DECEMBER 04 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#33 “Eli, Eli lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

 

DECEMBER 04  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  

JQ#33  

“Eli, Eli lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, 

why have You forsaken Me?”  

(Matthew 27:46)

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord there will never be enough words to express the gratitude

 that I should utter to Praise God for His Faithfulness, His Mercy, and His Grace.

 Lord we do not know the depth of True Love that can only be reached

 by knowing God, believing in His only Begotten Son, and accepting the

 Divine Gift of the Holy Spirit that God Himself promised 

would take up Eternal residence within each of us. 

There is no concept that our limited intellect can grasp that can explain

 the ETERNAL so why would we be so arrogant as to say that we can

 be grateful for what we cannot understand — well, the answer

 lies in FAITH in the ETERNAL, for FAITH is the KEY to the ETERNAL 

so my prayer is to grow in FAITH that my THANKSGIVING may

 HONOR GOD, HONOR THE SON, and HONOR THE HOLY SPIRIT!!!     

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has been betrayed by Judas, abandoned by His disciples, 

declared “innocent” by Pilate, rejected by His own people for the criminal

 Barabbas, and has now been “delivered…to be crucified.” 

(Mathew 27:26)

 Everything that was prophesied by Isaiah about the Suffering Servant

 is now in full motion and Jesus is about to undergo the preparation

 of the Passover Lamb where God instructed Moses on the Eve 

of the nation Israel’s deliverance from their slavery in Egypt: 

“Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt 

saying…speak to all the congregation of Israel…every man shall 

take for himself a lamb…without blemish, a male…then the 

whole congregation of Israel shall kill it…take the blood…

put it on the doorposts [of each household that desires

 God’s Deliverance and obeys His Instructions to us]…

It is the LORD’S PASSOVER.” (Exodus 12:1-11) 

Jesus is about to undergo what Isaiah described as, 

“Behold My Servant…

His visage was marred more than any man,

 and His form more than the sons of men…

He is despised and rejected by men…” 

(Isaiah 52:13 - 53:3)

 as Matthew records that Jesus was

 “scourged” and delivered “into the Praetorium” and the 

“whole garrison [of soldiers]” gathered around Jesus 

“And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 

When they had twisted a crown of thorns, 

they put it on His head…

they spat on Him…and struck Him on His head…

and led Him away to be crucified.” 

(Matthew 27:27-31) 

We cannot imagine the humiliation and physical pain Jesus endured

 during the scourging received at the hands of the soldiers but it could 

not have been worse than the spiritual pain Jesus felt when He knew 

His last drop of Blood was shed and the Sacrifice was drawing to its 

completion and that God the Father must let His Son

 “pay the penalty for sin” which God had declared (with the first Adam)

 as “DEATH” and in order for God to be 

FAIR AND JUST to ALL, 

Jesus must suffer the pain of “DEATH” and

 

JESUS being the ONLY ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE 

must SUFFER AND DIE ALONE 

which meant that God the Father must let Jesus the Son take

 ALL SIN UPON HIMSELF

 and

 GOD, BEING HOLY, COULD NOT LOOK ON SIN, 

THEREFORE GOD THE FATHER MUST “FORSAKE” 

HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON AS THE BURDEN OF ALL SIN 

IS PLACED UPON JESUS!!!   

Jesus has asked all His previous Questions to man 

in order for us to understand God 

but the last Question Jesus asked was to God Himself

 in order for man to understand how serious God is about the

 “Remission of Sin”!!!  

Through God’s Action in abandoning Jesus 

on the cross at the point of Death,

 GOD THE FATHER demonstrated HIS JUSTICE ——— 

and when 

JESUS THE SON was “Resurrected on the Third Day” 

God demonstrated His Grace and Mercy. 

God has kept every PROMISE He has made to us 

and we like Abraham having “received the promises…

 conclude that God [IS] able to raise [ALL] up, 

even from the dead”! 

(Hebrews 11:16-19) 

 

God indeed “forsook” Jesus on the cross but we should understand that

 God’s Actions toward Jesus on the Cross was the 

Completion of the Master Plan of Salvation 

and demonstrated God’s Grace and LOVE toward mankind 

and proved the level of 

Commitment God has in Keeping His Promises!!! 

Jesus with His Last Question on the cross was still Teaching

 for if we look at the Question Jesus asked of God 

with the concept of Faith in

 GOD’S POWER OVER DEATH 

AND THAT GOD WILL RESURRECT US

 FROM THE DEAD IF WE TRUST AND BELIEVE HIM, 

we can recall the words Jesus said just before Lazarus was resurrected

 from the grave as Jesus prayed to the Father:

 “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 

And I know that You always hear Me,

 but because of the people

 who are standing by I said this, 

that they may believe that You sent Me.”

 (John 11:41-42) 

Maybe it would not be a stretch then to paraphrase Jesus

 and say for certain that

 “God so loved the world 

{{that He forsook His Only Begotten Son,

 the Passover Lamb, on the cross}} 

that whosoever believed 

in [JESUS THE SON OF GOD] 

{{that even if death takes us that 

God will resurrect us}} 

and that we shall {{have our sins forgiven and shall}} 

not perish but have everlasting life.”

