“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’
which means, ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?’”
(Mark 15:34)
The time between Christ’s incarnate virgin birth to the point when He was crucified and laid in the tomb is a period referred to as His state of humiliation, the span of history when He executed His Mediatory office in the world.
Christ’s humiliation is laid out in Scripture, especially in the following points:
- His incarnation. He took on the form of a man, a form that was lower than that of the angels (Ps. 8:5 with Heb. 2:7-9).
- His passion and sufferings. He was betrayed by friends in His inner circle, viz. Judas the Apostle (Ps. 41:9 with John 13:18) and even the Apostle Peter (Luke 22:54-62) temporarily.
- The betrayal of His own people Israel. The Jews, along with their religious leaders, Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the Gentiles of that day all conspired together to destroy Him (Ps. 2:1-3 with Acts 4:25-26-28).
- His crucifixion. The public derision, countless scourges and beatings, the mockery, the stripping of His clothes exposing His nakedness to bystanders’ stares, the brutal nailing of His hands and feet to the cross, the heartless piercing of His side (Ps. 22:16-17 with Matt. 27:35; Luke 23:33; John 19:23, 27).
- The dividing of and betting for His garments (Ps. 22:18 with Luke 23:34; John 19:24).
- The scorn and mockeries and shaming He withstood while hanging on the cross (Ps. 22:6-8 with Matt. 27:39, 43).
- The bitter gall and vinegar He was given to satisfy His thirst shortly before His death (Ps. 69:21 with Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:23; John 19:29).
- The agonizing cry at His Father forsaking Him right before He breathed His last breath (Ps. 22:1 with Matt. 27:46 and Mark 15:34), sinners finding Him dead (Ps. 22:15), and finally the entombing of His dead body (Ps. 16:8-10 with Acts 2:31 and 13:35).
This series of events comprise the humiliation of Christ.
In His deepest experiences of darkness, the truth of who Christ was – the only begotten divine Son of God – was never questioned. He knew that God was His God. It was evident in His words when He cried out from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46).
Yet darkness covered the land for three hours in the middle of the day when Christ was crucified. There is a direct connection between this period of darkness and the cry of the Lord. The Gospels do not describe what happened between twelve noon and three o’clock on that fateful day, but what we do know is that during these three hours of intense darkness Jesus suffered indescribable agonies.
He was being “made sin” for us (2 Cor. 5:21) and “a curse” (Gal. 3:13). He was being “wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.” God was laying on Him “the iniquity of us all,” etc. (Isa. 53). Though the period of Christ’s humiliation extended from His miraculous conception to His ghastly, murderous death and burial, it was especially intensified in Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and on the hill of Golgotha.
William Henricksen comments, “The question has been asked, But how could God forsake God? The answer must be that God the Father deserted His Son’s human nature, and even this in a limited, though very real and agonizing, sense. The meaning cannot be that there was ever a time when God the Father stopped loving His Son. Nor can it mean that the Son ever rejected His Father. Far from it. He kept on calling him “My God, my God.” And for that very reason we may be sure that the Father loved Him as much as ever.”
How can we ascribe any sensible meaning to this utterance of Christ’s deepest, darkest distress? For the Sufferer with a divinely sensitive soul, this terrible state of bearing the sin of the entire world at once would have been beyond tormenting. He had said to His disciples earlier, “Note well, there comes an hour – yes, it has arrived – when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me,” (John 16:32).
Yet on the cross, the Father does not answer the agonizing cry of His Son but leaves Him in the hands of His adversaries for a time. His God and Father would not have abandoned Him to His tormentors if it had not been necessary. It was necessary, however, in order that He might fully bear the punishment due for His people’s sins. Christ’s period of humiliation was absolutely necessary in the plan of God that He may redeem us fully, completely, and forever.
- Lord, I know that to have You hide Your face in time of trouble is nothing new, nor is it an unusual thing for me. Your most dear saints – even Your own Son – experienced it. When Christ was experiencing His deepest, darkest hours, He did not feel the same sweet influences of Your comfort which had always filled His soul before. If Christ cries out in extremity, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” then surely I do not need to wonder, as if some strange thing has happened to me in times of trouble. But I am thankful I am not utterly forsaken, for Christ fulfilled that on the cross on my behalf.
- Lord, help me learn to a greater degree that strong affections make strong afflictions. The measure of my delight in enjoyment is the same measure of my grief in the loss of these things. Help me crucify myself to the world and all its vanity and cling to Christ alone.
- Lord, it is true that in adversity and difficulty, bodily and temporal comfort are often withdrawn. It was so even for Your Son, for when He was without any consolation, He suffered the most grievous extremes for me that I might perceive His love.
- Lord Jesus, I have no full-on concept about what it means that Your soul was exceeding sorrowful even to death, the death of the cross as the Sin-bearer (Math. 26:38). I only understand this in part. Your soul was an offering for sin as well as Your body (Isa. 53:10). The whole of Your humanity was surely given to be a curse for me (Gal. 3:13). Certainly, my soul has need of redemption as well as my body (Ps. 49:8). You tasted the depths of death and the curse for me. You were forsaken by the Father to make atonement for my sin. I am saddened beyond words that You had to die for my sin, but happy that in doing so Your perfect work of redemption prevents the second death from ever touching me (Rev. 2:11).
Further References for Mark 15:34
Ps. 22:1; Matt. 27:46; Luke 23:46; Heb. 5:7; Ps. 42:9
