DID GOD FORSAKE JESUS? - NYOBS 62.24

DID GOD FORSAKE JESUS?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me?

First Word

·         Who crucified Jesus? – God did; IT PLEASED HIM to Crush Jesus. – WHAT ? -

·         This calls into question the very nature of God. - What kind of a compassionate and loving God would forsake the cry of His only begotten Son? 

·         The very next question, is since Jesus was the perfect God/man who served God perfectly, then what prevents God from abandoning all of the rest of sinful mankind? Can God be trusted to be a just, fair and a GOOD God?

Matthew 27:45-46 - Why hast thou forsaken me?
⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou FORSAKEN me? (KJV)

Isaiah 53:10 - It pleased the LORD to crush Jesus
¹⁰ Yet it PLEASED the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. (NKJV)

Setting the Stage

·         Jesus is on the cross suspended between Heaven and Earth as if a ladder for men to have access to God, when He utters the words Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. -  Many scholars’ believe that Jesus is actually quoting Psalms 22 in its entirety which was taught to every Jew from their birth as He quotes the opening verse, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”. -  Jesus was pointing out the psalmist’s prophecy and because everyone knew the prophetical writings, they would go back and read it again and grasp the meaning of the prophecy.  - They would then UNDERSTAND what has just happened.

·         It is this very scripture that Jesus is quoting – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” which draws attention to the fact that Jesus is now FULFILLING the prophecy.

·         The Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic are all clear that the meaning of the cry of Christ was that He was forsaken by God. – Even the different translations carry the same thought.

a)    CNT – My God, My God, why have you abandoned me? – Cassirer New Testament

b)    CEF – My God, My God, way have you deserted me? – Contemporary English Version

c)    NCV – My God, My God, why have you rejected me? – New Century Version

d)    NLV – My God, My God, why have you left me alone? – New Life Version

e)    WET – My God, My God, why have you let me down? – Wuest Expanded Translation

·         Because of your “BS”; Your Belief System, you already believe that God would not forsake His only begotten Son, even if the scriptures confirms that He did. – As I studied this subject, my thoughts and beliefs vacillated back and forth like the pendulum on a clock… 

Psalm 22:1 - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
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? (KJV)

Unpacking Psalm 22

·         This Psalm is called “The Psalm of the Cross” and is believe to be the revealed thoughts of Jesus while looking down from the Cross.  It was written about 1000 years before the birth of Christ and the method of “crucifixion” as the death penalty had NOT yet been invented by the Phoenicians upon which Rome later would hijack for their own Capital Punishment.

·         It is written by King David who is expressing his own experiences under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  As Jesus speaks from the cross; absent from this psalm, is the cause of His travail, and is void of any reference to sin. - He does not claim innocence, nor His righteousness, nor does He ask for vengeance, it is a mixture of Complaint and Praise.

• It was from the 6^th hour to the 9^th hour (noon till 3pm) when supernatural impenetrable thick darkness that you could feel came upon Jesus as the BLACK Sins of the world was being heaped on His body for THREE grueling hours.  Christ who knew no sin, was made SIN for us. - Jesus is now experiencing the wrath of God.

·         We need to digress for a moment and look at the composition of THE TRINITY.

1. The Father is not the Son, nor the Holy Spirit, but the Father is God.
2. The Son is not the Father, nor the Holy Spirit, but the Son is God. - NYOBS 09.02 - TRINITY
3. The Holy Spirit is not the Father, nor the Son, but the Holy Spirit is God. – Hold that thought -

