Jesus Asked Why

³³ And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁵ And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” ⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. Mark 15:33-41

I. The cry of abandonment

³³ And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:33-34

³⁵ And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” Mark 15:35-36

³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”  Mark 15:37-39

⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. Mark 15:40-41

Application

Jesus’ cry of abandonment teaches us that lament is a godly response to suffering!

Final question: What if I never get the answer to my ‘why God’ question?

“My life is but a weaving Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors. He weaveth steadily.
Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow; And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper And I the underside.
Not ’til the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas And reveal the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned
He knows, He loves, He cares; Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those Who leave the choice to Him.”