When Jesus died on the cross, he uttered the words,
“My God my God why has thou forsaken me “.
Why did the Father forsake his Son at the moment he needed him the most. Well as many already know it was because Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world, and God who is too pure to look upon sin had to forsake him. Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb who took away the sins of all who would look to him and trust in him. He paid the penalty that was our payment for our sins, that penalty was death. Sin separates us from God and this separation leads to death. When Jesus died, he descended into hell and defeated the Devil who had the power over death, by taking the keys of death from his possession. God then raised his Son from the dead as no power in hell could keep him there. Not only did he defeat death, but many of the saints of old were also released from the power of death. Many of the graves were opened and these saints of old were seen walking on Earth in the same way that Jesus also walked the Earth before being taken up into Glory at the right hand side of God. It is assumed that the righteous who were freed from death were also taken up into Glory with Jesus.
This redemptive and victorious plan was already known as God knew the possibility of Man rebelling from him. In the Garden of Eden, when man sinned against God, God uttered these words:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This scripture shows us that in the beginning God had a plan for this situation.
God created all of creation through his Word. The Word became flesh and he is none other than Jesus Christ the Son of God. All things were made for him and through him. Jesus is the source of all creation and it is only Jesus who could redeem creation back to God. Jesus is in the unique position of being between God and Mankind, he is the only mediator and the only name in which we can be saved. God cannot fellowship with sin, and man cannot fellowship with God because of sin. But Jesus emptied himself of his former privilege and position in heaven and became like one of us. From being seated at the right hand of God to becoming a servant, the plan was worked through and completed, resulting in the purchasing back of those who were under the Law of Sin & Death. This plan was so secret that if the Demonic Principalities had of known about it they wouldn’t have crucified the Son of God. This victory that is in Jesus, showed God’s incredible power over evil, because he defeated evil with the foolishness of the cross. God’s foolishness is greater than all the wisdom of Man, Angel and Demon. This victory also embarrassed the Powers of Darkness and put them to open shame.
The cross also shows all of creation another aspect to God that had not been known before. That is his mercy and grace. His ability to forgive and show unmerited favour, not because we are worthy, but because of his incredible love that he has for each of us. No accusation of the Devil, no wisdom and no power can separate us from the love of God. But what has all this deception, lies and accusation from the Evil One accomplished. It has accomplished and revealed at least 5 important things.
It has sorted out the Elect from the Wicked. The faithful from the unfaithful. It has glorified God, because these unusual circumstances have revealed some unusual but glorious aspects of God’s nature, that could only have been revealed if rebellion and sin were present. It has undoubtedly proven that God is the only righteous and worthy person. He is the only one who is fit to look after living beings. He is the only one who is the source of all love and the only one who can live for eternity. (We have eternal life only because of his life). God’s character is beyond question. We should trust him even if circumstances dictate otherwise. If we have an accusation against him we should know that we feel this way because we cannot see the bigger picture. If we know him we will know that he is righteous.
He is the only one who is worthy to be worshipped forever. All other forms of worship lead to boredom then death.
It was not God’s will that anyone rebel or be separate from him as we know that God will’s that none should perish, but that all should be saved. But God’s will is limited by the will of others. He truly gave us free will to choose him. But as we know, not all have chosen him, but rather many have chosen to believe the lies of the Evil One. The victory however lies in the fact that God’s character has been proven beyond question as creation has seen the results of living without him. That is suffering and death. This makes us want to glorify him all the more, as we know that he is the only one who is worthy to be called God and we will be forever grateful because of the suffering we have endured that has taught us obedience, and after this to be translated into the wonderful presence of God forever, where there is neither pain or crying. God has nothing to hide, no evil secrets hidden under the mat. He has allowed the Devils accusations to be heard because he wanted to show creation that the Devil was wrong, that the Devil is truly the Father of all lies. God has demonstrated that only he is righteous, loving and eternal and that he is truly light and there is no darkness in him whatsoever. Do you trust in God, or do you shake your fists at him?
If you have any accusations against God, it is because you cannot see the bigger picture. Do not let this lack of vision lead you to believing in the Devils lies. His lies can be easier to see sometimes, but we must always trust in God, regardless of what you can see or what you are thinking. I now want to show you from a cultural perspective, something else about the words “My God my God why has thou forsaken me.” There was a Jewish tradition in those days that worked like this. If I quoted the beginning of a Psalm, you the hearer would recite the rest of it. This was a great way for people to remember the scriptures written in the Book of Psalms. When Jesus uttered the words “My God my God why has thou forsaken me”, he was actually quoting the first verse of Psalms 22. Now those Jewish people that heard those words may have automatically recited the rest of the Psalm. This Psalm contained at least one interesting prophecy in verses 14-18 which says the following:
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
If any of the onlookers recited the rest of the Psalm, they may have indeed understood that a prophecy had come to pass before their very eyes. While this happened there was also an earthquake and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. The words that were uttered by the one or more of these onlookers was “Truly this man was the Son of God”. Are these your words?
