Mark 15:20-37.
There are seven distinct sayings of the Lord Jesus upon the cross of Calvary.
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43).
“Woman, behold your son!” … “Behold your mother!” (John 19:26,27).
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“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
“I thirst!” (John 19:28).
“It is finished!” (John 19:30).
“Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” (Luke 23:46).
These sayings are the heart-wrenching words of our Saviour as He was dying upon the cross and bearing our sins. The four gospels record extensive details and proofs of what the Lord went through both in His ministry and in His death and resurrection. The resurrection was proof of the success of what Christ achieved on Calvary. These various sayings also give us more detail about the type of character we have in Jesus Christ. He demonstrated incredible compassion when He asked the Father to forgive His persecutors. He showed immense patience and love for the thief who repented at the last moment of his life. He was keen to show love for His mother and made provision for her by giving her to John’s care. His cry of dereliction leads to our understanding of what was truly going on in His death. When He cried “it is finished” we learn that He had done all that the Father sent Him to do. And then just before He breathed His last breath we learn that He was always in command, even over His very death.
From around 9 AM in the morning until 12 PM the first three sayings of our Lord were uttered. Then from 12 PM to 3 PM in the afternoon there was great darkness, and at the end of this time we hear the Lord cry out: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The darkness was no eclipse nor any natural event. It was supernatural. The time of Passover was at the time of a full moon so there was no way that the darkness was caused by an eclipse. One minute the crowds and the authorities were mocking the dying Saviour, and the next it was deep darkness. There was also surely a quietness as a result of this darkness, so that the only sound to be heard was the cry of those on the cross. We are reminded of the ninth plague in Egypt when all of Egypt was in such a darkness that people could not see their hands in front of their face, a darkness that was restricted to Egypt and was not experienced by the Israelites. This was a supernatural darkness too, and it signalled judgment. Here too as Jesus Christ was dying, the darkness surely signals judgement. At the time, nobody knew how long this darkness would last. The darkness experienced then was also greatly symbolic, given to impress upon us this truth that Christ Jesus was under the judgment of God.
God is light and in Him there is no darkness (1John 1:5). God is utterly pure! Sin is often referred to in Scripture as ‘darkness.’ People (fallen sinful people) prefer darkness to light because they prefer sin. We know that generally speaking thieves operate at night under the cover of darkness. The revelry of people is a night-time affair. Vice and wickedness are done during the dark hours when light is rare. So darkness signifies the time and occasions of sin. Now on the cross Jesus no longer enjoyed the light of God the Father. In Scripture hell is pictured as a place of eternal fire, but it is also described as a place of “outer darkness,” or extreme darkness (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). Now it is in this deep darkness that we hear the Saviour cry out: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” This was a terrible darkness. In Gethsemane the Lord Jesus was troubled greatly and sweat drops of blood. But here on the cross He cries out in deepest agony as the divine judgement fell fully upon Him.
Some people ask this question: was Jesus Christ really forsaken by God? How could a Father forsake His Son? Now Psalm 22 clearly prophesies the very details of Christ’s crucifixion. There is no doubt at all that Jesus uses the words of Psalm 22:1 as He cried out in agony. Some thought that He was calling for the help of Elijah but these words of Psalm 22:1 show clearly that Jesus Christ was truly forsaken by God. Still some question this. How can such a thing be? We know that Jesus was forsaken by men. He was forsaken by the Jews who called for His death. He was forsaken by Judas Iscariot the traitor. He was even forsaken by His own disciples when they ran away at His arrest. He even predicted this during the teaching He gave before He died (John 16:32). All through these experiences of being forsaken the Lord Jesus knew the presence of His Father. Twice we hear the Lord Jesus say “I am not alone” and that He was “with” the Father (John 8:16; 16:32). But forsaken of God on Calvary? Surely not! Some say. Well, He was forsaken of God. That is what these words “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” really mean! But if you are unsure then consider this. In the first saying the Lord prays “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” and in the last He prays “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” In the second, third, fifth and sixth sayings He addresses others or makes statements. But in the central saying (the fourth) He does not speak of His Father but cries out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Does this fact not demonstrate that He was forsaken by the Father? Christ Jesus was always with His Father and His Father was always with Him, but during these hours of darkness on the cross He was forsaken by the Father. In the holy Trinity Father, Son and Holy Spirit are bound in a perfect harmony, but amazingly on the cross we have the great mystery that God is forsaken of God!
Why was our Lord forsaken by His Father? The only answer can be found (for example) in Psalm 22:3. The Lord is holy and cannot look upon sin. Habakkuk 1:13 tells us this: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.” But Christ who was spotless and pure and “knew no sin” was made “sin for us” (2Corinthians 5:21). He “bore our sins in His own body” (1Peter 2:24), and He “became a curse for us” by being nailed to the tree (Galatians 3:13). All our sin was laid on the spotless Saviour and He bore it all away. That is why he cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Christ Jesus did not die as a martyr for a cause. Neither did He die as an example for others to follow. He died as our substitute. He died in our place. And all of this was prophesied 700 years before this time:
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4,5).
At that moment when there was no light and all was dark because God could not look upon the sin, Christ was bearing our sin and enduring the wrath of God. But then there came a point at which our Saviour could cry out: “it is finished!” This signifies the point at which our Lord had paid the price for sin in full. He bore the wrath of God fully and no more need be done. Christ Jesus did what no one else could do or could have done.
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin,
He only could unlock the gate
Of heav’n and let us in.
Never speak of what you have done. Only speak of what the Saviour has done for you!
Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch 