Matthew 27.32-50
If any portion of Scripture is especially holy ground, the accounts of Jesus' death certainly quality. Jesus' crucifixion is the turning point of all history. If there were no Cross then the course of human events is without any purpose. Life would make no sense. It would have no goal. And the crucifixion is also a moment in time that is filled with mystery. God, the Son, is alienated from God, the Father. What does that even mean? Is the Trinity somehow ripped apart? There is so much going on here. Last time we looked at the Cross we took a look at the torn curtain. Today, I want to focus on something else, something symbolized by the three hours of darkness. Jesus was utterly forsaken by the Father. As mystifying as that might be, it is also something that can give hope. Understanding something of Jesus' experience can be so very helpful for us when we encounter those times when life gets dark. Some of you wrestle with that more than others, but we are all confronted with it to some degree from time to time. The Spirit offers us help through Jesus' experience of the darkness. Listen to what He has to say.
Let's start with this. We all understand rejection. A young man asks a young lady to marry him, and she turns him down. He understands rejection. A father gives up on his family and simply walks out, never to return. His wife and children understand rejection. Like these, Jesus was rejected when He was dying on that Cross – except that it was worse. The Father seeing Jesus as the sinner that He became, rejected Him. He abandoned Jesus. And whatever it might mean for Him to endure the wrath of God against sin, Jesus experienced that wrath alone, utterly alone. Take a moment to consider what that must have felt like. For as far back as He could remember, Jesus enjoyed a closeness, an intimacy, with the Father that no other human has ever experienced. For as far back as He could remember. And then it was gone. And not just gone but suddenly destroyed. Instead of intimacy – violent rejection. Jesus found Himself in the outer darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth, suffering alone. It was in the midst of that experience and in great anguish of soul that He shouted, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' That's the darkness of the Cross, being hurled far from the presence of God, being forsaken.
All of that becomes worth meditating on when you remember that you have tasted of the darkness. There is a spectrum here from having to deal with feeling a little down for a morning to suffering an overwhelming sense of dejection for day after day after day. I think that we all have had to deal with times that were more difficult than just a blue morning. But bring whatever experience of the darkness that you've suffered to Jesus' Cross, and see how you can be helped.
I think that I can say that when we are afflicted in this way, we are at least tempted to tell ourselves, 'No one understands what I am dealing with.' And that, of course, makes it feel worse. But it's not true. Jesus understands exactly what you're dealing with. However much darkness you have faced, He has faced more. And this is why Scripture can called Him a sympathetic High Priest. And that can be so encouraging. Though it feels as if no one understands, Jesus does. You are not alone as you deal with the darkness. And knowing that will encourage you to do something that He did. He cried out. 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?' His cry to the Father was a cry of faith. Jesus is not uttering some empty words as so many do when they say, 'Oh my god.' He was actually crying out to His God, to the God who had pledged Himself to Him. Jesus was depending on the promise of the covenant, 'I will be your God', a promise made to Him and to all within God's covenant. And so, He cries out, 'My God, My God.' This is what you must do as you wrestle with the darkness. Call out in faith to your God. Cry out to Jesus who understands what you feel. Cry out to the one who can sympathize with you because of His own experiences. Once again we're back to the importance of honest prayer. As you wrestle with the darkness of this fallen place, there is something that you can do. You can confidently cry out to Jesus because of His promises to you and because you know He will understand. And as you appeal to Him for help, you know that His response to you will be right on target.
Let's look at this from a different angle. How did Jesus end up on that Cross? How is it that He found Himself confronted by the darkness? Back to the Garden; not the Garden of Eden but the Garden of Gethsemane. What did Jesus say there? 'Not My will but Yours be done.' It was the Father's will that Jesus be engulfed by suffering. Jesus wrestled with that, but ultimately He submitted Himself to it. Your experience of suffering isn't by chance or by accident. Whatever its immediate cause, the Father is the ultimate cause. Being confronted by the darkness is part of the Father's plan for you. For so many out in the world that is a repulsive thought. To them God doesn't bring about evil. He's supposed to make life happy. Now, that is actually true. It is His plan for you to be happy. But the route He has chosen so that you might achieve that goal is a route with much that is hard. If you would be happy you will need to taste evil. Jesus submitted to the Father's will and the evil that was a part of that will. And you must do the same. And just as Jesus did, you must submit to that will in faith and in hope. There is a kind of submission that is actually no more than just resignation. 'Okay, God, have it your way. I can see that you have it in for me. I give up. I won't fight you any more.' While the resistance has stopped, there is no faith here. But a submission that comes out of faith shows as trust. 'This is hard, but I want to follow Your path, Father. I will follow it – however hard it might get – because I trust You. Help me to do that.' That's submitting in faith.
