Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Words from the Cross • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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On the Cross Jesus revealed a deep heart agony that many of us can relate to—the feeling of abandonment and loss. It's one of the sharpest emotional pains we can experience. But Christ's loss, was deeper than anything we have experienced because he experienced seperation from his Father—the one He had loved for eternity. Jesus understands our griefs, he has born our suffering, and he came through it for us.

Notes

Transcript

Service Schedule

Announcements — Jason

Looking through the eyes of John.

Welcome to Bonners Ferry Adventist Church. I’m glad you can join us this morning for our first ever, at-home, live-stream church service. I want to apologize to Ailen and Nathanial because I had promised to teach their Sabbath school today, and I’m not able to keep that promise.

This morning we will have church members from both Bonners Ferry and Clark Fork churches joining us. If you are on facebook, feel free to make comments and ask questions. I have a few helpers here today that will be participating with the service and helping to moderate our facebook livestream. — thank you Joelle, Russell and Birgitta.

We’re planning to continue this model of corporate worship until at least April 11, and possibly longer, depending on the advice we receive from the Upper Columbia Conference. We have a weekly pastor’s meting on Thursdays to keep us all informed of any new decisions.

Due to COVID-19 all events and conferences hosted by the Upper Columbia Conference in March, April and May have been postponed or cancelled.

If you aren’t receiving the weekly email update, please send your email and mobile phone number to jason.worf@uccemail.org and I’ll add you to the list.

The conference is considering cancelling camp meeting, but is waiting for a couple weeks before they make that decision.

The General Conference session that was scheduled for June of this year, will be postponed to May of 2021.

Boundary County schools and Cornerstone Christian School are closed through April 5, at the earliest. We will keep parents informed as changes to that schedule occur.

If you aren’t receiving the weekly email update, please send your email and mobile phone number to jason.worf@uccemail.org and I’ll add you to the list.

Open with Prayer - Jason

Offering — Jason

Offering this week is for our local church budget.

We are working to get tithe envelopes to members. In the mean time, you can mail a check to P.O. Box 509, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805. Include a piece of paper that indicates the amount that is for tithe, church budget, or other offering categories.

Clark Fork members can mail their tithe and offerings to 700 Pine St, Clark Fork, ID 83811.

Bonners Ferry members can give online by going to bonnersferryadventist.org and then clicking on the “give” menu.

Open with Prayer - Jason

Bible Reading — Birgitta

Matt 26

Matthew 26:36–46 ESV

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Children’s Story — Joelle

Sermon — Jason

Begin with a story of abandonment.

The difference between perception and reality (Jesus felt one thing, but in reality the Father drew close, shrouded in the cloud).

The penitent thief is the one ray of hope and comfort Jesus experienced that day.

Abandonment:

Judas

Three disciples in Gethsemane, then the rest that fled when he was arrested

Peter in the courtyard (Jesus’ pitying look)

The people crying “crucify him!”

His own disciples at the cross, “We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel.”

The father

Sermon Big Idea

Jesus is acquainted with our grief and has born our sorrows—He death and resurrection doesn’t just save our souls, it heals our hearts.

Introduction

Elena was 2 years old when they brought her home from an overseas orphanage to be their little girl. She had already experienced more loss than most, but her pain was only beginning. Her new family had one birth child already. The parents were kind, but soon became concerned. A social worker was called and determined that Elena would need occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and behavioral therapy. When she left, the social worker took with her the burden that these adoptive parents were seriously considering interrupting the adoption process.

While only two years old, Elena must have understood something of the background noise of loss and abandonment in her life. Her parents had abandoned her to an orphanage, whether by death or by choice. She was torn from her orphanage home and the friends she had begun to make in order to live with a strange family in a strange land. Now she was facing the disinterest of her new family.

What must she feel about herself? About her worth? About her future?

