Apologetics

---

I have wanted to do a blog on the verse “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” for a long time. I do this knowing I will step on some pastor’s toes. I also have been told by my wife that the points I make about this topic are for theologians. I will agree that I will make some theological points, and in the past theologians have argued about stupid stuff, like how many angels can dance on the head of the pin. I believe this topic goes above all that because it is one of the most asked questions about the Bible, and the deeper question they are asking is, “will God leave me.”



I was on a mission’s trip and one night a pastor quoted this verse in his sermon and proceeded to explain that God pulled himself out of Jesus on the cross. I talked with him later and he believed that God the spirit pulled himself out of the fleshly body of Jesus on the cross. He said God did this because he can not look upon sin and that God put all of our sins on Jesus’ body therefore God had to leave. This is very similar to the beliefs of the Gnostics, they believed that the body is corrupt and only the spirit is good and that Jesus was filled with God the spirit only when he needed to do a miracle. I have now heard several different pastors repeat this same argument, so it is not a one time incident. There are some theological problems with this interpretation of this passage. I would like to go over these with you and then give you a better interpretation of the passage.



First of all, a central tenant to our faith is that Jesus is the God-Man fully God and Fully Man. John 1:1, 14

1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.



This means that you can not pull the God part away from the flesh part, if you do, you do not have Jesus Christ.



Jesus saved us by substitutionary atonement. What this means is that we are all sinners and the wages of sin is death. (Rom3:23 and 6:23)



3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;



6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.



Jesus is sinless because He is God. 2 Corinthians 5:21



21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.



Therefore Jesus substitutes his perfect sacrifice on the cross for our sinfulness to allow us to have eternal life.

Now it starts to get complicated, so please read this carefully and Please God help me write this as plainly as possible. Let me say up front the most important thing here is that for our salvation, Jesus Christ must be perfect. Let us think through these pastor’s arguments.



I If God put our sins on Jesus the flesh as the pastors say, Jesus the flesh is no longer free of sin and therefore can not be our substitution atonement.



II If God cannot look upon sin, how can God put sin on Jesus the flesh, as the pastors say.



III If Jesus the flesh is on the cross without God, in all that pain and suffering, there is nothing to prevent Jesus the flesh from sinning, therefore he no longer can be our substitution atonement.



Another tenant of the faith is Heb 13:8

8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

If Jesus is always the same, how can you pull the God part out on the cross? It is just not possible.

The one thing that bothers me the most is, it goes against a promise of God that I take great comfort in; that God will not leave me or forsake me. Heb13: 5-6

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Besides here in the New Testament, this promise is found several times in the Old Testament (Deut 31:6 and 8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Kings 8:57, Psalm 94:14). If God promises not to leave me, or Mankind, he can not break that promise to his Son, who by the pastor’s statements is man or flesh. This is another theological problem with this interpretation.

I know it looks like I have talked myself into a box because the verse says, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” You are probably now saying that I am calling Jesus a liar, by saying God forsook him. No, Jesus was not lying, He was quoting scripture. Psalm 22:1

1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

The best interpretation of this verse is that Jesus was saying the first few words of the 22nd Psalm trying to get people to look at or think about the Psalm. In Jesus’ time they did not have the Psalms numbered, that came later in the 12th and 13th centuries. In Jesus’ time the Psalms were the hymns of the Jews. How they were recalled, or titled if you would like, is by the first line, just what Jesus quoted. The 22nd Psalm is a messianic Psalm, meaning that it tells about the messiah. This messianic Psalm is pointing to the crucifixion of the messiah. If you take a quick look at the Psalm, it talks about people laughing at him, bulls surround me, (bulls another name for strong man; the Roman solders), my bones are out of joint (very common in crucifixion), my tongue cleaveth to my jaw, (Christ even says he is thirsty), the dogs surround me (dog another name for gentiles), they pierce my hands and feet (perfect description of the crucifixion), they part my garments and cast lots for them

(John 19:24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.).

As you can see, this is a perfect description of what was going on at that moment in time. What Jesus was trying to do was to get the people present to remember that Psalm, see what was going on at that moment, and for them to realize that he was their Messiah. They did not see it, in fact, the Bible tells us they misunderstood it then. Matt 27:46-49

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?

47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him

When we use the Bible to explain itself, which is good biblical practice, we look at what has come before, (the Old Testament) in order to explain the New Testament events. I hate to say, we are still misunderstanding it today.

Here is all of Psalm 22, please read it and see if it talks to your heart like it speaks to mine.

Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

28 For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.

29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

I know this is long, but I hope you get the real message behind it. Christ did not corrupt His sacrifice for us by taking on our sin at the cross, this would have been impossible, because God would have had to touch sin in order to put it on Christ. Instead, He gave Himself, (substituted Himself) a perfect sacrifice, so that we would not have to pay for our sins.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE