Did God Forsake His Beloved Son on the Cross With Pict

8/6/2019 Did God Forsake His Beloved Son on the Cross With Pict

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Did God forsake His Beloved Son on the cross? John Lim

There is a multiplicity and multitude of beliefs in Christendom today that do not have ascriptural basis and which dishonour God. Once they have been established, they are verydifficult to eradicate.

For example, people believe Christ had long hair and religious paintings have depicted Him

thus making people believe He contradicted 1 Corinthians 11.14: “Doth not even natureitself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?” People believe Godis a modern God and consider it proper to address Him as “You” but archaic to use thetraditional pronouns “Thou” and “Thine.” These people have forgotten the fact God is nota man that He should be so addressed, and do not know the scriptural principles (there areindeed scriptures) prohibiting addressing God as “You,” whether in prayer or in Bibletranslation. There is a far more serious case where God is addressed as a god, that is,God’s Name is likened to a god’s name. In China, millions of Chinese believers addressGod in the name of a god (shen, in Chinese) because their Chinese Bible uses shen inaddressing both God and god just as modern English translations use “you” to refer toboth God and men. Again, there are scriptural principles prohibiting addressing God as“shen” (god). Indeed, Exodus 23.13 tells us so: “make no mention of the name of other

gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” It is the Devil’s scheme to profane God sothat God is not God but a god and a man, that is, he has succeeded today in blurring thedistinction between God and god, and between God and man.

The Devil has also succeeded in making God’s people discredit God in this commonly heldand deeply entrenched belief that God the Father forsook His Son on the cross. This makesGod look cruel to forsake His beloved Son suffering on the cross. We know no earthlyfather will forsake the son he loves, so did God really forsake the Son of His love on thecross? We will go to the Scriptures to know the truth. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8.20)

Just before He went to the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ said: “Behold, the hour cometh, yea,

is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone:and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” (John 16.32) The Greek word for“not” is an absolute negative and can mean “never.” The Son of God was never alonebecause the Father was with Him, even on the cross. “That He was not to be utterlydeserted, that there was One Who would not forsake Him, was to Him matter of ineffablesupport and consolation. The Father was with Him - how near, and with what sustainingpower, who can express?” (JFB) The Father was in Him, and He in the Father (John 10.38,14.11,20;17.21,23), even on the cross. The Son was always in the bosom of His Father.(John 1.18) So how could the Father forsake His Son on the cross?

The Lord says: “And He Who sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I doalways those things that please Him.” (John 8.29) The Greek for “not” is an absolutenegative, as in John 16.32. God the Father was with His Son and never left Him alone, noteven when He was on the cross. Did it not please God that His Son came to do His will(Heb 10.7) and die for sinners? Yes, but to say God forsook Him on the cross is tantamountto saying the Lord on the cross did not do what was pleasing to God. It also means Godwas not pleased with Him. Instead, God was so pleased with all that His Son did on thecross that He raised Him from among the dead and seated Him at His right hand in theheavenlies. (Ephesians 1.20) The Lord Jesus Himself has pointed out that He and theFather are One (John 10.30, John 17.11,22), that is, metaphorically, One in “union” and“concord”(Vine’s). We can say God was in union and concord with what His Son did on the cross. So,again, how could the Father forsake His Son on the cross?

The following scriptures have been used to speak of the Father forsaking the Son on the

cross:

Psalm 22.1,2 My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?

Matthew’s Gospel 27.46 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?



Mark’s Gospel 15.34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi,lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsakenMe?

- 2 - The expression “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” in all the above threescriptures is not correct. It should be as given in the Newberry Bible and some EnglishBible translations: “My God, My God, why didst Thou forsake Me?” We do not need Englishexperts to tell us there’s a world of difference in the verb tense between “hast forsaken”

and “didst forsake.” The Hebrew tense for “didst forsake” in Psalm 22, verse 1 is a shorttense in the past, that is, it marks an action or event completed certainly in the past. TheGreek tense for both Matthew 27.46 and Mark 15.34 is an aorist indicative of an action orevent completed in the past; it is similar to the Hebrew short tense. Note, all the threescriptures concur with each other on the verb tense “didst forsake.” This concurrenceshows the inerrant accuracy, precision and certainty of the Scriptures. The Son of God feltHe was forsaken by His Father before He was on the cross. If it were true He was forsakenon the cross by God, the present tense would have been used: “My God, My God, why dost

Thou forsake Me?” But it was not so. The verb tense clearly tells us the event happenedNOT on the cross but in the past. God knew beforehand men would one day say He forsookHis Son on the cross. God had inspired the writers of Psalm 22 and the Gospels to put thecorrect verb tense there in the above scriptures to show He did not forsake His Son on the

cross, but, despite that, God’s people still believe that the Father forsook His Son on thecross. What a complete travesty! As the Son of God on the cross was not forsaken by God, then where did He feel forsakenby His Father? Since the verb “didst forsake” is in the past tense, meaning the eventhappened somewhere in the past, then we have to find out, not conjecture, where andwhen it happened and we are led to Psalm 22. Verse 1 of the Psalm says: “My God, myGod, why didst Thou forsake Me? why art Thou so far from helping (saving) Me, and fromthe words of My roaring?” We don’t hear Him on the cross asking God to save Him but onlyin the Garden. Save Him from what? He cried to God to save Him from death (Heb 5.7), forHe was going to the cross to tremendously suffer, and die for sinners like you and me. Dowe hear the words of His roaring on the cross? Only in the Garden. Hebrews 5.7 says: “Hehad offered up prayers (entreaties – Darby) and supplications with strong crying and tearsunto Him.” Where? On the cross? If so, did we hear of His entreaties? No. The Gospels aresilent. The Lord made the entreaties in the Garden. Where do we hear of His strong cryingand tears? For certain, it is not on the cross. And His ‘roaring”? Not on the cross, either.

We have to refer to verse 2 of Psalm 22, which may explain why the Lord uttered thesewords: “My God, My God, why didst Thou forsake Me?”

“My God, I cry by day, and Thou answerest not; and by night, and there is no rest for Me.”(Darby)

He cried by day and by night. The crucifixion took place in the day, so how do we account for the nightin verse 2? It was night when the Lord cried to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, but His cry

began in the day (unknown to His disciples, and to us too) as the Hebrew tense for “cry” tells us. It is along tense - a continuous tense – and his cry finally culminated in the night and expressed out in theGarden. It has also been the experience of many a severely tried saint who cries to God, whether audibly or inaudibly (in his heart) in the day and, finally, burst into tears at night on his knees beforeGod.

He had no rest because God did not answer Him (who can have rest if his prayers are not answered ina severe trial?)). The rest is not to be found at the cross; there He was already suffering for sins.

It’s true He was heard but NOT answered, but where? Not on the cross and not in theGarden of Gethsemane either. The Son of God felt He had been forsaken by His Fatherwhen He saw His prayers not answered, and we know it was in the Garden of Gethsemane

God did not answer Him. How did theLord feel forsaken? The Gospels say He was “sorrowful and very heavy,” and “exceedingsorrowful, even unto death.” There, on His knees, He prayed to the Father, asking:“Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine,be done.” (Luke 22.42) God heard His prayer but did not forsake Him, and sent His angelto strengthen Him instead. (Luke 22.43) He was so pressed in spirit and “being in an agony



