not sayit, the doctors doubt she will ever see her tenth birthday. The little
girl’s mother tries to be brave, but it isn’t easy. In her heart, in words she
dares not utter aloud, she wonders, “Why has God forsakenus?”
In the same big city a mother stirs when the alarm clock rings, 5:30 A.M.
Another day is beginning. She slips out of the sheets and tiptoes to the
bathroom. Quickly she showers, dressesand gets breakfastready. Mean-while
three children sleepquietly in the next room. Before 7:00 A.M., all four of
them will be on their way—the children to a day-care center, the mother to
her job. The hours rush by and the sun has almost setwhen she picks her
children up again. Then home, and suppertime, and “Read-me-a-story” time,
and bath time and finally, bedtime. The children safely asleep, the mother
relaxes in front of the TV. After a few minutes, she goes to bed. 5:30 comes all
too soon. She sleeps alone. Her husband left her 2 1/2 years ago. Alone with
her thoughts she considers her life and asks, “Whyhas God forsakenme?”
Not many miles awaya middle-aged man sits with his head in his hands.
Today had started like any other day. Get up, go to work, do your job. Then
at 2:45 P.M. his boss calledhim into his office. “Charlie, I’ve gotbad news.”
Just like that it was all over. Over after 16 years, 4 months and 3 days. Over
with nothing left to show for it except a pink slip. How will he explain it to his
family? What will he say to the guys on his bowling team? Here he is with a
family, a big mortgage, two kids who need braces, and no job. In anger—Yes!
in anger—he cries out to God, “Why have you forsakenme?”
Killing Time
It is Friday morning in Jerusalem. Another hot April day. It’s killing time.
Deathis in the air. The word has spread to every corner of the city. The
Romans plan to crucify somebodytoday.

A crowd gathers on the north end of town. Just outside the Damascus Gate is
a place called Skull Hill. The Romans like it because the hill is beside a main
road. That way lots of people can watchthe crucifixion.
On this day more people than usual have gathered. They come out of the
macabre human fascinationwith the bizarre. The very horror of crucifixion
draws people to Skull Hill.
This day seems like any other, but it is not. A man named Jesus is being
crucified. The word spreads like wildfire. His reputation has precededhim.
No one is neutral. Some believe, many doubt, a few hate.
Three Hours of Darkness
The crucifixion begins at nine o’clock sharp. The Romans were punctual
about things like that. At first the crowdis rowdy, loud, raucous, boisterous,
as if this were some kind of athletic event. They cheer, they laugh, they shout,
they place wagers onhow long the men being crucified will last.
It appears that the man in the middle will not last long. He has already been
severelybeaten. In fact, it looks like four or five soldiers have takenturns
working him over. His skin hangs from his back in tatters, his face is bruised
and swollen, his eyes nearly shut. Bloodtrickles from a dozen open wounds.
He is an awful sight to behold.
There are voices from all three crosses, a kind of hoarse conversationshouted
above the din. Little pieces float through the air. Something that sounds like
“Father, forgive them” something else about “If you are the Son of God,” then
a promise of paradise. Finally Jesus spots his mother and speaks to her.
Then it happened. At noon “darkness fellupon all the land.” It happened so
suddenly that no one expectedit. One moment the sun was right overhead; the
next moment it had disappeared.
It was not an eclipse nor was it a dark cloud cover. It was darkness itself,
thick, inky-black darkness that fell like a shroud over the land. It was
darkness without any hint of light to come. It was chilling blackness that
curdled the blood and froze the skin.

