Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

If you have your Bible, you can open it to Matthew 27. There was a movie that came out in the mid ‘90s called, “For Richer or Poorer.” I’m sure some of you saw it. It received terrible reviews, but I actually thought it was a pretty funny movie. It has now become one of those movies that’s on Saturday afternoon TV from time to time. Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley starred in the movie. They played a rich, married couple from New York City that was on the run because of some funny business on their taxes. They end up hiding out on an Amish family’s farm. They pretended to be the family’s long, lost Amish cousins. Near the end of the movie, the authorities finally catch up with them. The jig is up and everyone learns their real identity. And as the police are leading them away, the entire Amish community turns their backs toward them because of their lies and deception. They turned their backs as a sign that the entire community was now rejecting this couple because of what they had done.

This scene from the movie parallels a scene from Jesus’ crucifixion. This is the message #4 in our Dying to Live series, where we are listening to the seven statements that Jesus made while he was on the cross. As we listen to Jesus’ fourth statement from the cross, it takes us to a scene that hardly seems possible. But it happened. Jesus’ fourth cry from the cross takes us back to the day when God turned his back on his Son.

Let’s pick it up in Matthew 27:45. “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 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 27:45-46, TNIV)

It’s not surprising that the people around the cross misunderstood what Jesus was saying. They misunderstood him his entire life. Some of them thought he was calling on the Old Testament prophet, Elijah. Jesus wasn’t calling out to any man. He was calling out to God. And God did not answer. God didn’t answer because he had forsaken his Son. We don’t use that word very often anymore, so let’s clarify by reading this verse in a different version of the Bible. The Message translates Jesus’ prayer this way. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46b, The Message)

In modern day English, that more closely captures what was happening here. God had turned his back and walked away from Jesus. The Father had abandoned the Son.

Jesus was alone… Last week we talked about how nearly every one of Jesus’ followers abandoned him at his death. And obviously it had to hurt as Jesus watched all his disciples and followers disappear. But now, He was totally and completely alone. God had also left him.

And so Jesus cries out with the question, “Why?” My God, why have you left me? And we may wonder ourselves. Why did God abandon him?

We can find the answer in 2 Corinthians 5. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV)

We know that Jesus lived a sinless life, a perfect life. But at this moment on the cross, that changed. Jesus was no longer perfect. He was no longer sinless because, at this moment, Jesus had been transformed. On the cross, God changed Jesus, sinless, perfect Jesus, into our sin. Jesus absorbed every sin in the history of the world into his body. Jesus, who had never sinned, now embodied every evil thought, and word, and action in himself. Every lie, every murder, every rape, every word of gossip, every adulterous affair, every lustful thought, every criticism, every fit of anger, all of it was now contained within the body of Jesus. And God, so disgusted by the evil and sin that his son had become, turned his back and walked away. God is a holy God who cannot be in the presence of sin. Jesus had been transformed into sin, therefore God the Father could not be in the presence of His Son any longer.

Max Lucado describes it like this: “The King turns away from his Prince. The undiluted wrath of a sin-hating Father falls upon his sin-filled Son. The fire envelops him. The shadows hide him. The Son looks for his Father, but the Father cannot be seen.

“My God, my God…why?”

It was the most gut-wrenching cry of loneliness in history, and it came not from a prisoner or a widow or a patient. It came from a hill, from a cross, from a Messiah.

“My God, my God!” he screamed, “why did you abandon me!”

Never have words carried such hurt. Never has one being been so lonely.

The despair is darker than the sky. The two who have been one are now two. Jesus, who had been with God for eternity, is now alone. The Christ, who was an expression of God, is abandoned. The Trinity is dismantled. The Godhead is disjointed. The unity is dissolved.

It is more than Jesus can take.”

Jesus cried out in a loud voice. Actually the original word for his loud cry is used only once in the New Testament. It’s only used right here in this story. And the word doesn’t indicate loud talking or even shouting. It indicates an ear-piercing scream. When Jesus was ripped away from his Father, it overwhelmed him, forcing him to scream out the word, “Why?”

Actually, Jesus knew the answer to his own question. He knew why he was on the cross. He knew why God the Father had abandoned him. His whole life had led to this moment. When he was born in a manger, there was a shadow of the cross hanging over him. He had seen it in his mind thousands of time. It was prophesied in the Old Testament. Actually, the words that Jesus shouted from the cross can be found in the first verse of Psalm 22. It’s there, word for word. If you want to go deeper in your understanding of what Jesus endured on the cross, go home and read Psalm 22. It was written by a prominent figure in the Old Testament named David, but many believe Psalm 22 is actually a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion. That’s what I believe. It describes, in great detail, everything that Jesus experienced and everything that he was feeling on the cross.

This is proof that Jesus knew what was coming. He knew these prophecies of what the Messiah would have to do. He knew why he would die. He knew why he would be abandoned and alone.

Jesus was alone…so we never have to be. Did you hear about the family that was rescued this past week in Oregon? This family of six was returning home from a trip and they got lost in the mountains. It wasn’t long before their RV was stuck in 4 feet of snow. The area was too remote for cell phones. The search teams that were looking for them were eventually called off. They survived on dehydrated food and they melted the snow for drinking water. Occasionally they would start the RV’s heater, but they were quickly running out of propane. So after 17 days of being stranded, two family members went for help. They took a tent, wool blankets, tuna fish and honey, and two hand-warmers. Eventually as they were trudging through the deep snow, they heard logging trucks. They walked toward the sound and finally one of the loggers spotted them. The rest of the family was rescued by teams on snow mobiles.