• When Jesus was abandoned by the Father, instead of calling out to the Father, Jesus in His humanity cried out directly to God. - My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? – All the rest of His prayers always addressed the Father. – NYOBS 18.18 – WAY OF THE CROSS
• Jesus cannot see nor feel the presence of God, but He does not lose His faith during this suffering, and even though He feels forsaken, He knows that God is still near even though God cannot look on sin because HE IS HOLY. (verse 3)
• The people are laughing at Him and shouting insults saying that if He is God, let Him deliver Himself, wagging their heads symbolizing NO HOPE for Him. - He is despised, a reproach of men, He feels like a lowly WORM.
• He looks down and sees His mother and memories flood his mind concerning His Virgin birth and He recalls telling his mother at the wedding; “that His time had not yet come”, but now it has.  - (John 2:4)
• He looks around at all the Roman soldiers roaring around below Him like lions.
• Sweat is pouring out as He struggles to breath, His tongue sticks to the roof of His mouth in thirst, the weight of His body is pulling His bones out of joint, His heart is broken; melting like wax.
• The dogs; the Gentiles have already whipped him with 39 lashes, jammed a crown of thorns on His head piercing the skin and they have pierced his hands and feet with nails and He is now in indescribably agony.
• They have stripped Him NAKED, to further humiliate Him. – His enemies are like the single purposed horn of the mythical Unicorn which was considered a Vicious and brutal killer.
• In all of that, Jesus proclaims the name of God; saying that God has NOT DESPISED NOR ABHORRED the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He HID HIS FACE from him; and when the afflicted cries out unto Him, he will be heard.
• This is good news, although God is Holy and cannot look on Sin, He still hears the cry of the vilest of men. – On the Cross, Jesus never ceased to be who He is – GOD the Son -
• It is God that has done this and IT IS FINISHED.
• JESUS WAS FORSAKEN so that God would never leave nor forsake us.

Psalm 22:1-2 - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
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?
² O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
Psalm 22:3 – God is Holy and cannot look on sin

³ But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.
⁴ Our fathers trusted in you: they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
Psalm 22:6 – I am a despised worm

⁶ But I am a WORM, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Psalm 22:7 – They laugh at me; wag their heads in scorn

⁷ All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Psalm 22:8 - Jesus trusted that God would deliver Him

⁸ He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
Psalm 22:9-10 – He looks down and sees His mother

⁹ But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
¹⁰ I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
Psalm 22:11-12 – Jesus sees the soldiers surrounding Him

¹¹ Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
¹² Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
Psalm 22:13 – He is Crucified by the roaring lions of Rome

¹³ They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening roaring lion.
Psalm 22:14 – Perspiring, bones pulled out of joint, broken heart

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.
Psalm 22:15 – His tongue is so dry, He is so thirsty

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.
Psalm 22:16 – The Gentile Dogs pierce His hands and feet

¹⁶ For dogs (Gentiles – the Romans) have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Psalm 22:17 – Jesus is crucified NAKED – He is humiliated
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.
Psalm 22:19-20 – Deliver my only one from the Gentiles.

¹⁹ But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
²⁰ Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling (only one) from the power of the dog (Gentiles).
Psalm 22:21 – The Horn was Vicious and brutal; a killer

²¹ Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

Psalm 22:22-24 – He has not hid his face from the sinner

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.
Psalm 22:25-26 – You will be with me today in Paradise

²⁵ My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
²⁶ The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live forever.
Psalm 22:27 – He has done this - It is finished

²⁷ All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
²⁸ For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.
²⁹ All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
³⁰ A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
³¹ They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that HE HATH DONE THIS. (KJV)

Exodus 10:21 - Darkness so THICK you can FEEL IT
²¹ The LORD said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick YOU CAN FEEL IT.”

Hebrews 13:5 – God will never fail or abandon us
⁵ Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” (NLT)

Romans 8:31-39 – Nothing can separate us from God
³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, persecution, famine, or NAKEDNESS, or danger, or sword?
³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,

WILL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

Misunderstood

·         Some who were standing nearby misunderstood what Jesus had said when He said “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” and thought He was calling on Elijah the Prophet to save Him; a Divine call for help was expected, but it just extended their cruel, cynical mockery.  We are doing the same thing today, we are misunderstanding what took place on the cross.

·         Jesus was SILENT at His trial, but God was there, He was SILENT when He was in Prison, but God was there, He was SILENT at his flogging, but God was there, He was SILENT as they nailed Him to the cross, but God was there; BUT when the sins of the world were pressed down upon Him and God turned His Holy back, He roared an unutterable WOE. – He had become despised, scorned and rejected of men; He was no longer a man, but had become a WORM in the very lowliest of places.