No one moved. No one spoke. Foronce eventhe profane soldiers stopped their
swearing. Nota sound broke the dark silence over Skull Hill. Something eerie
was going on. It was as if some evil force had takenover the earth and was
somehow breathing out the darkness. You could almost reachout and feel the
evil all around. From somewhere deepin the earth there was a sound like
some dark subterranean chuckle. It was the laughter of hell.
It lasted for three long hours. 12:30—stilldark. 1:15—stilldark. 2:05—still
dark. 2:55—stilldark.
3:00 P.M. And just as suddenly as the darkness had descended, it
disappeared. Voices now, and shouting. Rubbing the eyes to adjust once again
to the bright sunlight. Panic on many faces, confusionon others. A man leans
over to his friend and cries out, “What in God’s name is going on here?”
Mortally Wounded
All eyes focus on the centercross. It is clearthe end is near. Jesus is at the
point of death. Whatever happened in those three hours of darkness has
brought him to death’s door. His strength is nearly gone, the struggle almost
over. His chestheaves with every breath, his moans now are only whispers.
Instinctively the crowdpushes closelyto watchhis lastmoments.
Suddenly he screams. Only four words, but they come out in a guttural roar.
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” The words are Aramaic, the common language
of the day. The words form a question that screams acrossSkullHill and
drifts across the road. “My God, my God, why have you forsakenme?”
Take Off Your Shoes
In his book, The Hard Sayings of Jesus, F.F. Bruce discusses70 of the hard-
to-understand sayings of our Lord. The last one he discussesis this statement.
Of these words of Jesus, Bruce comments, “This is the hardest of all the hard
statements.” (p. 248)All the commentators agree with him. No statementof
Jesus is more mysterious than this one. The problem is not with the words.
The words (in Aramaic or Greek or English) are simple. The words we can
understand. But what do they mean?

The story is told that the greatMartin Luther was studying this text one day.
For hours he sat and staredat the text. He said nothing, he wrote nothing, but
silently pondered these words of Jesus. Suddenly he stoodup and exclaimed,
“Godforsakenby God. How can it be?”
Indeed, how can it be? How canGod be forsakenby God? How can the
Father forsake his own Son?
To read these words is to walk on holy ground. And like Moses before the
burning bush, we ought to take off our shoes and tread carefully.
What Do These Words Mean?
Let me say frankly that it is far beyond my meagerability to fully explain this
saying of Jesus. Myproblem is not that I do not have enough time; I have
plenty of time. And in the time I have, I will tell you what I know. But what I
know is only a fraction of the story. There are mysteries here which no man
can explain.
Let us begin by surveying some of the inadequate explanations that have been
given to the question, What do these words mean? To say the following ideas
are “inadequate” is not to say they are necessarilywrong. It is only to saythat
they do not tell the whole story.
1. It has been suggestedthat this is a cry stemming from Jesus’physical
suffering. Without a doubt, those sufferings were enormous. By the time he
uttered these words, he had hung on the cross for six hours—exposedto the
hot Palestiniansun and exposedto the taunts of the crowd. He was nearly
dead when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsakenme?”
Perhaps (it has been suggested)he said that in view of all that had happened
to him.
There are two problems with that view. For one thing, the consistentemphasis
of the New Testamentis that Jesus died for our sins. Although the gospels
speak of Jesus’physicalsuffering, they do not emphasize it. The central issue
of the cross was notthe physical suffering of our Lord (as terrible as it must
have been); the central issue was our Lord bearing the sins of the world. This

suggestiontends to weakenthe truth that Jesus died for our sins and at the
same time it tends to overemphasize his physical sufferings.
2. It has been suggestedthat this is a cry of faith. A surprising number of
commentators take this view. They note that “My God, my God, why have
you forsakenme?” is actually a quotation from Psalm22:1. In that particular
Psalm, David speaksofhis own sufferings at the hands of his enemies in a way
that ultimately pictures the death of our Lord. Although Psalm 22 begins with
a description of intense suffering, it ends on a note of confident trust in God.
For that reason, some believe that Christ quoted verse 1 (a cry of desolation)
as a way of expressing his trust in God even while he was on the cross.
Unfortunately, that view seems to turn the words of Jesus upside down. It
virtually makes the words mean something like this: “Although it appears
that God has forsakenme, in truth he has not, and in the end I will be
vindicated.” As true as that might be (he was ultimately vindicated in the
resurrection), that does not seem to be the meaning here. The words of Jesus
ought to be takenat their face value—as a cry of utter desolation.
3. It has been suggestedthat this is a cry of disillusionment. Skeptics readthis
as proof that Jesus ultimately failed in his mission. To them these words mean
something like “God, you have forsakenme and all is lost. I came to be the
Messiahbut my mission is a failure.” To those who hold such a cynical view,
we can only say, Readthe whole story! Keep reading and you will discover
what happens to your “failed” Messiah. Whateverelse these words might
mean, they are not the words of a defeatedman.
The God-ForsakenMan
What, then, do these words mean? I suggestthat we will never grasptheir full
meaning until we see that Jesus was truly forsakenby God. In that black
moment on the cross, Godthe Father turned his back on God the Son. It was,
as Martin Luther said, God forsaking God. True, we will never plumb the
depths of that statement, but anything less does not do justice to Jesus’words.
The word “forsaken” in very strong. It means to abandon, to desert, to
disown, to turn awayfrom, to utterly forsake. Please understand. When Jesus

