Was Jesus Forsaken by God

You can learn a great deal about a person by seeing how he dies. Putting together the four accounts of Jesus' death, we find seven "words," or statements, that he made during the six hours he hung on the cross. When he says, "I thirst" ( John 19: 28), we realize with a pang that he is actually suffering, going the long, hard road of full identification with us. When he says, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" ( Luke 23: 34), we stand amazed that at the very moment of his torment he can ask forgiveness for his tormentors.

But there is one "word" that causes us perplexity. It is that stark cry, the only "word" recorded in Matthew and Mark, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ( Matt. 27: 46; Mark 15: 34). Could Jesus, of all people, have felt a sense of utter Godforsakenness? There are at least two ways of seeking to understand these difficult words. Jesus may have seen in a moment of terrible clarity what life is like apart from God. To that extent he has identified himself with us as fully and completely as it could be done, and has tasted the very dregs of human "lostness." He may have then recovered from this moment of piercing clarity to a feeling of complete trust in God: "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" ( Luke 23: 46).

A second interpretation is sometimes put upon the cry. Any Jew in trouble knew his heritage well enough to say the Twenty-second Psalm. The opening words are "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" The psalmist goes on to tell how he is scorned, despised, his bones are out of joint, his tongue cleaves to his jaws, his hands and feet have been pierced, his garments are being divided by his malefactors and they are casting lots for his raiment. But God comes to the aid of the psalmist. And the psalm which begins on a note of despair ends on a note of triumph. The psalmist not only praises God himself, but calls upon his fellow men to praise him also, because God heard him when he cried out. Many people believe that Jesus began to recite this psalm as an affirmation of his trust in God. Perhaps he was too exhausted to finish it; perhaps Matthew and Mark merely recorded the first verse, knowing that their readers would recognize it. At all events, there are so many similarities between this psalm and the crucifixion that it seems clear that it was in the minds of the Gospel writers.Be that as it may, within about six hours Jesus was dead. His body was taken down and laid in a borrowed tomb. The tomb was sealed.