Did The Father Forsake Jesus On The Cross? No!
by Steve McVey
For many years I taught the seven sayings of the cross and when I came to the words of Jesus, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" I used the text as evidence that the Father had turned His back on His own Son when Jesus was on the cross. "The Bible is clear that God cannot look upon sin!" I would boldly proclaim. It seemed reasonable to me that God turned away from Jesus. After all, isn't that what Jesus said?
The answer is, "No, that is not what He said. That is what He asked. There's a big difference between making an assertion and asking a question."
"Do you mean Jesus was wrong?" you might ask. My answer is that it was Jesus, the Man who became sin for us. When he absorbed the darkness and weight of the sin of the world into Himself, He had the sense of abandonment by God the Father that sin always brings. Blinded by sin and horrified by its effect on and in Him, the man Jesus cried out of His humanity, "Why have you forsaken me?" In that moment, He identified Himself with every person who has ever felt abandoned by God. He became one who felt isolated, lonely, abandoned, forsaken and hopeless on behalf of you, me, and everybody who would ever feel that way.
The question Jesus spoke was a direct quote from the prophetic Psalm 22, where in the very first verse the psalmist asks, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It is noteworthy that this is the only time Jesus ever called His Father "God" and not "Father." In that moment,the man Jesus felt forsaken. Having become sin for us, He could not feel or sense or see His Father's embrace at that moment.
The gospels don't record an answer to His question, but Psalm 22 does. In response to the first verse where the psalmist cries out the prophetic words, "Why have you forsaken me?" there is an answer in verse 24. Here's the answer to the question of Jesus, the question of the psalmist and the question of every person who has ever felt abandoned by the Father: For he (God the Father) has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
Sin may deafen our ears to the answer, but the reality is that the Father has never and will never despise, disdain or turn His face away from us, forsaking us. He has heard our cry for help!
God the Father forsaking His own Son? Impossible! God the Father was "in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself!" (2 Corinthians 5:19) Jesus didn't feel it at the time. It seemed like the Father had forsaken Him, but He hadn't! Nor will He ever forsake you.
But what about the "God cannot look upon sin" part? Doesn't the Bible say that? Well, it does but we need to put that comment in context. It was Habakkuk the prophet who said that as he watched evil people seemingly getting away with their sins. Here's the whole quote in context:
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Habakkuk 1:13
To paraphrase him, Habakkuk said, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil and you can't tolerate wrong so why are you?" In other words, it made no sense to Habakkuk that God was looking on sin when Habakkuk believed that wasn't possible. He was smearing the face of God with the guilt and shame of humanity the same way Adam had done when he hid himself in the Garden of Eden because He thought God wouldn't want to look at him after he sinned. Adam was wrong. God came for His walk that day just as He had every day. And Habakkuk was wrong too.
The fact is that God can look upon sin. Some people act as if the relationship of God the Father to sin is like Superman's aversion to kryptonite. They act as if God is afraid of sin, but nothing could be further from the truth. In Christ Jesus, sin has been destroyed - finished- end of story. (See Daniel 9:24) Through the finished work of the cross, sin has been defeated! God hates sin because of what it does to us, not because it does anything to Him.
So, on the cross Jesus took the sin of the world upon Himself. As a man who became sin for us (so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him), He felt forsaken, but He was not. The Father did hear His cry and, as the empty tomb three days later proves, did not forsake Him. The question of Jesus the man was: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The answer from God the Father was: "I haven't! I've not despised, disdained nor forsaken you. I'm here with you, in this moment, carrying you through this death to the glorious resurrection on the other side."
That was true for Jesus when he felt forsaken and it's true for you when you feel that way too.
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Well said. There is NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God...
Excellent. Thank you.
