7 Words: My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me

The Fourth Word:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
(Mark 15:34)

One thing I’ve heard frequently, especially since I have arrived in Zambia, is what is sometimes called the Prosperity Gospel or “Health and Wealth Gospel” or “Name it and Claim it.” This is the teaching that if you ask for something in faith, God will necessarily give it. In this teaching, suffering is never in God’s will, so if one suffers, it stands to reason that they are out of or apart from God’s will. Perhaps they have sinned and they suffer the consequence of sin. Perhaps they do not have enough faith, and so they suffer.

There are several problems with this teaching. The big reason is that it does not fit within the context of scripture. Though there are some verses that seem at first blush to support this teaching, in context they do not. When the Apostle Paul begs God three times to remove the thorn from his flesh, God does not remove it in order that through Paul’s weakness, God’s strength will be manifested.

And in this scripture, we see Jesus, who never sinned, whose obedience to God went all the way to death on a cross. We see him suffer abandonment. When Jesus cries out, he echoes the beginning of Psalm 22:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. (vv. 1-2)

Jesus wasn’t just reciting scripture; he was praying scripture. This is an important distinction. When you have allowed scripture to penetrate your heart, you will find that the emotions you experience have been expressed before. There is nothing wrong with expressing your true feelings to God. God already knows what you are going through, so you don’t need to pretend that you aren’t.

But even though this was the worst possible suffering, Jesus wasn’t just expressing that he was at the depth of despair. He was expressing true abandonment by God. How can this be, as God has promised to never leave us or forsake us? We read in Psalm 23 that Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…

Worse even than the pain of torture on the cross was the pain of being abandoned by God. Why did God abandon Jesus? At the moment of his crucifixion, Jesus took upon himself all the sin of humanity. All the past sin, the present sin, and the future sin. Including your sin and mine. 1 Peter 2:24 tells us that He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. But he didn’t simply take our sins away. As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. He became sin for us. And our God is a Holy God, and he cannot allow sin in his presence, so when Jesus became sin for us, he was cast from God’s presence.

Know that Jesus’ faith was never in question. He still calls him “My God, My God” – indicating their continuing relationship. He doesn’t doubt. But he still feels the weight of that abandonment. He knew that God was everything he needed. He didn’t need God plus something else. God’s presence was like the air he breathed – necessary for life itself. And Jesus experienced the anguish of being without him.

So today I want to finish with two questions. First of all, do you feel abandoned? You are not alone. If you are in Christ, you are never alone. Jesus experienced true abandonment so that you don’t have to. He has been where you are. And if you are in Christ, you have been given the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who is always with you, never to forsake you. Because of what Jesus did for you, you are never alone.

The second question is have you given your life fully to Jesus? Is abandonment by God the worst thing you can possibly imagine? If not, then maybe you need to give him your whole heart. You need to depend on God like you need air to breathe.

When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts (1707)