 (John 3:16 {{paraphrased}}) 

 

“Do you believe God would forsake His Son for sinners like us?”   

DECEMBER 03 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#33 “Eli, Eli lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

 

DECEMBER 03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#33  

“Eli, Eli lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, 

why have You forsaken Me?”  (Matthew 27:46)

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS, my Lord, my God, Praise be the Name above all names, Jesus, 

the One that became flesh and Sacrificed His Innocent Sinless Life

 to set this sinner free!  Lord Jesus, You alone are worthy of the praise

 of men and may my lips be filled with Praise for God’s Only Begotten, 

who being Obedient Unto Death achieved the Ultimate Victory 

over death, sin, and the grave.    

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus, after being betrayed by Judas in the garden of Gethsemane, 

is standing alone in front of Pilate having been brought there by the 

chief priests who had held an illegal meeting to condemn Jesus. 

Pilate therefore is trying to determine if Jesus is deserving of death 

but can find no cause to pass the sentence of death onto this innocent 

Man standing by Himself and making no defense. Pilate went so far as 

to offer (as is the custom of the governor’s feast held during the Passover)

 to release a prisoner to the Jews. 

“Therefore, when they had gathered 

together, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release

 to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’” 

(Matthew 27:15-17)  

When the cries from the Jews for the release of Barabbas

 was made to Pilate he said, 

“What then shall I do with Jesus 

who is called the Christ?” 

(Matthew 27:22) 

It was at this point that God’s Master Plan of Salvation was again 

demonstrated, for just as in the Garden of Eden in response to 

man’s first sin, God Himself had killed an innocent animal thereby 

establishing the Substitutionary Sacrifice where God would accept 

Innocent Blood for the covering of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, 

here again the sinner [Barabbas] is being set free and 

Jesus Christ is the Substitutionary Sacrifice 

who will shed His Innocent Blood 

to cover the sin of His people  

who have rejected and denied Him thereby disobeying God who had 

earlier in the earthly ministry of Jesus declared:

 

“This is my Son … listen to Him!” 

(Luke 9:35) 

Pilate then washed his hands of the whole affair and declared 

“I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.” 

(Matthew 27:24) 

The Jews that had cried “Crucify [Jesus]” and “release Barabbas”  

cursed themselves and future generations when they responded 

to Pilate’s comment about shedding

 “the blood of this Just Person” 

when they said, 

“His blood be on us and our children.” 

(Matthew 27:25) 

The facts have been established that 

(Truth 1) 

Jesus is standing alone 

(Truth 2) 

Jesus is innocent and is not deserving of death 

(Truth 3) 

the sinner Barabbas will be set free because Jesus will die in his place 

(Truth 4) 

it is established by the highest authority that Jesus is a “just Person”

 and that Innocent Blood will be shed 

(Truth 5) 

the people who are rejecting Jesus as the Son of God have passed

 their own sentence of personal guilt and condemnation on themselves

 when they declared “His blood be on us…” 

(Truth 6) 

Jesus is recognized at His trial as the 

“King of the Jews” and as “Jesus Christ” 

(Truth 7) 

and finally, the death of “Jesus Christ” would be by “Crucifixion” 

(Matthew 27:11-25) 

The die has been cast and Matthew writes:

 “Then [Pilate] released Barabbas to them; 

and when [Pilate] had scourged Jesus 

[Pilate] delivered Him to be crucified. 

(Matthew 27:26)

There can be no doubt by reading Matthew’s account that Jesus 

was doing this completely on His own — this fact will be made painfully 

clear as Jesus is on the cross and at the point of death, asks 

His Final Question of God the Father — 

JQ#33  “Eli, Eli lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, 

why have You forsaken Me?”  

(Matthew 27:46)

 

Could it be made any clearer that Jesus and ONLY Jesus 

had to pay the penalty of sin and He did it 

ENTIRELY ALONE !!! 

For at the point of death, God the Father had to endure 

all by Himself the Ultimate Pain required in His Master Plan

 for the Remission of Sin because to demonstrate His Justice,

 God the Father had to “Forsake” His Only Begotten Son 

because being God Most High and in pure Holiness, 

God the Father could not look upon any sin, 

MUCH LESS ALL SIN, 

which had been placed upon

 JESUS CHRIST the Holy Spotless Passover Lamb of God!!!

  

When Jesus cried, 

“It is finished” 

we must realize that the Holy Trinity had 

COMPLETED the Master Plan of Salvation: 

Because the Spirit was DENIED, 

God’s Only Son was CRUCIFIED 

and the Loving Holy Father CRIED!!! 

 It was the toughest thing imaginable for the Father to allow His Son 

to be killed but it was worse that

 IN ORDER TO PROVE THAT HE WAS FAIR AND JUST 

THAT GOD THE FATHER HAD TO TURN HIS BACK ON JESUS 

HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON 

AND LET HIM DIE ALONE ON THAT CROSS — 

OR ELSE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO VICTORY 

OVER SIN AND DEATH!!!  

When you look at the death of Jesus from this perspective 

you can have full confidence that 

God will do everything possible 

to provide salvation 

to even the worst sinner — 

all we have to do is accept the 

Father’s Gift of Grace!!!