Why Have You Forsaken Me?

This sermon was delivered on Good Friday, April 9, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pastor opens by introducing the seven words Christ spoke on the cross, giving special attention to the loud cry recorded in both Mark and Matthew in Aramaic: 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' — meaning 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?' Three key details are noted: darkness covered the land from noon until 3 p.m., the cry occurred around 3 p.m. shortly before Jesus died, and this was a loud (mega) cry — not a quiet murmur.

The pastor demonstrates that Psalm 22, written by David a thousand years earlier, is a precise prophetic fulfillment of the crucifixion. The psalm describes a person being executed by crucifixion — even though that form of execution did not exist in David's time. Details such as bones out of joint, tongue cleaving to the jaws, hands and feet pierced, and soldiers casting lots for garments are all fulfilled in Jesus' passion, including John 19:23-24 directly quoting Psalm 22:18. This confirms that Scripture is truly the Word of God, since only God could foreknow such specific details a millennium in advance.

Jesus' cry was not a complaint about physical suffering, though He endured extreme torture from flogging, nails, and blood loss. The pastor emphasizes that the true pain was spiritual — complete separation from the Father and the Holy Spirit. Hell is defined as the place entirely absent of God's presence: no light, no life, no goodness. During the hours of darkness from noon to 3 p.m., Jesus genuinely experienced hell, because He bore the sins of all humanity and was punished by the Father in our place.

The pastor explains that sin naturally leads people to choose a place without God — that is, to choose hell. Those who enter hell are those who say 'my will be done,' while those who enter heaven are those who say 'Your will be done.' When the human spirit is close to God, it is alive with love, kindness, and peace even amid trials like the COVID-19 pandemic; but when distant from God, the heart grows cold, selfish, and bitter. Christ accepted hell so that those who believe and receive Him might receive heaven, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life.

The sermon concludes with a powerful image drawn from the COVID-19 context: patients dying alone, with no family members permitted at their bedside. The pastor contrasts this with Jesus — the sinless One — abandoned by His own Father at the moment of death on the cross. That loud cry reveals the immeasurable pain Christ willingly bore for every person's sin. Because of that sacrifice, when believers pass through the door of death, the door of heaven and eternal life will be opened for them.