said, “Why have you forsakenme?” it was not simply because he felt
forsaken;he said it because he was forsaken. Literally, truly and actually God
the Fatherabandoned his ownSon.
In English the phrase “God-forsaken” usuallyrefers to some deserted, barren
locale. We mean that such a place seems unfit for human habitation. But we
do not literally mean “God-forsaken” eventhough that’s what we say. But it
was true of Jesus. He was the first and only God-forsakenpersonin all
history.
A Father’s Chief Duty
As many people have pointed out, this is the only time Jesus addressedGodas
“My God.” Everywhere else he calledhim “Father.” But here he said, “My
God,” because the Father-Sonrelationship was broken at that moment.
Is it not the chief duty of a parent to take care of his children? Is it not our job
to ensure that our children do not suffer needlessly? Will we not do anything
in our powerto spare them pain? And is that not what makes child abuse such
a heinous crime?
I ask you, then, what would cause a father to forsake his own son? Can you
explain it? Is that not a breach of a father’s chief duty? I ask myself, what
would cause me to abandon my sons? As I ponder the question, I cannot even
imagine the answer.
But that is what God did when Jesus died on the cross. He abandoned his own
Son. He turned his back, he disowned him, he rejectedthe One who was called
his “only begottenSon.”
We may not understand that. Indeed, it is certain that we do not. But that is
what these words mean.
In Time and Eternity
That brings us to the greatquestion: Why would God do such a thing? One
observationwill help us find an answer. Something must have happened that
day that causeda fundamental change in the Father’s relationship with the

Son. Something must have happened when Jesus hung on the cross which had
never happened before.
At that precise moment Jesus was bearing the sin of the world. During those
three hours of blackness,and in the moments immediately afterward, Jesus
felt the full weightof sin rolled onto his shoulders. All of it became his. It
happened at that moment of space-time history.
(Someone may ask, “Doesnot the Bible teach that Jesus was the ‘lamb slain
from the foundation of the world?’” The answeris yes. But the slaying itself
happened at a particular moment in time—specificallya Friday afternoonin
April, A. D. 33. But since Jesus Christ had a divine nature, what happened to
him in history has eternal implications. I admit that I don’t fully understand
that last sentence, but I am sure it is true. The death of Christ was a historical
event in every sense ofthe word, but it is historical with eternalimplications.)
The Trinity Disjointed
Let’s go one step farther. We know from Habakkuk 1:13 that God cannot
look with favor upon wickedness. His eyes are too pure to approve the evil in
the world. The key phrase is “with favor.” God’s holiness demands that he
turn awayfrom sin. God will have no part of it. His holiness recoils from the
tiniest tinge of wickedness.
Therefore (and this is a big “therefore"), whenGod looked down and saw his
Son bearing the sin of the world, he didn’t see his Son, he saw instead the sin
that he was bearing. And in that awful moment, the Father turned away. Not
in anger at his Son. No, he loved his Son as much at that moment as he ever
had. He turned awayin angerover all the sin of the world that senthis Son to
the cross. He turned away in sorrow and deepestpain when he saw what sin
had done. He turned awayin complete revulsion at the ugliness of sin.