Tied to this is a sense of hope. First, there is hope about the future. 'When I get to the end of all of this, when I get to the place where there is no darkness, it will be so good.' The hope of heaven helps us deal with life today. But that's not all. There is also a hope about the present. 'Jesus is doing something now. Even though I don't feel it, I know it's true. Jesus is doing something in this darkness, and it is something good.' There is a purpose now for your suffering. All of this is important because hope – for the present and for the future – tells you that it's worth taking that next step. And this hope is not just wishful thinking. That's what the hope of the world boils down to. But the Christian has something more. We hope because of Jesus. We are confident because of what He has promised. So, we have a good reason to hope. Jesus will keep those promises. Trust leads to hope. And hope is so important because hope is what keeps you going. The lack of hope is the beginning of death.
Let's move on to another aspect of all of this. As you face the darkness and wrestle with it you'll need to be on your guard. Your struggles present an opportunity for the devil. He took advantage of the situation when Jesus was hanging on that Cross. Listen to some who were passing by: 'You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross.' Doesn't that sound a bit familiar? Let's compare it with something from the beginning of Jesus' ministry: 'And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”' Do you see what Satan is saying in both situations? 'Come on Jesus, You can get yourself out of this fix, whether it's needing something to eat or being rescued from death. All You need to do is work a little miracle.' Then there's this from the chief priests. 'He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the Cross, and we will believe in him.' Do you hear the taunt? 'You're nothing, Jesus. If you want to prove Yourself, get off the Cross. Then we'll believe in you.' And then there's this. 'He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, "I am the Son of God."' That is so much like the serpent in the first Garden with the same goal. Get Jesus to doubt God's good intentions. 'So, Jesus, where is your God now? Why hasn't He delivered You? Are You sure He cares?' All he needs is just a little doubt.
Satan attacked Jesus when He was confronted by the darkness. He will do the same to you. You need to be prepared for this so that you can defend yourself. But note that defense is something that you work on before the big battle, not during. So, feed your trust in God so that it might be strong and ready for the day of battle. That means, once again, lots of Bible and lots of prayer. Look for God's trustworthiness when life is good, and thank Him for it so that when you aren't able to see it quite so clearly you'll still have reason to believe that He is worthy of your trust. The key is to prepare for the battle before it begins. This is how Jesus did it. How often do we see Him respond to His adversaries by saying, 'It is written...' or by some reference to an Old Testament incident. And the Gospels are faithful to record Jesus' many times alone for prayer. Lots of Bible and lots of prayer. And that's why when He was consumed by the darkness on that Cross it was Scripture that came out of His mouth. His cry from the Cross is from Psalm 22.Three of His seven last words are Scripture. He prepared for the battle before the battle. And that is why He was able to win. If you would win in battle in your day of darkness prepare for it now. Lots of Bible. Lots of prayer.
One last thought. The time may well come when you will feel forsaken, abandoned, all alone. When you feel like that, the evil one will try to convince you that your feelings are accurate. But they aren't. A favorite promise of mine comes from Hebrews 13. 'I will never leave you nor will I forsake you.' In English it isn't proper to use a double negative, as in, 'I am not never going to do that.' But in New Testament Greek using a double negative is a way to emphasize that negative. There are two sets of double negatives in this verse. So, you could translate it, 'It is impossible that I would ever leave you. It is impossible that I would ever forsake you.' That is Jesus' promise to you. It may well feel as if you are forsaken. And Satan will be busy whispering in your ear, 'It's true. You are all alone. Deserted. No one cares. No one understands.' But Jesus cares, and He understands. You are not alone. Remember His promise. 'It is impossible that I would ever leave you. It is impossible that I would ever forsake you.'
But Satan does not give up easily. Do you know what he'll say next? 'But you are such a sinner. You don't deserve such a promise. How dare you claim to it?' It's at this point that you are to remind yourself how it is that you can justly cling to this promise and call it your own. You, though you sin greatly, will never be forsaken by Jesus because He was forsaken. When Jesus became a sinner with your sins, He didn't just feel forsaken. He was forsaken. For you. And in that moment of unimaginable darkness, your sin was dealt with. All of it. Forever. So, when Satan whispers in your ear that you still sin, don't deny it. Admit that he's right about that. But then tell him, 'But Jesus was forsaken, rejected by the Father, because of my sin. And because of what He did for me this promise is most certainly mine, though I still sin. Be gone, Satan. I belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus. You've got nothing on me.' Prepare for the battle.
The Apostle Paul told some young disciples, 'It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.' And that includes bouts with the darkness. But we know how it turns out. Because of Jesus we shall enter God's eternal kingdom. And in that hope we can persevere.