Abandonment isn’t just what happens when a parent or spouse leaves their family. It’s not just what happens when a parent leaves their child at the doorsteps of a hospital. Abandonment is any experience of relational loss that leaves a person wondering, “what’s wrong with me that they would do that?” Psychologists tell us that people respond emotionally in the same way to abandonment as they do to lack of supervision, lack of adequate nutrition, lack of appropriate clothing or shelter or heat, and even to physical and sexual abuse. All of these things leave a child wondering, “why me? Did I do something wrong? IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME?”

When a parent tells the child, “It’s not OK to make a mistake,” or “It’s not OK to show feelings,” or “It’s not OK to have needs,” they are telling the child they they are not OK. That they are not acceptable. That they are not wanted, as they are.

I recently watched the movie about Mr. Rogers called, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” He makes the statement that every child needs to know and believe that they are liked for who they are, just the way they are. And that’s true about adults too.

The feelings of loss and abandonment are not isolated to childhood. We experience feelings of loss when a friend betrays or leaves us.... When a spouse abuses us, withholds intimacy, or gives us the silent treatment... When the group leaves us out of a conversation. When we hear rumors and gossip about ourselves.

The pain we feel when we experience abandonment and loss is hard to handle. Children are known to act out their feelings by tearing the heads off of dolls and hurting or killing small animals. These actions are the expression of a deep inward feeling that the child can’t express in words. They are saying, “I don’t feel wanted or loved. Why am I even alive?” Adults tend to handle their emotions with less drama, but the pain is no less real. Some say that the pain that comes from hearing gossip about yourself is a lot like being eaten alive—verbal cannibalism.

Through the Eyes of John

The reason I’m talking about abandonment is because in our series called “words from the cross.” we’re examining the significance of the words Jesus spoke on the Cross. Today we’re focussing on “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ()

Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

To understand the significance of this phrase, we need to understand what Christ had gone through in the previous 24 hours. Last time we looked at the story through the eyes of a roman soldier. Today, let’s look at it again through the eyes of the disciple, John.

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 27:46). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

The final week of Christ’s life was so significant to John that he started writing about it in John chapter 12. Leading up to that last week, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead in chapter 11 and that’s when John tells us that the priests made a decision to kill Jesus.

In we read the story of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet. Jesus rebuked those who thought her actions were extravagant and even lewd by saying that Mary was anointing him for his burial.

Shortly after that Jesus rode into Jerusalem as though he were a king returning in triumph from a battle, and He told the disciples, “The hour has come for the son of man to be glorified.” (, ESV)

Now, Imagine that you are John.

You started following Jesus when you were barely 14. Jesus called you and your brother James and your business partner and friend, Simon Peter, all at the same time while you were cleaning your nets. He said, “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.” (, ESV). Jesus’ power and charisma and simple faith drew you to him, so you left your nets and boats with your father, and started following Jesus.

In the past three years you’ve seen countless people healed. You’ve seen more than one person raised from the dead to greet their loved ones again. You’ve seen evil spirits dismissed from tormenting people and their hosts becoming sane again. You’ve heard simple, yet amazingly deep messages of truth. But more than anything else, Jesus has become your best friend. He believes in you like no one ever has. And You crave his presence.

Yesterday was the passover feast. You’ve never seen Jesus this sad before. You could see on his face and how his shoulders hung that he was holding a huge burden. Before the meal started, several of the disciples had been sent ahead to secure the venue—the symposium room on the second floor of John Mark’s house. It was a celebration feast, but it was also a solemn feast.

As you waited for the meal, you talked with the other disciples about how Jesus said that it was time for him to be glorified. Your mother had recently asked Jesus on your behalf if you could hold a prominent place in Jesus’ kingdom, and the idea that He would be glorified as the king of Israel made you excited. He hadn’t promised you a place in his court, but you just knew that He would use you in some way. How could he not? You are one of his closest disciples.