When he did that, Jesus was alone. Completelyforsaken. God-forsaken.
Abandoned. Deserted. Disowned.
There’s an old Southern gospelsong called“TenThousand Angels.” It speaks
of the fact that Jesus, by virtue of being the Son of God, could have called
10,000angels to rescue him from the cross. He didn’t do that, and the chorus
ends with these words, “But he died alone for you and me.”
It is true. When Jesus bore the sins of the world, he bore them all alone.
Christ is now abandoned, the Trinity disjointed, the Godheadbroken. The
fact that I do not know what those words mean does not stop them from being
true. Let it be saidover and over again: When Jesus criedout, “My God, My
God, why have you forsakenme?” he was really and truly forsakenby God.
He Became Sin for Us
To say that is to say nothing more than the Bible itself says:
1. II Corinthians 5:21. “Godmade him (Jesus)who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in him we might become the righteousness ofGod.” Think of it. The
sinless One was “made sin” for us. When Godlookeddown that day, he saw—
not his sinless Son—but sin itself.
2. Galatians 3:13. “Christ redeemedus from the curse of the law by becoming
a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”
Think of it. When Jesus was baptized, the voice from heaven said, “This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased.” No longerwould the voice say that.
At the cross, the beloved Son became “a curse for us.”
3. Isaiah53:6 “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, eachof us has turned to
his ownway; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Think of it.
All the iniquity, all the evil, all the crime and hatred of this world—allof it
was “laid on him.”
Thus did the Son of God make complete identification with sinners. Jesus
become a curse for us. He died in our place. And all our sins were laid on him.
It was for that reason—andonly for that reason—thatGodthe Father
forsook his beloved Son.

Emptying the Sewer
Imagine that somewhere in the universe there is a cesspoolcontaining all the
sins that have ever been commit-ted. The cesspoolis deep, dark and
indescribably foul. All the evil deeds that men and womenhave ever done are
floating there. Imagine that a river of filth constantlyflows into that cesspool,
replenishing the vile mixture with all the evil done every day.
Now imagine that while Jesus was onthe cross, that cesspoolis emptied onto
him. See the flow of filth as it settles upon him. The flow never seems to stop.
It is vile, toxic, deadly, filled with disease,pain and suffering.
When God lookeddown at his Son, he saw the cesspoolofsin emptied on his
head. No wonder he turned awayfrom the sight. Who could bear to watch it?
Think of it. All the lust in the world was there. All the broken promises were
there. All the murder, all the killing, all the hatred betweenpeople. All the
theft was there, all the adultery, all the pornography, all the drunkenness, all
the bitterness, all the greed, all the gluttony, all the drug abuse, all the crime,
all the cursing. Every vile deed, every wickedthought, every vain
imagination—all of it was laid upon Jesus whenhe hung on the cross.
Two GreatImplications
I take from this solemntruth two greatimplications. It reveals to us two
things we must never minimize:
1. We must never minimize the horror of human sin. Sometimes we laugh at
sin and say, “The Devil made me do it,” as if sin were something to joke about.
But it was our sin that Jesus bore that day. It was our sin that causedthe
Father to turn awayfrom the Son. It was our sin floating in that cesspoolof
iniquity. He became a curse and we were part of the reason. Let us never joke
about sin. It is no laughing matter.
2. We must never minimize the awful costof our salvation. Is it possible that
some Christians become tired of hearing about the cross?Is it possible that we
would rather hear about happy things? Without the awful pain of the cross,
there would be no happy things to talk about. Without the cross there would