·         Sidebar: the word used here for “worm” means the “coccus worm” which was used to dye the curtains in the temple scarlet red. – Isiah the prophet said; though your SINS be as scarlet red, they shall become white as wool. – It was not the life of Jesus that brought salvation; it was His death. – This mystery is so vast, imponderable and so misunderstood.

·         Jesus left the glory of Heaven and come to earth to destroy the works of Satan.  He became a flesh and blood human who is now suffering in His earthly body and separated from God the Father, because He was made to be sin. - You must get this; JESUS BECAME SIN.

·         Death is Physical; the separation of the spirit from the body. 

·         Death is also Spiritual; the separation of the spirit from God.

·         God cannot look on sin and for a period of time, probably for some three hours, God turned away as the sins of the whole world were heaped on the body of His ONLY begotten Son.

·         Many down play the bitter truth that Jesus was forsaken by God. – All of His Disciples had already abandoned Him and He was totally ALONE. – There was no place for Him to turn for human refuge, nor Divine refuge. - IT WAS GOD’S WILL TO CRUSH JESUS.

·         Why did God forsake Jesus? -  The next verse tells us… because God is HOLY and in those last three hours God could not look on the boatload after boatload of sin that was being dumped on His ONLY Son, BUT He was still there.  – (Hallelujah ) - ( With tears in my eyes, I just cannot adequately describe or fandom all of this; His burden was so over whelming. )

Matthew 27:47-49 –Some misunderstood what Jesus said
⁴⁷ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"
⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.
⁴⁹ They said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him

John 16:32 – Disciples will be scattered – You will be left alone
³² Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will LEAVE ME ALONE. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. (ESV)

Isaiah 53:10 - It was the LORD’s WILL to crush him
¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. (NIV2011)

Isaiah 53:7- He did not open his mouth – He was silent
⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is SILENT, so he did not open his mouth. (NIV2011)

Hebrews 2:9 – Left heaven for a little while to suffer death
⁹ 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. (NIV2011)

1 John 3:8 – He came to destroy the works of Satan
⁸ Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (ESV)

Psalm 22:6 – Jesus had become a worm, not a man
⁶ But I am a WORM and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. (NIV2011)

Isaiah 53:3 - He was despised and rejected by mankind

³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (NIV2011)

Psalm 22:3 – God is the Holy One – Cannot look on sin
³ Yet you are enthroned as THE HOLY ONE; you are the one Israel praises. (NIV2011)

Habakkuk 1:13 - Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil
¹³ Your eyes are TOO PURE TO LOOK ON EVIL; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (NIV2011)

Isaiah 1:18 - Your sins are like scarlet - shall be white as snow
¹⁸ Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (NIV2011)

A man called Jesus

·         God is immortal and His years have no end, therefore He cannot die, nor can He be tempted. – In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son born under the Law.

·         Jesus took on physical humanity with a psychological flesh and blood body and chose to limit Himself to one place at a time and accept the limitations of man and stripped Himself of His glory and humbled Himself even to the point of death in order to face all the points of temptation that man has, and be able to die on the cross as a substitute for our sins.

·         He did not cease in any degree to exist as God and a member of the Trinity, but He did cease to know the intimacy and fellowship with His heavenly Father. – He suffered Anguish, Thorns, Nails, Physical Pain and the Spiritual loss of fellowship; this mystery of His separation is far too deep for me to fathom.

Hebrews 4:15-16 – Jesus tempted in every respect as us
¹⁵  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, YET WITHOUT SIN.
¹⁶ Yet us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (ESV)

James 1:13 - God cannot be tempted with evil
¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Psalm 102:25-27 – God’s years have no end
²⁵ Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
²⁷ but you are the same, and your years have no end.

 (ESV)

1 Timothy 1:17 – God is immortal and invisible
¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)

Hebrews 10:4-5 – Jesus’ body was prepared for the sacrifice
⁴ For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
⁵ Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but

A BODY HAVE YOU PREPARED for me; (ESV)

Philippians 2:6 – Jesus did not use His Divine powers
⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
⁷ but EMPTIED himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
⁸ And being found in human form, he HUMBLED himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

(ESV)

Did Jesus know?

