The Word of Anguish. “THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF CHRIST FROM THE CROSS.”
GOOD MORNING BELOVED!
Welcome to a special edition of the SJMBC Podcast:
“THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF CHRIST FROM THE CROSS.”
We are also looking at these as “Acts of Love.” John 3:16 (NIV) states: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is in the spirit of this verse that we look at these seven acts/words of love.
“HOW IMPORTANT IS THE WORD OF GOD TO YOU WHEN IT COMES TO . . . ?”
I am your host Brother Henry Cotton, Jr. and I am also the Pastor of the SJMBC. Welcome to Podcast number 16. The topic for our Podcast today is:
The Word of Anguish . . .
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
(Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Mark 15:34
The fourth saying . . .
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
(Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)
Mark 15:34
Some of you have heard these sayings countless times, and even though they paint a picture in your hearts and minds that you never seem to get used to, it may also seem that there is nothing new to add . . . maybe until now! Some of you may not like where I’m going with this, but stay with me until I get there and see if the journey was worth it.
Remind yourself that in the midst of Jesus’ pain and suffering He took the time to show a sinner that even though you might be in the most horrific situation you thought a person could possibly be in, Jesus can be right there with you and save your soul right there! Jesus also showed you that even though your family and friends may leave you, Jesus will make sure that you will have someone to take care of you and see that you are not lonely and alone.
Now Jesus is showing you His human side. Jesus is showing you how He feels. Jesus has been provided for others and now He is showing the world that He is just like us when it comes to being human.
POINTS
Jesus’ question to God is “Why would He abandon Him in this His time of greatest need?” Some people have said that this might be one of the reasons why Jesus promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5), because He knows the feeling of being forsaken . . . I kind of go along with that (you’ll see why I say “Kind of” in a minute).
For those people who contend that God could not bear to look upon the suffering of His Son so He had to forsake Him in this His hour of great distress . . . I don’t go along with this either. Some have also said that GOD caused the darkness to come upon the land to hide HIS Son from HIM . . . I don’t believe that either.
We have been reading these words in our Bibles “My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me” for years. Some of us read it in Psalm 22 as well as in Matthew. But did you forget that English is not the original language for these words? The text says:
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
(Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)
Jesus did not cry out to Adonai (Jehovah our ruler), or Jehovah (The Eternal, Ever-Loving One), or even Abba (Father); but He cried out to Eloi. (E-LO-I) I know that this word is interpreted as God in over 250 places in the Bible. I know that some people thought that Jesus was calling out to Elijah because of the sound of the name. But I also know that when we look deep into the root meaning of this word, you’ll find that it also means “Strength, Power, Mighty, Strong” as it does in the Calvary Psalm (22:1). By the way, when you read this Psalm, check out what he says in the 19th verse and see if addresses what we’re saying:
“But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me.” Psalm 22:19 (NIV)
Saints of God I am going to say this and take my seat. As Jesus hung on Calvary’s cross, He could not look up and see the handiwork of His Father in the heavens, He could not see the sun shining through and revealing so beautiful a tapestry in the sky that artists spend their lives trying to duplicate. He could not see the trees reverencing God as they swayed in the breeze. He could hear the birds singing their praising to His Father.
Jesus could not look down and see the flowers lifting their petals in praise to God. He could not see where God revealed His handiwork in any of the wonderful things that He made; and these were some of the things that Jesus was always able to draw strength and encouragement from when He came to His own and they did not receive Him, and when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. When He looked around and realized that all had left Him; in all of these times He was always able to draw strength from admiring the beautiful handiwork of His Father. . . God.
But now; now when Jesus was at His greatest point of suffering, He could not see any of His Father’s handiwork; but most of all, Jesus could not look up to see or even speak to His Father in the time of His greatest suffering.
My sisters and brothers, I serve the Omnipotent . . . all Powerful GOD. I serve the Omnipresent . . . ever present GOD. He is Alpha and Omega. He is the beginning and the end (Not the beginning THEN the end). And most of all beloved, I serve the Omniscient God . . . the all-knowing GOD. Hear the testimony written in Psalm 139
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” Psalm 139:7-12 (NIV)
Beloved, if GOD left from the presence of His son, where could the OMNIPRESENT GOD go? How can darkness keep the OMNIPRESENT and OMNISCIENT GOD from seeing what was going on with His Son? It was not GOD that forsook Jesus, but it was His E-LO-I (Eloi) that forsook Him. The Might, the Power, the Strength that could always count on that was not there. (Expound and conclude).
Remember, our ZOOM Podcast airs live on Tuesdays at 7:00am:
Pastor Cotton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82997714213
Meeting ID: 829 9771 4213
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Website: https://stjamesmbcphilly.com
Email: pastor@stjamesmbcphilly.com
