What Did God Answer When Jesus Asked My God Why Did You Forsake Me
What was God’s answer to Jesus’ question, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,lemasabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
We can look at this in two ways.
1.There was no answer. Jesus screamed that question to heaven. He screamed it audibly, and there was no audible reply. As far as the New Testament indicates, there are only three occasions on which God speaks audibly, and this was not one of them. The Son of God was screaming in agony, and the Father remained silent.
2.We could say that three days later God screamed an answer with the empty tomb, bringing forth the Holy One. I think that plaintive cry from Jesus on the cross is one of the most important and misunderstood verses in all of sacred Scripture. The explanations for it have run the gamut. Albert Schweitzer was filled with consternation and saw in it a clue that Jesus died in a spirit of bitter disillusionment, that he had spent his ministry expecting God to bring the kingdom of God dramatically through Jesus’ministry—and God did not do it.
Schweitzer believed that Jesus allowed himself to be arrested and led right to Golgotha, expecting that God was going to rescue him at the last moment from the cross.
Suddenly, when Jesus realized that there was not going to be a rescue, he screamed in bitter disillusionment and died a heroic death, but with an embittered spirit nevertheless. That was Schweitzer’s view, but others have taken a different one.
We realize that the words Jesus cried on the cross are an exact quotation of what David penned in Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Some people say that here in his agony Jesus fell back on his knowledge of Scripture by reciting it. I don’t think Jesus was just quoting Bible verses on the cross, but it certainly would have been appropriate for him to use a statement of Scripture to express the depth of his agony.
In the hymn “‘Tis Midnight; and on Olive’s Brow.” There’s a verse that says that the Son of Man was not forsaken by his God.
As much as I love the hymn, I hate that verse because it’s not right. Jesus didn’t just feel forsaken on the cross; he was totally forsaken by God while he hung on the cross because that’s exactly what the penalty for sin is.
Leviticus 5:6
Then you must bring to the Lord as the penaltyfor your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord.Vayikra5:6 (From the Tanach,The Torah)And he shall bring his asham(penalty, trespass offering or guilt offering) unto Hashem for his chattat(sin) which he hath sinned, a nekevah from the flock, a lamb or a female goat, for a chattat(sin offering); and the kohen(priest)shall make kapporah(atonement)for him concerning his chattat.
Jesus is the perfect sacrifice to God , He mediates a new covenant between God and sinners, making atonement for our sins,and by doing that, replacing the sin offering in Leviticus 5:6by giving us a new covenant
Hebrews 9:14-16
Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds (Greek from dead works) so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.Now when someone leaves a will,( Orcovenant)it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead. (Or Now when someone makes a covenant, it is necessary to ratify it with the death of a sacrifice.)As the apostle Paul elaborates, sin cuts us off from the presence and benefits of God.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 3:9-12Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say,“No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise;no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless.No one does good,not a single one.”(Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3)
Christ screamed, “Why have I been forsaken?” It wasn’t just a question; it was a cry of agony.
Mark 14:32-36They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Christ knew the answer. The answer was given to him the night, in Gethsemane, when the Father made it clear that it was necessary for him to drink that cup.