If any portion of Scripture is especially holy ground, the accounts of Jesus' death certainly quality. Jesus' crucifixion is the turning point of all history. If there were no Cross then the course of human events is without any purpose. Life would make no sense. It would have no goal. And the crucifixion is also a moment in time that is filled with mystery. God, the Son, is alienated from God, the Father. What does that even mean? Is the Trinity somehow ripped apart? There is so much going on here. Last time we looked at the Cross we took a look at the torn curtain. Today, I want to focus on something else, something symbolized by the three hours of darkness. Jesus was utterly forsaken by the Father. As mystifying as that might be, it is also something that can give hope. Understanding something of Jesus' experience can be so very helpful for us when we encounter those times when life gets dark. Some of you wrestle with that more than others, but we are all confronted with it to some degree from time to time. The Spirit offers us help through Jesus' experience of the darkness. Listen to what He has to say.
Let's start with this. We all understand rejection. A young man asks a young lady to marry him, and she turns him down. He understands rejection. A father gives up on his family and simply walks out, never to return. His wife and children understand rejection. Like these, Jesus was rejected when He was dying on that Cross – except that it was worse. The Father seeing Jesus as the sinner that He became, rejected Him. He abandoned Jesus. And whatever it might mean for Him to endure the wrath of God against sin, Jesus experienced that wrath alone, utterly alone. Take a moment to consider what that must have felt like. For as far back as He could remember, Jesus enjoyed a closeness, an intimacy, with the Father that no other human has ever experienced. For as far back as He could remember. And then it was gone. And not just gone but suddenly destroyed. Instead of intimacy – violent rejection. Jesus found Himself in the outer darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth, suffering alone. It was in the midst of that experience and in great anguish of soul that He shouted, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' That's the darkness of the Cross, being hurled far from the presence of God, being forsaken.
All of that becomes worth meditating on when you remember that you have tasted of the darkness. There is a spectrum here from having to deal with feeling a little down for a morning to suffering an overwhelming sense of dejection for day after day after day. I think that we all have had to deal with times that were more difficult than just a blue morning. But bring whatever experience of the darkness that you've suffered to Jesus' Cross, and see how you can be helped.
I think that I can say that when we are afflicted in this way, we are at least tempted to tell ourselves, 'No one understands what I am dealing with.' And that, of course, makes it feel worse. But it's not true. Jesus understands exactly what you're dealing with. However much darkness you have faced, He has faced more. And this is why Scripture can called Him a sympathetic High Priest. And that can be so encouraging. Though it feels as if no one understands, Jesus does. You are not alone as you deal with the darkness. And knowing that will encourage you to do something that He did. He cried out. 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?' His cry to the Father was a cry of faith. Jesus is not uttering some empty words as so many do when they say, 'Oh my god.' He was actually crying out to His God, to the God who had pledged Himself to Him. Jesus was depending on the promise of the covenant, 'I will be your God', a promise made to Him and to all within God's covenant. And so, He cries out, 'My God, My God.' This is what you must do as you wrestle with the darkness. Call out in faith to your God. Cry out to Jesus who understands what you feel. Cry out to the one who can sympathize with you because of His own experiences. Once again we're back to the importance of honest prayer. As you wrestle with the darkness of this fallen place, there is something that you can do. You can confidently cry out to Jesus because of His promises to you and because you know He will understand. And as you appeal to Him for help, you know that His response to you will be right on target.
Let's look at this from a different angle. How did Jesus end up on that Cross? How is it that He found Himself confronted by the darkness? Back to the Garden; not the Garden of Eden but the Garden of Gethsemane. What did Jesus say there? 'Not My will but Yours be done.' It was the Father's will that Jesus be engulfed by suffering. Jesus wrestled with that, but ultimately He submitted Himself to it. Your experience of suffering isn't by chance or by accident. Whatever its immediate cause, the Father is the ultimate cause. Being confronted by the darkness is part of the Father's plan for you. For so many out in the world that is a repulsive thought. To them God doesn't bring about evil. He's supposed to make life happy. Now, that is actually true. It is His plan for you to be happy. But the route He has chosen so that you might achieve that goal is a route with much that is hard. If you would be happy you will need to taste evil. Jesus submitted to the Father's will and the evil that was a part of that will. And you must do the same. And just as Jesus did, you must submit to that will in faith and in hope. There is a kind of submission that is actually no more than just resignation. 'Okay, God, have it your way. I can see that you have it in for me. I give up. I won't fight you any more.' While the resistance has stopped, there is no faith here. But a submission that comes out of faith shows as trust. 'This is hard, but I want to follow Your path, Father. I will follow it – however hard it might get – because I trust You. Help me to do that.' That's submitting in faith.
