My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Dr. Fr. Davis George

During his life time Jesus went around healing the sick; he made the lame walk, the deaf, dumb speak, the blind see and even the dead were brought back to life.  He fed over 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Thousands came to hear him.  And yet he was condemned to death and when he carried his cross most of the people deserted him.  Those who cried out hosanna on the Palm Sunday cried out “crucify him”. It was Friday, the day after Passover. During the crucifixion some of them struck his head, and knelt down before him to ridicule him.   "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." (1 Pt 2:22) and yet they spat on his face and struck him.  Even the closest of his disciple Peter denied him three times. Judas betrayed him with a kiss.  As a human being Jesus felt  abandoned, deserted, forsaken, lonely and betrayed and let down by his own disciples.  Even by God.  Jesus was on the cross for three hours, from twelve noon to three o’clock. The sky turned dark and black, the darkest day of human history, and even darkness enveloped Jesus’ heart. It was three o’clock on that Friday afternoon and Jesus was coming closer to his death. The Bible tells us that Jesus cried out with a shrieking shout, in almost a scream, in Aramaic, his native tongue. Eloi. Eloi. Lama sabachthani. My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? (Mk 15:33-34)  As the Bible says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." (Gal 3:13) “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Rom 4:25)

Sometimes in life, we all feel abandoned by a loved one; betrayed by trusted friend; forsaken by those whom we thought will be a source of encouragement and consolation. As a result we feel disappointed, discouraged and sad and down in the dumps. Divorce also causes brokenness in life. When one parent moves away, a child often feels that he or she has been abandoned by the parent, who not only left the house but left the town as well. We can experience similar feelings due to untimely death of loved ones. When parent gets cancer and dies, the young and the little child often feels abandoned by his mother or father who died. We come across sometimes people who have been married for few years and one of the partners dies. The remaining partner often feels abandoned. Death often causes people to cry out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

What can we learn from Jesus’ cry to God?

The first thing we learn is this: it is OK to have feelings and give vent those feelings of abandonment, as Jesus did on the cross. To feel the pain and sadness of being abandoned by God is normal. That is the way God made us, to feel such feelings and to give vent to such feelings. It is OK to feel depressed and abandoned by God.

King David certainly did, when people wanted to kill him. He wrote those classic words in Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? King David was a devout believer in God and clung to God and was loyal to God, but he also felt depressed and abandoned by God.  If it was normal and acceptable for God’s King David to give vent to his feelings, and he was the best king in the whole Old Testament, it is certainly normal and acceptable for you and me to feel the same way.

Job certainly did. Job is the most famous person in the Old Testament who is known for his suffering. Job suffered more than any other person in the Old Testament, and he, too, felt abandoned by God, deserted by God, forsaken by God, and he shouted his laments and anger towards God. That was part of humanness, to feel that way.  It is OK to feel like Job.

Jesus certainly did. Jesus was the very Son of God, the heart and mind of God in the flesh, and in the moment of the deepest darkness of the land and the deepest darkness of his heart, Jesus felt that God had abandoned him and he shouted his feelings to the heavens. This reveals that Jesus was fully human, and when we have those similar feelings and give vent to those feelings we are fully human as well. “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear.”  (Heb. 5:7-10) “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.” (Heb 4:15) So when you have such feelings that God has abandoned you, and you vent those feelings, remember that King David, Job, and Jesus the Son of God felt in the same way.  When we lose a father or mother, husband or wife, brother or sister, child or grandchild, or experience any tragedy in our personal lives, we often feel a silent abandonment by God; let us remember that King David, Job and Jesus felt the same way.

The second thing we learn tonight from Jesus’ words is this: even in the worst situations of life, we are to cling to God with both hands as Jesus did.  Yes, with both hands. Jesus’ darkest hour with darkness all around him and within him, Jesus still clung to God with both hands. His left hand said, “My God.” His right hand said, “My God.” Eloi. Eloi. My God, my God, was Jesus clinging to God with both hands in the midst of this horrific situation. Jesus clung to God with all his might during the darkest hour of his life.  It is easy to believe in God when life smiles on you, but it is much more difficult to believe in God when life frowns on you. It is easy to believe in God when you are wearing silver slippers and the path is smooth and easy; but it is much more difficult to believe in God when your feet are blistered and the path is rocky. Sometimes, life can be incredibly hard. In the worst and darkest day of human history, Jesus still clung to God with both hands and held onto God. We are to cling to God in our darkest days.

The third thing we learn from Jesus’ word on the cross is that these are not his last words. The drama does not end with his depression and emotional exhaustion. King David wrote the 22nd psalm, “My God my God, why have you forsaken me.” But he also wrote the next psalm, the 23rd psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” The 22nd psalm was not his last word.  Job complained to God when he lost all his possessions, his family, everything. He railed against God in his anger, but those were not his last words. He also wrote at the end of his book, “I know that my redeemer lives.” Job’s feelings of abandonment were not his last words. So also with Jesus. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me,” were not his last words. His last words were cry of victory, “It is accomplished. It is finished. It is done.  I have accomplished your will and redeemed the world.”