Jesus forsaken?
 

Mark 15:34 (KJV)
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

I would be interested in opinions as to what extent Jesus was forsaken by God at His crucifixion.

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

He, (his humanity) felt forsaken, he wasn't forsaken.

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

Though confess that there are depths here I have yet to plunge, my own take begins with the Psalm that He is obviously quoting - Psalm 22.

The first 2 verses appear to be cries of despair, however they are followed by an affirmation of faith. So before I can even get into the humanity vis-à-vis Deity issue in Mark 15:34, I am confronted immediately with a very real human cry of suffering. Implied with that cry and in the quoted Psalm I find a renewal of faith.

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

Please elaborate...

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

Jesus was not forsaken by God although he felt alone, He wasn't.

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Psalm 22 is an incredible psalm. It puts us into the mind of Christ as he hung on the cross! It's written in the present tense and allows us to feel what Christ felt as he hung on the cross. Verse 1 is an example of poetic parallelism. The two questions are worded differently but ask the same thing. Where is God when we are in the pit of suffering?

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

There are times when we feel like God is not around. We are going through difficult times and we don't feel his presence. Our prayers aren't being answered like we would like them to and we are allowed to go through things we don't want to go through. But we know God is always with us as He was with Jesus.


Though Jesus faith seems to falter in his darkest hour, He rallies back in verses 22-24. God didn't hide his face from Christ but HE HEARD!

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

This was more than the cry of a righteous Sufferer affirming His faith that God would cause Him to triumph (contrast Ps. 22:1 with Ps. 22:28). Nor did Jesus merely feel abandoned. Instead, Jesus’ cry combined (a) abandonment by God the Father in a judicial not relational sense, and (b) a genuine affirmation of Jesus’ relationship to God. Bearing the curse of sin and God’s judgment on sin (cf. Deut. 21:22-23; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13) He experienced the unfathomable horror of separation from God, who cannot look on sin (cf. Hab. 1:13). This answers Jesus’ question, “Why?” Dying for sinners (Mark 10:45; Rom. 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18), He experienced separation from God.
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:189). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

What do you say to this?

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

Christ's cry was a human cry of not knowing. God requires us, even Christ as Son, to not know everything and go on by faith.

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

Jesus separated from God? That's a tricky one!!

If Jesus suffered separation from God for bearing our sins, what happens to us when we sin once we've become His children? Does God automatically disown us until we repent? And isn't it God's goodness and the conviction of the Spirit, IOW, God is dealing with us to bring us back to Himself when we sin. If God left Jesus, (separated Himself from Him because Jesus became sin for us), what hope do I have when I sin?

Besides that's why I posted the verse from Hebrews. It was THROUGH the eternal Spirit that Christ offered himself on the cross.

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

There are some PAW folks who believe unless God literally and actually separated from the Son of God, then Jesus would not have physically died.

Re: Jesus forsaken?
 

What do people think happens when we die?
God is still with us.