be no forgiveness. Withoutthe cross there would be no salvation. Without the
cross we would be lost forever. Without the cross our sins would still be upon
us. It costChrist everything to redeem us. Let us never make light of what
costhim so dearly.
“Where Was God When My Son Died?”
Somewhere I read the story of a father whose sonwas killed in a tragic
accident. In grief and enormous anger, he visited his pastorand poured out
his heart. He said, “Where was God when my sondied?” The pastorpaused
for a moment, and with greatwisdom replied, “The same place he was when
his Sondied.”
This cry from the cross is for all the lonely people of the world. It is for the
abandoned child … the widow… the divorcee struggling to make ends meet …
the mother standing over the bed of her suffering daughter … the father out
of work … the parents left alone … the prisoner in his cell… the agedwho
languish in convalescenthomes … wives abandoned by their husbands …
singles who celebrate their birthdays alone.
This is the word from the cross for you. No one has ever been as alone as Jesus
was. You will never be forsakenas he was. No cry of your pain can exceedthe
cry of his pain when Godturned his back and lookedthe other way.
Thank God it is true.
—He was forsakenthat you might never be forsaken.
—He was abandoned that you might never be abandoned.
—He was desertedthat you might never be deserted.

—He was forgottenthat you might never be forgotten.
You Don’t Have to Go to Hell
And most importantly …
—He went to hell for you so you wouldn’t have to go.
If you go to hell, it will be in spite of what Jesus did for you. He’s already been
there. He took the blow. He took the pain. He endured the suffering. He took
the weightof all your sins. So if you do go to hell, don’t blame Jesus. It’s not
his fault. He went to hell for you so you wouldn’t have to go.
What is the worstthing about hell? It’s not the fire (though the fire is real).
It’s not the memory of your past (though the memory is real). It’s not the
darkness (though the darkness is real). The worstthing about hell is that it is
the one place in the universe where people are utterly and forever for-saken
by God. Hell is truly a God-forsakenplace. That’s the hell of hell. To be in a
place where Godhas abandoned you for all eternity.
That’s the bad news. The good news is this. You don’t have to go there. Jesus
has alreadybeen there for you. He went to hell 2,000 years ago so you
wouldn’t have to go. He died a sinner’s death and took a sinner’s punishment
so that guilty sinners like you and me could be eternally forgiven.
If after everything I have said, you still don’t understand these words of Jesus,
be of goodcheer. No one on earth fully understands them. Restin this simple
truth: He was forsakenthat you might never be forsaken. Those who trust
him will never be disappointed, in this life or in the life to come. Amen.
J.C. RYLE
MATTHEW 27:45-56

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness overall the land until the ninth
hour. About the ninth hour Jesus criedwith a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli,
lima sabachthani?" Thatis, "My God, my God, why have you forsakenme?"
Some of them who stood there, when they heard it, said, "This man is calling
Elijah."
Immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar,
and put it on a reed, and gave him a drink. The rest said, "Let him be. Let's
see whether Elijah comes to save him."
Jesus criedagain with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. Behold, the veil
of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked
and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the
saints who had fallen asleepwere raised;and coming out of the tombs after
his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appearedto many. Now
the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, whenthey saw
the earthquake, and the things that were done, fearedexceedingly, saying,
"Truly this was the Son of God."
Many women were there watching from afar, who had followedJesus from
Galilee, serving him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Marythe mother of
James and Joses,and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
In these verses we read the conclusionof our Lord Jesus Christ's passion.
After six hours of agonizing suffering, He became obedient even unto death,
and "yielded up the spirit." Three points in the narrative demand a special
notice. To them let us confine our attention.

Let us observe, in the first place, the remarkable words which Jesus uttered
shortly before His death, "My God, my God, why have You forsakenme?"
There is a deep mystery in these words, which no mortal man can fathom. No
doubt they were not wrung from our Lord by mere bodily pain. Such an
explanation His utterly unsatisfactory, and dishonorable to our blessed
Savior. They were meant to express the real pressure on His soul of the
enormous burden of a world's sins. They were meant to show how truly and
literally He was our substitute, was made sin, and a curse for us, and endured
God's righteous angeragainsta world's sin in His own person. At that
dreadful moment, the iniquity of us all was laid upon Him to the uttermost. It
pleasedthe Lord to bruise Him, and put Him to grief. (Isaiah 53:10.)He bore
our sins. He carriedour transgressions. Heavymust have been that burden,
real and literal must have been our Lord's substitution for us, when He, the
eternal Sonof God, could speak ofHimself as for a time "forsaken."
Let the expressionsink down into our hearts, and not be forgotten. We can
have no strongerproof of the sinfulness of sin, or of the vicarious nature of
Christ's sufferings, than His cry, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken
me?" It is a cry that should stir us up to hate sin, and encourage us to trust in
Christ.
Let us observe, in the secondplace, how much is contained in the words which
describe our Lord's end. We are simply told, "He yielded up His spirit."
There never was a last breath drawn, of such deep import as this. There never
was an event on which so much depended. The Romansoldiers, and the
gaping crowdaround the cross, saw nothing remarkable. They only saw a
person dying as others die, with all the usual agonyand suffering, which