Tied to this is a sense of hope. First, there is hope about the future. 'When I get to the end of all of this, when I get to the place where there is no darkness, it will be so good.' The hope of heaven helps us deal with life today. But that's not all. There is also a hope about the present. 'Jesus is doing something now. Even though I don't feel it, I know it's true. Jesus is doing something in this darkness, and it is something good.' There is a purpose now for your suffering. All of this is important because hope – for the present and for the future – tells you that it's worth taking that next step. And this hope is not just wishful thinking. That's what the hope of the world boils down to. But the Christian has something more. We hope because of Jesus. We are confident because of what He has promised. So, we have a good reason to hope. Jesus will keep those promises. Trust leads to hope. And hope is so important because hope is what keeps you going. The lack of hope is the beginning of death.
Let's move on to another aspect of all of this. As you face the darkness and wrestle with it you'll need to be on your guard. Your struggles present an opportunity for the devil. He took advantage of the situation when Jesus was hanging on that Cross. Listen to some who were passing by: 'You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross.' Doesn't that sound a bit familiar? Let's compare it with something from the beginning of Jesus' ministry: 'And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”' Do you see what Satan is saying in both situations? 'Come on Jesus, You can get yourself out of this fix, whether it's needing something to eat or being rescued from death. All You need to do is work a little miracle.' Then there's this from the chief priests. 'He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the Cross, and we will believe in him.' Do you hear the taunt? 'You're nothing, Jesus. If you want to prove Yourself, get off the Cross. Then we'll believe in you.' And then there's this. 'He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, "I am the Son of God."' That is so much like the serpent in the first Garden with the same goal. Get Jesus to doubt God's good intentions. 'So, Jesus, where is your God now? Why hasn't He delivered You? Are You sure He cares?' All he needs is just a little doubt.
Satan attacked Jesus when He was confronted by the darkness. He will do the same to you. You need to be prepared for this so that you can defend yourself. But note that defense is something that you work on before the big battle, not during. So, feed your trust in God so that it might be strong and ready for the day of battle. That means, once again, lots of Bible and lots of prayer. Look for God's trustworthiness when life is good, and thank Him for it so that when you aren't able to see it quite so clearly you'll still have reason to believe that He is worthy of your trust. The key is to prepare for the battle before it begins. This is how Jesus did it. How often do we see Him respond to His adversaries by saying, 'It is written...' or by some reference to an Old Testament incident. And the Gospels are faithful to record Jesus' many times alone for prayer. Lots of Bible and lots of prayer. And that's why when He was consumed by the darkness on that Cross it was Scripture that came out of His mouth. His cry from the Cross is from Psalm 22.Three of His seven last words are Scripture. He prepared for the battle before the battle. And that is why He was able to win. If you would win in battle in your day of darkness prepare for it now. Lots of Bible. Lots of prayer.
One last thought. The time may well come when you will feel forsaken, abandoned, all alone. When you feel like that, the evil one will try to convince you that your feelings are accurate. But they aren't. A favorite promise of mine comes from Hebrews 13. 'I will never leave you nor will I forsake you.' In English it isn't proper to use a double negative, as in, 'I am not never going to do that.' But in New Testament Greek using a double negative is a way to emphasize that negative. There are two sets of double negatives in this verse. So, you could translate it, 'It is impossible that I would ever leave you. It is impossible that I would ever forsake you.' That is Jesus' promise to you. It may well feel as if you are forsaken. And Satan will be busy whispering in your ear, 'It's true. You are all alone. Deserted. No one cares. No one understands.' But Jesus cares, and He understands. You are not alone. Remember His promise. 'It is impossible that I would ever leave you. It is impossible that I would ever forsake you.'
But Satan does not give up easily. Do you know what he'll say next? 'But you are such a sinner. You don't deserve such a promise. How dare you claim to it?' It's at this point that you are to remind yourself how it is that you can justly cling to this promise and call it your own. You, though you sin greatly, will never be forsaken by Jesus because He was forsaken. When Jesus became a sinner with your sins, He didn't just feel forsaken. He was forsaken. For you. And in that moment of unimaginable darkness, your sin was dealt with. All of it. Forever. So, when Satan whispers in your ear that you still sin, don't deny it. Admit that he's right about that. But then tell him, 'But Jesus was forsaken, rejected by the Father, because of my sin. And because of what He did for me this promise is most certainly mine, though I still sin. Be gone, Satan. I belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus. You've got nothing on me.' Prepare for the battle.
The Apostle Paul told some young disciples, 'It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.' And that includes bouts with the darkness. But we know how it turns out. Because of Jesus we shall enter God's eternal kingdom. And in that hope we can persevere.
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