As everyone sat down for the meal you made sure to sit next to Jesus. The conversation around the room was filled with excitement and people making plans. There were a few people who were getting heated over how Jesus’ new government should be organized. Quietly, Jesus stood up and dressed down to a towel, like a servant preparing to wash their feet. Suddenly you realized that no one had made plans for a servant to do the traditional footwashing and that instead, Jesus was about to do it! The room grew quiet and you watched as one-by-one, Jesus washed the feet of each disciple, including your own. Like usual, Peter had some bombastic thing to say when Jesus came to wash his feet. After finishing, Jesus washed his hands and put his robe back on before sitting down to begin the meal with you. He prayed, and then broke the bread and handed it out to the others saying, “Take it and eat it; this is my body which is broken for you.” He passed around the grape juice saying, “drink this because it is my blood which is shed for you.” And then he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”

He knew more than he let on in that last statement.

There was something in the way he related that evening. Everything had such significance, but the disciples were mostly distracted by their own ambitions. Jesus was telling you that he was going to die, that this was the plan, and no one seemed to really get it. Then, he sent Judas away to go do whatever he was planning on doing, but nobody fully understood what that was. It was like you all had a severe case of foggy brain—things just weren’t sinking in.

Looking back on the events of last night you should have seen it more clearly. The pain in Jesus face as he sent Judas on his wicked errand. The loss he must have keenly felt as he looked forward in time and saw Judas die—bearing the guilt of his betrayal by hanging on a tree above the potter’s field.

And then there was the walk to the garden of gethsemane. Everyone was seeing it by then—something was different in Jesus. No one knew quite what to do, so you all walked in relative silence up the hillside to the olive grove. Jesus stopped and gathered the disciples around him and said, “Tonight all of you will desert me.” () Simon Peter boldly declared, “even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you!” It was kind of a nice thing to say, but Jesus responded with a sigh, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” ()

Then He asked the disciples to wait at the edge of the grove, while he took you and James and Simon Peter a little farther.

In the middle of the grove there was a large rock that Jesus liked to kneel in front of and pray. You’d seen him pray there many times. Tonight he said, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” (, NLT). You wanted to stay awake, but praying for very long was hard, and your mind got distracted. Pretty soon you were asleep with your head in your hands on the ground.

You woke up to Jesus gently shaking your shoulder. “couldn’t you have watched with me for an hour?” he gently chided. It was clear that there was more than concern for you in his voice—he longed for someone to help him bear the burden that was crushing his spirit. He asked again, “keep watch and pray. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (v 41)

This time you heard him pray, “My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” (v 42) But then you fell asleep again. When Jesus came back again you heard his footsteps and in the back of your sleepy mind you heard him say, “go ahead and sleep. Have your rest.” And then a moment later, in a louder voice, he said, “Look—the time has come.” You jolted up and saw torches winding their way up the hillside path to the grove. “The son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, Let’s be going.... Look, my betrayer is here!” (v 46)

On your feet now, you saw the face of Judas leading the murderous mob. Jesus had a resoluteness in his face, but also deep sadness as he said to Judas, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.” (v 50)

The disciples who were waiting outside the grove had already scattered. Peter made an attempt at defending Jesus, but failed to strike a lethal blow with his sword. Jesus told the guards that He is the one they came for and asked them to let His disciples go. Peter and James and any of the other disciples that were lingering at the edge of the grove ran away, but you stayed in the shadows and trailed behind the assembly as they bound Jesus and hauled him off to Caiphas’ house for a sham of a trial.

At the trial they brought out false witnesses that twisted Jesus’ words to make them sound like he was trying to overthrow the temple. Then the high priest stood up and said, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

Peter had found his way to the courtyard and was watching the trial. You caught his eye once, but he was obviously trying to keep his distance. Three times different people asked him if he was one of Jesus’ followers, and every time Peter strongly denied it. The last time he swore, saying, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” () He was louder this time and Jesus heard it. He turned his head to the crowd and looked pitifully at Peter. Peter must have remembered that Jesus predicted he would deny him because he dropped his head and fled from the courtyard with great sobs.