·         The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all knew the plan of salvation was to be the death of Jesus on the cross; it was the plan laid out before Jesus was ever born of woman.

·         There are things that Jesus did not know, only God did.  Jesus said that that the day and the hour of His return was known only to God Himself; even as God’s Son He didn’t know.

·         When in the Garden praying, it seems that other things were slowly being revealed to Him as He became in agony prompting His question; if it was possible that this cup could be passed by and not taken, but ended with His claim of submission to the Will of God.

·         Considering all of this, Jesus had never been out of the presence of God, nor had He ever experienced the load of worldwide sin that was now being dumped by the truck load on His body and He cried out in despair; My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Mark 13:32 – The Son does not know everything that God knows
³² But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

(NIV2011)

Luke 22:44 – Being in agony He sweat drops of blood
⁴⁴ And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

(ESV)

Matthew 26:39 – If possible let this cup pass away from me
³⁹ And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. (ASV)

Santa Clause

·         God is not Santa Clause who threatens to NOT give you any presents if you are naughty, and in the end, the threating means nothing as you get everything that’s on your list.

·         We paint a picture of God in one-dimension; GOD IS LOVE – Scripture also says He is a righteous Judge that is Jealous and Hates sin with an Avenging Wrath, and He just simply cannot overlook SIN.

Psalm 7:11 - God is a righteous judge
¹¹ God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.

Nahum 1:2 - God is a jealous and avenging God
² The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. (ESV)

Romans 1:18 - The wrath of God is against all unrighteousness
¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (ESV)

The Big Lie

·         When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he discovered he was NAKED, so he hid himself because he had sinned and Satan made him believe that he was forsaken by God. Although SIN separated him from God; the creator still reached out and clothed him.

·         Here is Satan’s lie today – Jesus was also NAKED on the cross and since God forsook His only Son, you can bet He will forsake you too. – You cannot trust God.

·         There was laughter, insults and head wagging which symbolized NO HOPE. - He was despised, rejected, a reproach of men, He was made to feel like a lowly WORM.  They hid their faces from Him. - Satan would have us to conclude that God did all of this to Jesus, but He did not.  It was man that hid their face from Jesus; not God. – It’s in the Book -

·         The cross is a demonstration of God’s love for mankind. - Satan tried to tempt Jesus when He was at His weakest point; to doubt God, to believe that God had forsaken Him.  Although Jesus felt forsaken, His faith did not waver as he declared in verse 24 that God did not hide His face from Him.  God turned away from sin, but He did not hide His face from His Son and He will not hide His face from you; just call out to Him like Jesus did.

·         LISTEN; God does not despise nor abhorrer the affliction of the afflicted; neither does He hid his face from you WHEN you cry unto him. - He will hear you.

·         The Big Lie was for Jesus to PROVE that He was God, otherwise it would prove that God had also forsaken man; THIS LIE WAS CRUSHED IN THE RESURRECTION.  Jesus carried all our griefs and our sorrows; it was man that presumed that it was God who had smitten Jesus, but it was man himself. - It’s in the Book - The Truth restores your soul.

·         Don’t be tempted by the BIG LIE; Jesus remained faithful and called on the name of God to deliver Him from the horn and the sword of His enemies. – Jesus was delivered, but not as we would have expected it. – God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. – His foolishness is higher than man’s wisdom – It’s in the Book –

·         God was PLEASED that His Plan was almost completed.  Jesus said; IT IS FINISHED.

Genesis 3:10-11 – Adam was NAKED – He is humiliated
¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was NAKED, and I hid myself.”
¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were NAKED? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (ESV)

Psalm 22:17 – Jesus is crucified NAKED – He is humiliated
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.
Psalm 22:22-24 – God has not hid his face from the sinner

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.

Psalm 22:19-20 – Deliver my only one from the Gentiles.