attend a crucifixion. But they knew nothing of the eternalinterests which were
involved in the whole transaction.
That death dischargedin full the mighty debt which sinners owe to God, and
threw open the door of life to every believer. That death satisfiedthe righteous
claims of God's holy law, and enabled God to be just, and yet the justifier of
the ungodly. That death was no mere example of self-sacrifice,but a complete
atonement and propitiation for man's sin, affecting the condition and
prospects of all mankind. That death solved the hard problem, how God could
be perfectly holy, and yet perfectly merciful. It opened to the world a fountain
for all sin and uncleanness. It was a complete victory over Satan, and spoiled
him openly. It finished the transgression, made reconciliationfor iniquity, and
brought in everlasting righteousness. Itproved the sinfulness of sin, when it
needed such a sacrifice to atone for it. It proved the love of God to sinners,
when He sent His own Son to make the atonement. Never, in fact, was there,
or could there be again, such a death. No wonder that the earth quaked, when
Jesus died, in our stead, on the accursedtree. The solid frame of the world
might well tremble and be amazed, when the soulof Christ was made an
offering for sin. (Isaiah53:10.)
Let us observe, in the last place, what a remarkable miracle occurredat the
hour of our Lord's death, in the very midst of the Jewishtemple. We are told
that "the veil of the temple was rent in two." The curtain which separatedthe
holy of holies from the rest of the temple, and through which the high priest
alone might pass, was split from top to bottom.
Of all the wonderful signs which accompaniedour Lord's death, none was
more significant than this. The mid-day darkness for three hours, must have
been a startling event. The earthquake, which rent the rocks, must have been
a tremendous shock. But there was a meaning in the sudden rending of the
veil from top to bottom, which must have piercedthe heart of any intelligent

Jew. The conscienceofCaiaphas, the high priest, must have been hard indeed,
if the tidings of that rent veil did not fill him with dismay.
The rending of the veil proclaimed the termination and passing awayof the
ceremoniallaw. It was a sign that the old dispensationof sacrifices and
ordinances was no longerneeded. Its work was done. Its occupationwas gone,
from the moment that Christ died. There was no more need of an earthly high
priest, and a mercy seat, and a sprinkling of blood, and an offering up of
incense, and a day of atonement. The true High Priest had at length appeared.
The true Lamb of God had been slain. The true mercy seatwas at length
revealed. The figures and shadows were no longerneeded. May we all
remember this! To setup an altar, and a sacrifice, anda priesthood now, is to
light a candle at noon-day.
That rending of the veil proclaimed the opening of the way of salvationto all
mankind. The way into the presence ofGod was unknown to the Gentile, and
only seendimly by the Jew, until Christ died. But Christ having now offered
up a perfect sacrifice, and obtained eternalredemption, the darkness and
mystery were to pass away. All were to be invited now to draw near to God
with boldness, and approachHim with confidence, by faith in Jesus. A door
was thrown open, and a way of life setbefore the whole world. May we all
remember this! From the time that Jesus died, the wayof peace was never
meant to be shrouded in mystery. There was to be no reserve. The Gospelwas
the revelationof a mystery, which had been hidden from ages and
generations. To clothe religionnow with mystery, is to mistake the grand
characteristic ofChristianity.
Let us turn from the story of the crucifixion, every time we read it, with hearts
full of praise. Let us praise God for the confidence it gives us, as to the ground
of our hope of pardon. Our sins may be many and great, but the payment
made by our Great Substitute far outweighs them all. Let us praise God for