The priests found Jesus guilty and sent him to Pilate who sent him to Herod, who sent him back to Pilate who found him innocent. But the people demanded that Pilate let a terrorist, Barrabas, go and crucify Jesus instead. Some in the crowd were the very same people who had wanted to make Jesus king when He had fed them on the hillside. Pilate washed his hands and said that he would not be guilty of Jesus’ blood, and the people shouted louder, “His Blood be on us and on our children!” () Pilate said, “Shall I crucify your king?” () and the people shouted as loudly as they could, “we have no king but Ceasar.” ()

Morning had come and Jesus’ mother, Mary had come to meet you outside Pilate’s court. They took Jesus away and you didn’t see him again until he came out with his back torn and bleeding and a heavy beam on his back. It was such an awful scene that it made Mary double over in grief and you struggled to not throw up. They marched him through the streets of Jerusalem up to the hill Golgotha. You tried to stay as close as possible, but it was difficult because there were so many people. You got there in time to see them hammering the nails into his wrists and feet. You heard Jesus say, “Father forgive them,” and you and Mary both broke down weeping again.

They dropped the cross into a hole and then a little later nailed a sign to it that said, “The King of the Jews” as if to say, “this is what we do to the king.” Even though the Jews wanted to set up their own kingdom apart from Rome, they were willing to sacrifice that dream in order to murder the only King they had really ever had.

Watching the rejection that Jesus faced was hard for you to bear. He had been rejected by Judas, he was unsupported by you and the other two disciples during prayer, he was abandoned by most of the twelve and then one of his closest friends denied knowing him during a time when he desperately needed a truthful witness. And the leaders that He had given responsibility over Israel had rejected him in favor of Caesar.

Now, as you support Mary in her grief, standing near the foot of the cross, Jesus whispers down to His mother, “woman, behold, your son!” and then to you He says, “Behold, your mother.” Gladly would you take care of Jesus’ mother, but you can’t help but wonder what it must feel like to give up your closest family relationship. What agony Jesus must be experiencing.

There had been a darkness, as black as midnight, over the entire area for three hours. Jesus’ breathing had been more and more difficult. In the darkness Jesus lifted himself up and cried out with anguish, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” , ESV) One person after another had left and abandoned Jesus, but now he felt the agony of being abandoned by God himself.

A short time later Jesus said he was thirsty and they offered him wine mixed with a bitter poison. He refused it when he realized what it was. Then, one last time, he lifted himself up and with the strongest voice he could must her said, “It is finished!” and he died.

To loose your mentor and leader was one thing, but Jesus was your closest friend. It was nearly all that you could bear. But you stood at the foot of the cross until they took him away to bury him. Then you took Mary to her home.

Was Jesus really abandoned?

When we look at the story of the cross its easy for us to look just a couple days past the crucifixion to the resurrection and comfort ourselves that this story will have a happy ending. But what if you were John on that day? What if you couldn’t see what would happen next?

Some Christians believe that when Jesus came to earth He retained the prerogatives of God for being everywhere at once, for seeing the future and the past clearly, and for having infinite power. This doesn’t seem to be the case, because Jesus Himself said that He didn’t do anything except what the Father told him to do. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry. Everything He did was a guided by the Father and the Spirit. So why would the cross be any different? The bible depicts the God-man, Jesus as a human. Yes, fully God, but laying aside the prerogatives of God to live life as a human, with all our limitations and weaknesses.

He might not have seen the future as clearly as the present, but He knew the prophecies that predicted the resurrection. He could have faith in that. He had been talking with the Father and the Spirit about the purpose and outcome of the cross, so he wasn’t ignorant of the plan. It was clear to him that He must die and that He would rise from the dead. But the pain and sorrow of our sins crushed him, and the Devil and a host of evil angels fought to make Him doubt and get him discouraged. In the garden, when the disciples just couldn’t be bothered to stay awake and pray with Him, an angel came to encourage Him and lift His spirits. If He hadn’t, Jesus might have succumbed to the weight of our sins right there in the garden. When He hung on the cross in such pain, He struggled to accept by faith that His sacrifice would be sufficient and that He would rise again.

He could have taken on the prerogatives of God and disconnected himself from the human form he had taken, but that would have completely ruined the plan. No, Jesus bore our griefs and experienced our sorrows as one of us.