This family was pretty resourceful to survive so long, but can you imagine the thought of being totally isolated and alone? Eventually they had to realize that no one was even looking for them anymore. I’m sure they had to wonder if they were going to die all alone in this snowbound wilderness.

Jesus didn’t have to wonder. He knew he was going to die, and he was going to die alone. But he was alone so we never have to be. Jesus’ death meant that we could have friendship with God. We said earlier that because God is holy, he cannot be in the presence of sin. So when people sin, that drives a dividing wedge between them and God. Sin divides us from God. God cannot be in the presence of sin. We have sin in our lives. Therefore we cannot be in the presence of God.

But Jesus’ death changes all of that. It changes the equation. When Jesus took all our sins into his body on the cross, he died alone. But because of that death, our sins can be forgiven and forgotten by God. God cannot be in the presence of sin. There is no longer sin in our lives. Therefore we can now be in the presence of God! God changed the math.

Ephesians 2 says it this way: “You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:12b-13, NLT)

The dividing wall between God and us is gone. And not only is it gone, but God goes a step further when he promised us, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b, NASB)

I’m a huge fan of The Andy Griffith Show, as most of you know. There’s a great scene in one episode where Andy’s son, Opie, is preparing for a big race. In this race, the top runners receive a medal. Opie wants a medal. He dreams about a medal. He decides that if he wins this medal, he’ll never take it off. Except to take a bath…once in a while. Opie never wants to take this medal off. He never wants to leave this medal because it’s so valuable to him. He’s trained and trained for this race. He’s paying a high price for this medal.

God paid a high price for us. It cost him his own Son. And because we are so valuable to him, because the price he paid for us was so high, he promises that he’ll never leave us. He’ll always be with us. He was willing to desert his Son so he wouldn’t have to desert you. He was willing to forsake his son so he wouldn’t have to forsake you.

This means that, no matter what you are going through, you’re not going through it alone. God is there. He is with you. But he is not just present. He isn’t a spectator on the sidelines. He is actively involved in your life. There are times when you may not see this. There are times when God seems silent. He may be silent, but he is not absent. In the tough times, he may be testing you. He may be teaching you. But he has not abandoned you. He promised that he would never do that.

There’s an awesome story in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings. The king of Aram was at war with Israel. But every time that the king would deploy his troops to attack Israel, a prophet named Elisha would tell the king of Israel about it. Israel’s king would then warn his troops and Aram’s ambush would fail. This happened over and over again, and as you can imagine, the king of Aram got a little tired of it. He found out that Elisha was causing all his problems, so he decided to send his troops to go and capture Elisha himself. Apparently the king still hadn’t learned anything.

So Aram’s troops, and horses, and chariots surrounded the city where Elisha lived. Elisha’s servant got up early in the morning and saw the attacking army coming. The servant runs to Elisha and says, “What are we going to do now?”

“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened his servant’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” (2 Kings 6:16-17, NLT)

Just because you can’t see God does not mean that he isn’t there. Just because he may be silent does not mean he is absent. You have never experienced a tough time in your life without him. Elisha’s servant thought that God had abandoned them. But when his eyes were opened, he saw that the army of God had been there all along.

Nicki and I have a friend named Brandi. Brandi was actually part of our student ministry several years ago. Brandi is currently in Michigan. She’s in Michigan because she and her husband, Dayne, have a baby that is very, very sick. They’ve been at the hospital in Michigan for months as their little baby, MaKenna, is being treated. MaKenna was born on January 4 and has never left the hospital. Listen to what Brandi wrote a few days ago.

“I feel like Dayne and I are really praying more and more each day. I really didn't think that was possible, but believe me, I keep finding more time to pray and more reasons to pray! I was joking and told Dayne that I think we have a disorder called OCP (Obsessive Compulsive Prayers). This whole experience has opened my eyes to how grateful we truly are. You don't think about a baby being sick and staying in the NICU after being born. You just don't. You’re supposed to get pregnant, have a baby, and bring it home healthy from the hospital. In the beginning I thought why us? Why does our baby have to be sick? But now I would never even question God for MaKenna being sick. Now I just wonder why he chose to bless us with her our very own miracle.”

Brandi and Dayne have learned that God is not absent. He is actively involved in their lives and in the life of little MaKenna. And he is actively involved in your life as well. He never has and he never will leave you to fight through life alone.

My son, Ryan, is a classic example of an adventurous little boy. He is all about a new challenge. He is all about exploring and going where he’s never gone before. Last fall, we were out walking in the woods when this picture was snapped. Ryan was walking up this hill with a fierce attitude of determination. He had never walked it before, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because he asked his daddy to come along. If Daddy is with me, there’s no need to feel afraid.

Our Daddy has promised to be with us. God “Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NASB) I can hardly wrap my mind around this truth. God turned his back on his Son so that he would never have to turn his back on me. God abandoned his Son so that he would never have to abandon me. But because of that, I can face life’s tough times with confidence because I know that God has my back. He’s fighting for me. He’s encouraging me. He’s picking me up when I fall. He never has and never will leave me.

That’s the kind of God we have. Our God is not some mystical, far off being somewhere in the cosmos. He is close. He is intimately, and personally involved in our lives. He’s willing to get involved in the messy details of our lives. If you’ve never accepted his love and grace, we want to invite you to meet a God who was willing to abandon his Son so that he would never have to abandon you.

Mike Edmisten