He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling downto the ground.” (Luke 22.44) Hebrews 5, verse 7 tells us that He “Who, in the days of Hisflesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears untoHim Who was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared.” It must havebeen exceedingly painful to the Son that His Father did not answer Him: three times Heprayed and made the same request and three times the Father did not answer Him thoughHe had heard His prayers. There on the cross the remembrance of this painful experiencegave forth to His cry on the cross.God would not let the cup remove from His Son and so did not answer Him. God

remembered what His Son said: “My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and tofinish His work.” (John 4.34) Would His Son do the Father’s will and finish the work He hadsent Him to do if the cup were to be removed from Him? If He did not finish the work,sinners like us would never be saved but perish. The Father had heard the prayers andcries of His beloved Son, seen His tears, but did not abandon Him. It makes sense now whythe Lord felt forsaken in the Garden of Gethsemane when His prayers were not answered,as Psalm 22, verse 2 tells us. In His final moments on the cross and in the extremity of suffering, this was the bitter cup He had to drink, and He remembered asking His Father totake away the cup from Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, but God did not answer Him.

This remembrance led Him to cry out, “My God, My God, why didst Thou forsake Me?”Similarly, a believer can never forget a very painful experience, and, later on, as he looksback, like the Lord on the cross, he would still feel the pain in his heart and tears would

flow though the event happened long time ago.

Psalm 22, verse 3 has been used to say that the Lord knew why He was forsaken: “But Thou art holy, O Thou Who inhabitest the praises of Israel.” If true, what does it imply?Does it imply the Lord was not holy because He was bearing sins and so God Who is holyforsook Him? If that is what is implied, it is a serious misuse of the scripture to mean whatit does not mean and this can cause people to think the Lord was not the holy Son of God.

Believers can feel, like the Lord, forsaken by God (note “ feel forsaken,” not “be forsaken”)when the believer feels God seems so distant, when tears flow “because the ComforterWho should relieve my soul is far from me,” (Lamentations 1.16), when the believer walksin darkness for so long a time (note, it is real suffering to walk in darkness – look up Isaiah50.10), when the believer feels – may the expression be used - the bottom drops out,when the believer feels God has hidden His face from him (Psalm 13.1; 30.7), and whenthe believer in his most difficult moment of trial feels pressed in his spirit so much so heasks God: “Dost Thou care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth or song, as theburdens press, and the cares distress and the way grows weary and long?” He prays withtears and strong pleas to God but finds God does not answer his prayers, and may thinkGod has forsaken him. He may think like the psalmist, “Hath God forgotten to begracious?” (Psalm 77.9) He is so perplexed and wonders “Where is God?” However, he hasforgotten the promise in Hebrews 13.5: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Howcan God leave him and forsake him when His Holy Spirit dwells in him? But, unknown tohim, God has heard his prayers and cries, and seen his tears, but, for reasons known toHim only, He does not answer yet. God is with him in his trials, and makes a way out forhim to bear them. (eg 1 Corinthians 10.13) The Lord had gone that way before and knowswhat it is to feel forsaken by God. For those who have this experience, they have thesympathy of the Lord “for we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with thefeeling (sympathy) of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted [or, “tried” or “tested”]like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4.15) Note, “in all points” tried like as we are,include feeling forsaken by God. Believers today live in comfort zone and have becomecomplacent and so will never understand how the Lord felt in the Garden of Gethsemane.

We are not on Scriptural ground to speak of the Son of God forsaken on the cross by HisFather. Alas, this position has been taken for many years by God’s people, writers,teachers, preachers, and theological seminaries, and has been propagated far and wideand perpetuated by Christian websites, magazines, books, and other publications. Of course theology, not scriptures, can be used to prove that God forsook His Son (theology

can be used to prove anything, even unscriptural propositions) and can lead to double-mindedness (or divided thoughts, as in Psalm 119.113). The Father loved His Son toomuch to forsake Him suffering on the cross. The Lord knew the Father did not forsake Himon the cross but was with Him, in Him, and never left Him. He was always in the Father'sbosom. To say or believe otherwise is tantamount to contradicting God and His Word,



dishonouring Him, and putting Him in a bad light that He is not a gracious and loving Godand Father. Those people have an account to give to Him in that day.

______________________

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