You have had friends leave you, and so did Christ. You have lost a parent, and so did Christ. Your body has betrayed you in pain, and so did Christ’s. But unlike you, Christ faced the possibility of an eternity without His dearly loved Father and the Spirit. How could He be separated from them? He faced that question the entire time he was on the cross. He pled with God for an answer, but no voice spoke to Him. In the darkness he felt abandoned by the Father and the Spirit. But then He reviewed the promises of Scripture in his mind and with faith he claimed what God had promised.

When Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” He was quoting the first line in .

The psalm goes on to describe a man groaning and crying out repeatedly. Verse 2 says,

Psalm 22:2 ESV

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

This must have been how Jesus felt on the cross—forsaken and abandoned, and grief without rest.

But the psalmist doesn’t stay in this depression, he quickly recovers and says in verse 3:

Psalm 22:3–4 ESV

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.

But in verse 6 he swings back to depression:

Psalm 22:6–7 ESV

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

Psalm 22:6 ESV

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

But he doesn’t stay in his depression. Again in verse 21 he goes back to a firm faith:

Psalm 22:21 ESV

Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

Psalm 22:26–27 ESV

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

Like the Psalmist, Jesus must have been going back and forth in his mind. Remembering the psalm and probably also reviewing promises like this one in Deut 31:6:

Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Jesus was not to be comforted on the cross—the burden he bore was his alone to bear. Yet the Father was not far from Him. He veiled himself in darkness. When Jesus hung on the cross, naked and exposed, the Father wrapped darkness around him to shield his suffering from the crowd. When Jesus died, the Father’s grief rumbled through the ground in an earthquake.

With confident assurance Jesus raised himself up and did his best to shout out the last part of the last verse in , “IT IS FINISHED!”

Psalm 22:31 ESV

they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

That phrase, “he has done it” could also be translated “it is finished.”

Back and forth his emotions went, but they rested in faith, not in doubt. And It was that final statement of faith —He has done it, it is finished—that brought Jesus to the end of his life.

Jesus was not to be comforted on the cross—the burden he bore was his alone to bear. Yet the Father was not far from Him. He veiled himself in darkness and came as close to Jesus as He had ever been during his ministry on earth. When Jesus hung on the cross, in agony, naked and exposed, the Father wrapped darkness around him to shield his suffering from the crowd. Jesus may have felt the darkness as abandonment, but it was really the Father’s tender compassion. When Jesus died, the Father’s grief rumbled through the ground in an earthquake.

Conclusion

When Jesus died on the cross he bore our sins, and took our place. That’s certainly true. That we have a substitute is reason to rejoice. But Jesus did more than that. Jesus took our form and our frailties, and the fact that He knows what you’ve gone through means He has the ability to help you in your difficulty.

Elena wrote this poem when she was nine:

Family must be importent to you because they are always in you heat (heart) and comfert you when you are sad.

Family is importent to Some people because they Love you and you love them.

Family can comfert you when you are feeling down and being sad or lonely.

When you come off the bus, you might see your family waiting for you when they see you in the window on the bus.

Have you experienced pain in your life? Jesus did too.

Have you been abandoned in your life? Jesus was abandoned too.

Are you struggling to make a living? Jesus was homeless.

Are you afraid of death? Jesus faced death and all it’s darkness, too.

Do you feel disconnected from God? Jesus felt that too.

Hebrews 4:5 says,

Hebrews 4:15 CSB

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus knows you. He understands you. He weeps with you when you weep. He celebrates with you when you celebrate. When you are in pain, he feels it too. When you face rejection, He remembers what that felt like.

So when the Bible says to cast “all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (), it’s not just blowing smoke. Jesus really does care for you.

When you feel furthest from God, remember Jesus’ faith on the cross. Remember that He was shrouded in darkness and couldn’t see His father’s presence, but the Father was the closest to Him in His trial as He had ever been. Remember that and claim the promise from ,

Hebrews 13:5 NLT

Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”