Title: Why Have You Forsaken Me?
But the problem was that the Bible was hit on the elder's head and he died on the spot. It is truly an unfortunate event. How do we explain that death? That death could never be called martyrdom. These are painful stories that occurred as a result of church conflicts.
It happened on the train. Two young men were arguing. A certain grandfather who saw it shouted out loudly to the two young men: “Do you know that this is a church?” It seems that painful memories about the conflict in the church are lurking in the grandfather's mind.
How many pains and conflicts are there in the Church of God? These phenomena show that it is the last days. It shows that we are sinners. It shows that you are an incomparable human being before God.
We are now in the season of Lent. So, during this Lent season, all our churches are reminded of the meaning of Jesus' suffering on the cross. It is such a time to look at why Jesus had to suffer on the cross.
1. There is a huge stream running through the entire Bible.
The Old Testament exposes the sins of man who rebelled against God and disobeyed God. They point out the sin of not understanding the will of God and being caught up in their desires. So, if you look at the history of the Old Testament, it is the history of war between those who blasphemed God and those who delivered God's grace. This is commonly referred to as “the war of the holy Jehovah.”
Those who have always been cursed and destroyed in Jehovah's war are those who do not know God's grace. Those who disregard the grace of God. They are sinners whose sins have not been forgiven. If there was no forgiveness of sins among the people of Israel through sacrifice, they were judged mercilessly. has been removed Why? Because God is holy. Sinners cannot even come close to a holy God.
If the Israelites were to receive forgiveness of their sins, a lamb without blemish had to be cursed by God in their place. Then the people of Israel can be saved and forgiven from the curse of sin. God's justice never simply forgives. Either the party must be cursed for the sin, or the other offering must be cursed instead.
It was the Old Testament sacrifice to offer a sacrifice to God in place of the sins of the people of Israel and to pour out God's wrath and curse on the sacrifice. Through the sacrifice, the Israelites were with God. I met God and received His help. This truth of salvation is recorded in today's text.
2. Jesus was offered to God as a sacrifice without blemish.
Jesus was offered to God as the sacrifice prophesied in the Old Testament. Ephesians 5:2 says, “Walk in love, just as Christ loved you, who gave himself up for us as a fragrant sacrifice and livestock to God.”
In this way, the scene offered as a sacrifice on our behalf is the scene of being nailed to the cross and bleeding. In the text, it is said to God, “Eli, Eli, Lama, sabachthani,” shedding blood, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Because of our sins, God deserved to be angry and cursed at us. Sin always follows the curse of God's wrath. The wrath of this curse was poured out on Jesus without asking us. At that time, Jesus took the punishment for our sins and offered it to God on the cross. At that time, the suffering of Jesus was the suffering we should have suffered. It was a pain we couldn't bear. Instead of blaming the pain on us, God ascribed it to his son.
Who would say this love is worthless? We have been forgiven of our sins, and we have received it by grace. But the Son of God was sacrificed until we were forgiven of our sins by grace. A huge price has been paid. We must meditate on this principle of salvation deeply in our hearts.
Someone had an accident at work. It caused a whopping fifteen million dollars in damage. This person had to ask for this money. But I couldn't afford to ask for this money. At that time, the president of the company replaced me with 15 million won without any conditions. Then he told me to work hard.
At that time, the person who caused the accident was so sorry that he wrote his resignation letter and went to the boss. It's about taking responsibility and resigning. At that time, the boss got angry and said, "Do you know that I paid back 15 million won without any conditions to get you to resign?" If I'm sorry, I sent him back telling me to work harder.
Aren't we just like this office worker? Does anyone have sympathy for the boss who paid him back? Or can you say that the boss is a bit lacking? Do we not sympathize with the suffering of Jesus on the cross? Is there anyone who asks why a person who is about the size of a son of God must have suffered such suffering?
On our behalf, we need to figure out our own subject as we consider the suffering of Jesus' forsaking God on the cross for our sake. Just as the boss “work hard”, we should live by serving God diligently while thinking about God’s grace. You must not cheat. Don't be jealous of envy. We must repent of our mistakes. These are the things we need to awaken while thinking about the cross of Jesus' suffering during Lent.
3. When Jesus was offered to God as a redemption blood on the cross
When Jesus was offered to God as atonement on the cross, what kind of phenomena occurred around him?
First, the whole earth was filled with darkness.
Verse 45 says, “From the sixth hour darkness came over all the earth and continued until the ninth hour.” When Jesus was nailed to the cross and shed His blood, a natural cataclysm occurred. Jesus' death on the cross shows that Jesus' death is not like any other death for many who have been playing and having fun through His death on the cross.
This darkness was also a sign of judgment and tragedy.
Amos 8:9-10 says, “In that day I will make the sun set at noonday, says the Lord GOD, and I will make the earth dark in a hundred weeks, I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into mourning, and I will gird all yourselves with sackcloth. And I will make all heads bald, and they will mourn over the death of their only son, and they will end up like days of trouble.”
Exodus 10:21 says, “The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and let there be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that is grievous.” All in all, darkness was God's judgment. It is a tragedy for the people.
Darkness came when Jesus was nailed to the cross and shed His blood. God's judgment for sin has come. The power of death was decisively broken at the cross.
Second, the people around him still misunderstood and were ignorant of Jesus.
The suffering of the Messiah had already been prophesied through the psalmist or through the prophet Isaiah. Jesus also prophesied how he would die during his public life. According to the Word, according to the Bible, Jesus died the atoning death of God on the cross. However, many people around that time were ignorant. People around them thought that Jesus had called Elijah. Sour wine makes Jesus more painful.
Their ignorance will never justify their destruction. Saying that you didn't know doesn't make sense. No excuses. You cannot complain to God with excuses. During that time, how many times did Jesus and his disciples cry out? We, too, should not make excuses for ignorance as a condition. You must know and believe.
invitation to the word
Jesus suffered on the cross “for us”. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree.” The word “for us” here has two meanings.
① For me (individual) ② On behalf of all of us (total). He died for each and every one of us and at the same time on behalf of all of us. It is said that Jesus' death on the cross is effective for all of us.
Man is full of his greed because of sin. They don't want the kingdom of God, they want their own country. We want a country that is recognized for its efforts in their own country and honored as much as the price of sweat for their hard work. The Bible says that such a human being is a sinner from the moment he is born. All of our human labor and efforts were nothing but the discharge of our sins.
We have continuously polluted this land through our political, religious, economic, social and cultural activities. How could God not be angry? If only one's merit, one's glory, and one's pride are not revealed, then we will become a patient suffering from a serious illness that makes it difficult to live and enjoy life. In this age, we must realize the grace of redemption through the cross that judges these sins and saves God's people.