This is a difficult and challenging issue, but I believe a better solution is one offered by one of the church fathers - "God forsaken of God, who can understand it?" Jesus, when He died on the cross, took the penalty of sin upon Himself. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This penalty involves not only physical death, but also spiritual--separation from God. Jesus took this penalty upon Himself so we don't have to. It is tempting to see Jesus' response as a human response only, but errors occur theologically when we try to separate Jesus' humanity and deity. He is the God Man, both deity and humanity together. We can't separate the two. More food for thought. Good stuff to be chewing on. Blessed to see study in deep issues of Scripture.
An excellent article and explanation of something that is misunderstood by many. I believe whole heartedly that His words were spoken from his human emotions.
right on, Darin! If God cannot look upon sin, then we have to question whether Jesus was truly God when he ate with sinners,let the unclean touch him,and he them.
You and I have come to the same conclusions after the same history. I now know to look for the reason why sin is reprehensible to Him... because it hurts those He created to love. Our sin doesn't catch Him by surprise and He isn't ashamed at it. I fully believe Isaiah 54:9-10 was initiated when Christ said "It is Finished." Blessings on you.
I totally agree. However, isn't it even more expansive than that, in regards to the applicability of Psalm 22 at this moment for Christ on the cross, that: 1) Christ was Jewish; 2) His prayers would be Jewish; 3) He would speak to His fellow Jews (whom were waiting for the promised Messiah) using prophetic Jewish prayers; 4) Therefore, this Psalm didn't JUST show us how He FELT, but also lets us know he spoke to the Jews in a way that showed that their own prayers miraculously (literally!) detailed the specific event of the crucifixion (aka Christ quoted THIS prayer to them for a reason, not just because it exemplified how he felt).
Wow what a fresh, liberating insight! Glory to God for this fresh wave of revelation. Thank you for sharing... In Grace Andre van der Merwe www.NewCovenantGrace.com
Yes! I wrestled with this last summer after a child asked me where it said in the Bible that God hates the presence of sin. Challenged in my preaching by a child, I went to the Scriptures for the answer, turning to passage after passage, I could only conclude that the Word of God teaches exactly as you have declared. God never runs from our sin, but the sinner always runs from the presence of God. Light reveals what is hid in darkness, as the darkness flees. The purpose of light is to bring us back to the Father who waits at the gate daily watching for His child to make his way home. The prodigal may not have seen it as 'home', for he had come to be a servant. The father saw it differently. And sin then is not the thing done, but the heart that turned away. Light exposes hearts. Thanks
thank you because i had always wanted to know if god forsaken jesus or not. i thought god didnt forsake anyone and i was right. some things had confused me but in this i got the answers i need. i really do he can do the same for me and others. thanks
that is excellent teaching! it is God's kindness that brings us to repentance, not his disdain for our condition and looming judgment. He hates sin because it hurts us! perfect!
It never ceases to amaze me how we take something so simple and make it so complex. I have always believed exactly what you say here, even though I have heard many teachings to the contrary. Thank you for bringing it back to the basics.
Like the Bereans it is wisdom to see if the things we have believed and been told in days past be so! Scripture speaks of increase of knowledge in the last days. The increase is in the revelation knowledge of the Love and character of God
1) It's impossible to sin and remain in good relationship with God. The sinner, whether a believer or not, ALWAYS thinks to run from God. So many Christians keep kicking self when God has already forgiven; ruining the intimacy God seeks to have with them. (Please don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that God pushes the fallen away; but that the fallen hide.) 2) We must be careful to remember that God must punish sin in the end. Those who shun intimacy with God, will not have to 'suffer His presence' for eternity. They don't know that peace with God is so good, nor that eternity separated from all relationship is so terrible. While on the cross Jesus was also dealing with God's judgment. He became a curse (Gal 3) and was stricken by God (Isa 53). The cross was about judgment. Jesus felt it.
This is an excellent article! Thank you!
This is truly an amazing Truth that I had so distorted. Thank you for so clearly sharing the Good News!! I am so excited about LIFE now!!!
Gary Pryzner, I read your comment and I wept for all the times I have sinned as his child and hide from him, leaving him waiting for me to return. Thank you,