“My God, My God…” Matthew 27:45-46
Foundational Verse About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Matthew 27:46
Outline What’s the meaning of forsakenness? What’s the reason of forsakenness? What’s the benefit of forsakenness?
Meaning? 12 midnight through 3 — Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:20-30) 3-6am — Betrayal of Judas, abandonment of His disciples, and arrested and condemned (Matthew 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-52)
Meaning? 6-7am — Jesus stands trial before Pilate (Matthew 27:11-14) 8-9am — Jesus is sent to be crucified (Matthew 27:32-34) 9-noon — Jesus is crucified and mocked (Mark 15:25, Luke 23:34)
Meaning? From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. Matthew 27:45 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep… Genesis 1:1-2
Darkness represents Chaos
Meaning? In that day,” declares the Sovereign L ORD, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping. Amos 8:9-10a
Darkness represents Judgment
Meaning? This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19
Darkness represents Mischief
Meaning? About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Matthew 27:46
To remove all that is good
To absorb our punishment for sin God is a righteous judge, a god who is angry with sinners every day. Psalms 7:11 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the L ORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6a Reason?
But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:9
What are the benefits? We will never be forsaken “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:5b-6
Benefits There’s no more punishment for sin (Hebrews 10:17) We stand before God just as righteous as Jesus himself (2 Corinthians 5:21) We’ll always receive help in order to live on earth (Hebrews 4:16) He’ll never give up on us (Ephesians 1:13)