¹⁹ But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
²⁰ Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling (only one) from the power of the dog (Gentiles).
Psalm 22:21 – The Horn was Vicious and brutal; a killer

²¹ Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

Isaiah 55:9 – God’s ways are higher than our ways
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (ESV)

1 Corinthians 1:25 - The foolishness of God is wiser than men
²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (ESV)  

Isaiah 53:4 - He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows
⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet WE ESTEEMED him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (ESV)

Isaiah 53:10 - It pleased the LORD to crush Jesus
¹⁰ Yet it PLEASED the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. (NKJV)

John 19:30 – The plan is finished
³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and HE bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (ESV)

Deuteronomy 4:31 - God will not forsake you
³¹ for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. (NKJV)

2 Chronicles 15:2 - The Lord is with you
² And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. (KJV)

Psalm 37:25 I have not seen the righteous forsaken
²⁵ I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. (NKJV)

Last Thoughts

·         Sin has been pre-packaged and marketed as something that is just 50 shade of Gray.

·         The wages of sin is death and Jesus Christ was delivered up to the cross because of our sins and our offences. – He declined the privileges of the Deity and emptied Himself and took on the form of man. – Since Jesus is God, you could say that He forsook His own self.

·         God made His Son who had known no sin to become sin for us. -  He became cursed for us as He took on worldwide sin and bore them in His body and received the penalty of death. 

·         Jesus suffered and died as the scriptures prophesized.  It was His atoning death that became the sacrifice and ransom for many.

·         Considering this, Jesus had unbroken fellowship with God, He had never been out His presence, nor had He ever experienced the load of worldwide sin that was now being dumped by the truck load on His body and He cried out in despair; My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

·         Did God Forsake Jesus; the scriptures says YES He did, probably for a period of 3 hours.

·         Did Jesus really believe that God had forsaken Him forever; I say NO… Although Jesus felt deserted, rejected, left alone, let down and forsaken, He kept the faith and reached out to God who was still there and He will be there for you too.

·         You must get this, SIN separates us from God because God is Holy and ONLY the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ can blot out that crimson red stain of sin and make us pure and white as snow.

·         Life is choice driven. - The choices you make today have eternal consequences.

JESUS WAS FORSAKEN SO THAT WE WOULD NOT BE

Psalm 37:25 - The righteous will not be forsaken
²⁵ I have been young, and now am old; yet

I HAVE NOT SEEN THE RIGHTEOUS FORSAKEN,

nor his descendants begging bread. (NKJV)

Romans 6:23 - The wages of sin is death
²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(ESV)

Romans 4:25 - Delivered up because of our offenses
²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

(NKJV)

Philippians 2:6 – He declined the privileges of God’s son
⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,(ESV)

Philippians 2:7-8 – Jesus emptied Himself and took man’s form
⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

(ESV)

2 Corinthians 5:21 – JESUS BECAME SIN
²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV2011)

Galatians 3:13 – Christ became a curse for us
¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written:

EVERYONE WHO IS HUNG ON A TREE IS CURSED.

(HCSB)

Isaiah 53:5 – He took upon Himself our Sins and iniquities

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

(ESV)

1 Peter 2:24 - Jesus bore our sins in his body
²⁴ He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

(NIV2011)

Isaiah 53:6 - God punished Jesus for our sins
⁶  We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the LORD has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.

(HCSB)

1 Corinthians 15:3 - He died for our sins – It is written

³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

(NKJV)

1 Peter 3:18 - Christ suffered ONCE and for all
¹⁸ For Christ also suffered ONCE for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

(NIV2011)

1 John 4:10 – Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for our sins
¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

(NIV2011)

Matthew 20:28 – He came to give his life as a ransom for many
²⁸  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

(NIV2011)

John 17:5 – God restored the glory that Jesus had before
⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

(ESV)

John 16:32 – Jesus was not alone, the Father was still there
³² Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone.

yet I AM NOT ALONE, for THE FATHER IS WITH ME.

(ESV)

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical

information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders

and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                     

Age of accountability – Dr. Ken Matto

Age of accountability – John Piper

Age of accountability – Tony Warren

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha – Goodspeed

Baptist Web Site – Derek Gentle

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

Infant Baptism – John MacArthur

Infant Baptism – John Piper

Interlinear Greek-English New Testament - Baker

King James Version Bible – KJV

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible – NIV

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wikipedia –

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney