Series: “When Love Speaks: Words from the Cross”
Part 1
“Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
Pastor Jerry
————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-
Have any of you been watching March Madness on TV? It’s the College Basketball National Championship Tournament! Well, I bring this up to simply explain something that happened this week in basketball that also helps explain something about today’s sermon. A “substitute” was made when a player was injured and taken off the court and another player comes in as a replacement. That is what substitution means in the sports field. (Hold on to that thought and later it will make sense in the message).
We’re starting a new series today: the “Last Words of Jesus” that were spoken from the cross. Jesus made several statements. Every one of them has profound effect and impact on your life when you understand them. I’m calling these statements: “When Love Speaks: Words from the Cross.”
We’re going to look at one of those statements today. We find the story in Matthew 27:45-46. “At noon, darkness fell across the whole land darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice…” Actually the Greek word means “he screamed.” Jesus screams this …‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’” Which is Aramaic for “‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Forsaken means deserted, rejected and abandoned. Nothing hurts more than abandonment. Jesus is abandoned by everybody.
What is going on here? What happened? When Jesus cried out, “‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Jesus became our substitute. At that moment he took the penalty for your sins. He died in your place. He substitutes himself for you.
The Bible says “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but the sins of the whole world.” How does this happen? 2 Corinthians 5:2 “God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!” This is a great mystery. This is salvation!
This morning I want us to look at what do these words from the cross… “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” What do these words teach us?
I. We learn that God is Holy.
Revelation 4:8 says, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” God is holy. Because God is perfect he cannot stand to be in the presence of imperfection. Because God is holy he hates evil.
The Bible says in Habakkuk 1: “Your eyes, Lord, are too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrong.” That’s why there’s no sin in heaven. God is perfect. God is Holy.
On the cross, Jesus Christ, God in human form, came to die for our sins. He took every known sin of all mankind’s history on himself at that moment. And at that moment God the Father, who is holy, looks away because he cannot even look at his own Son when his Son is taking on the sin of the world. At that moment Jesus cries out “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” He says My God, my God! Why?
Here’s Jesus, part of the trinity, God himself, has never known what it means to be separated from God. At this moment He is separated because God’s holiness steps back and says “I can’t be a part of that.”
II. The second thing we learn from these words from the cross is that Sin is Ugly.
We don’t really think it’s ugly. Because everything in society today makes sin look attractive, popular and pleasing; makes it look like everybody’s doing it. So we actually think sin is not ugly; we think it’s funny. That is Satan’s strategy. Because if he can get you to laugh at something it lowers your defenses and then you think, maybe it’s not so bad.
If you want to see the true consequences of sin, if you want to see the damage of it, you just look at the cross. Because Jesus is taking the guilt for every evil thing ever done wrong. The cross is a hideous, a horrible, a gruesome sight.
The cross shows three of the damaging effects of sin.
- First we learn that Sin Separates Me from God.
When Jesus took the sin of the world on himself all of a sudden he feels separated from God. Sin always breaks the relationship. It creates distance between us and God. The Bible says in Isaiah 59: “Your evil has separated you from your God and your sins have caused him to turn away from you.” It alienates us from God.
- Second, we learn that Sin Distresses Me.
Because we weren’t made to live in conflict with our creator. Whenever I break God’s laws and whenever I do what I want to do and I act like I’m God it creates all kinds of emotional stress in our lives. Sin causes: worry, fear and doubt. Those things are not your real problems. Those are the symptoms. What is real problem? Guilt!
The Bible says, “My guilt has overwhelmed me. like a burden too heavy to bear.” As long as you’re doing what you want to do and ignoring God, you are guilty – “And you know you are not doing the right thing.”
- Third, we learn that Sin Condemns Me.
We see this when Jesus is condemned on the cross. When you violate God’s law there is always a penalty. The Bible, Psalm 38:4, says it like this, “God is a righteous judge and he always condemns the wicked.”
Our biggest problem we have is our war with God. Every day you’re making decisions about who’s going to run my life? Me or God? When I decide I know God says to do this, but I’m going to do what I want to do, then I’m saying I know better than God. That means I’m in rebellion and at war with God.
The Bible says in Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Wages is something you earn; a gift is something you’re given. We’ve earned death with our sins. But Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins and offers us a free gift!
Your biggest problem in life is not your sins. Your biggest problem is your war with God. The cross shows the seriousness and the destructiveness and the ugliness of sin. The words from the cross “My God Why Have You forsaken Me? …teaches us that first, God is Holy, second, Sin is Ugly…and…
III. The third thing we learn from the words from the cross is that Salvation is Costly.
In other words, in order for you to go to heaven it costs God so very much. Salvation is costly. The Bible says the gift of God is eternal life. It is a free gift. Yes, salvation is free but it’s not cheap. Somebody had to pay for your salvation. And his name was Jesus Christ.
The Bible says it like this, Romans 3:25, the most expensive gift ever: “God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.”
The amazing thing about your salvation is its one hundred percent God, He does it all, and all you do is accept it. The Bible says in, Galatians 3: “Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. when he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing.” Nobody’s ever going to love you more than God does.
So what should be my response? Four things!
- One, I need to Turn From My Sin and Trust Jesus to Save Me.
That’s what this is all about. There’s no other way I’m going to get into heaven. I need to turn from my sin and trust Jesus to save me. The Bible says it like this in Romans 3:22 “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.”
No matter who we are or what we’ve done. Realize this: Jesus already paid for it. He paid for that sin. You can be forgiven. You can stop nailing yourself to the cross because Jesus was nailed to the cross for you. Trust him to take away your sins. I can’t imagine turning away when Jesus says I love you this much.
- Two, I need to Live in a State of Gratitude. How could you not love somebody who loves you this much? And how could you walk away from that?
The Bible says “Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.” He deserves your total love, your total gratitude, and your eternal appreciation.
- Three, When I’m Tempted to Sin I need to Remember What My Sin Cost Jesus.
Sin is not something make a joke about. If you want to know how serious it is, look at Jesus on the cross. The Bible says “God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. The ransom he [Jesus] paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”
Remember what it cost Jesus.
- Four, I need to Tell Others the Good News.
This is the best news in the world and I need to tell others the good news. Can you imagine keeping this a secret? That all of our sins are forgiven? That Jesus has already paid for them? If somebody died for you wouldn’t you want to know about it? Yes! If all your sins could be forgiven and this is what God has done for you, wouldn’t you want to know about it? Yes!
Jesus wants to save everybody. He wants to forgive everybody. He wants them all in heaven. It is the motivation behind everything we do in this church – to give the love of God for people.
Who are you bringing to our Easter Service? Don’t come to Easter by yourself. I encourage you. to start thinking about a person and praying for them and inviting them to come with you on Easter Sunday.
But …maybe you need to stop your war with God today and surrender to Christ yourself. If you open your heart today…and hear love speaking from the cross …this will be your blessed day!