Forsaken? – March 1st

“When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice,
‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’
which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” – Mark 15:25-36

How could the Son of God, who claims to be united with God the Father, be forsaken by God? How could Jesus, full of prophecy and understanding, authentically question God’s presence, or why God would do what God does?

This first Sunday of Lent, it is fitting to remember the three temptations Jesus faced during his forty days in the desert. They were taunts: “If you are the Son of God, then…” prove it! Demonstrate power! In his last hours on the cross, Jesus is taunted three times again, in the same way: “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!”

In his suffering, Jesus asks, “Why?! Where are you God? Why have you left me alone?” This question is in the language of the scriptures, posed by the Psalmist and others, certainly familiar to Jesus from a young age. It is a very human, universal question, even as it is spoken by a Jewish man, quoting a Hebrew passage, spoken in first century Aramaic.

What can we take away from this, one of Jesus’s final words from the cross?

DATES TO REMEMBER

  • March 4th – Turnbulls/HOUSE serves New Horizons dinner
  • March 29th SERVE TOGETHER Sunday
  • April 12th Easter Brunch

Young Church

  • Godly Play: The MYSTERY OF EASTER, and the puzzle of the cross
  • Big Kids