the view it given us of the love of our Fatherin heaven. He that spared not His
own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will surely with Him give us all
things. Not least, let us praise God for the view it gives us of the sympathy of
Jesus with all His believing people. He can be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities. He knows whatsuffering is. Jesus is just the Savior that an infirm
body, with a weak heart, in an evil world, requires.
BRIAN BELL
Matthew 27:45-66 5-28-17 a Sponge, a Curtain, and a Cross I.
Announce: A. Slide1 Memorial Day: TY to Bagpiper: Tress Maksimuk (Mac-
si-mook). TY to Gunnery SergeantRandy Bennett ret. And his daughter
Heidi is a Cadet SecondLieutenant, Marine Corps Jr. ROTC (Posting the
Colors). 1. Armed Forces Dayis a day we celebrate & thank those who are
currently serving in the military. (2 weeks agoMay20th) 2. Veterans Day
celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans. 3. MemorialDay is a day of
remembering the men/women who died while serving. 4. Our National
Anthem/Star Spangled Banner ends with a question and a challenge:Does
that flag still wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? a) We
have many issues in our land (divisions: economy/domestic/international). But
compared to so many countries in our world we are still Free & have so many
in our armed services that I call Brave. b) Today it’s apropos that we honor
those who have died in serving their country...as this morning is our place in
Scripture where we honor the 1 who died in serving our world, Jn.15:13
Greaterlove has no one than this, than to lay down 1’s life for his friends B.
Slide2 Charlotte Paulson - The Journey of Hope Program. [unaccompanied
refugee children] C. Slide3 Sun Night of Prayer - Next Sun. Agape rm
6:30pm. Praying for our youth/youth ministries. D. Slide4 Children’s
Ministry: Next Sun Movin on Up. Also few spots Summer Volunteers. E.
Slide5 Better TogetherCouples Date Night: Next Sat@ Oceanside Harbor. F.

Church Office will be closedtomorrow. G. *Also, Dave Eubanks shot
thru-thru in Mosul. Paul Burke, St.Cyprian’s in LB Sat.11am.
II. Slide7 Intro: a Sponge, a Curtain, and a Cross A.I’m going to read an
excerpt from When God Weeps, by Joni EarecksonTada. B. From Heaven
the Fathernow rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes his mane, and
roars againstthe shriveling remnant of a man hanging on a cross. Neverhas
the Sonseemthe Father look at him so, never felt even the leastof his hot
breath. But the roarshakes the unseenworld
1
and darkens the visible sky. The Son does not recognize these eyes. “Sonof
Man! Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped –
murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten
– fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and blasphemed. Oh, the duties you have
shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor,
so played the coward, so belittled my name? Have you ever held your razor
tongue? What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk – you, who molestyoung boys,
peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you
the boldness to rig elections, foment revolutions, torture animals, and worship
demons? Does the list never end! Splitting families, raping virgins, acting
smugly, playing the pimp – buying pornography, accepting bribes. You have
burned down buildings, perfectedterrorist tactics, founded false religions,
traded in slaves – relishing eachmorsel and bragging about it all. I hate,
loathe this things in you! Disgustfor everything about you consumes me! Can
you not feel my wrath?” Of course the Son is innocent. He is blamelessness
itself. The Fatherknows this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the
unthinkable must now take place. Jesus will be treated as if personally
responsible for every sin ever committed. The Father watches as his heart’s
treasure, the mirror image of himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin.
Jehovah’s storedrage againsthumankind for every century explodes in a
single direction. “Father!Father! Why have you forsakenme?!” But heaven
stops its ears. The Son stares up at the One who cannot, who will not, reach
down or reply. The Trinity had planned it. The Son endured it. The Spirit
enabled him. The Father rejectedthe Son whom he loved. Jesus, the God-man

Jesus was forsaken by god

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Jesus was forsaken by god

Similar to Jesus was forsaken by god (20)

More from GLENN PEASE

More from GLENN PEASE (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Jesus was forsaken by god