Eli Eli Lama Sabacthani

[Kokavkrystallos]

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? - Matthew 27:46

For a moment this dark portion of history exploded upon my soul and spirit; I shook and trembled with the ominous feeling of this, and understood the proclivity of Christ looking towards the cross when he sweat drops of blood.

Matthew's gospel says that this was one of the last things Christ cried out from the cross, for then in verse 50 it says, "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."

Luke 23:44-46 describes it this way, but does not include Jesus crying to the Father why He had forsaken him, but here records the final cry: "And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."

Now can you imagine Jesus and the Father separated for those moments? "I and my Father are one" Jesus said, (John 10:30), and yet there had to be this momentary separation because Jesus carried the sin of the world he was to save, and the Father could not look upon it, and thus had to let sin be judged in this way. "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Habakkuk 1:13) And again, "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee." (Psalm 5:4)

And we see in 1 Timothy 6:14-16, "That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen."

This light is unapproachable by any mortal man, and is the light of God, ineffable in holiness and purity, far beyond what we can presently comprehend or imagine, for we do not yet know as we are known, but shall know when Christ returns and we are taken with Him, or resurrected in our glorified bodies that can indeed dwell in the glorious light of the thrice Holy God!

But now imagine the horror and agony of Jesus on that cross, already wracked with pain from the beatings, shamed by the mockings, and pinned there by stout nails bleeding to death with heavily laboured breaths more and more painful each time, pressing His feet upon that lower nail to catch even a slight bit more breath. Your soul ripped and torn. Completely dark, so much so that darkness fell over all the earth. A mighty cataclysmic phenomenon that never before had happened, nor would ever happen again. Christ was dying in that state, and it seems may have even died in that state, for He cried to the Father to commit His spirit into the fathers hands, after quoting Psalm 22:1, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" in the Hebrew tongue.

The Father must have also felt the separation, though He initiated it. The Father had to literally deny Himself for that moment, or those moments. We do not know exactly how long the actual separation was, but even a few seconds would have been near unbearable. "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee" (Isaiah 54:7)

God the Father: Yahweh, the LORD of Hosts, for one brief moment in time, and one small gap in eternity felt the loss and pain of separation, so that He could bring many sons and daughters to glory.

Hebrews 2:9-10,
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

See how much power was unleashed at the crucifixion. The veil in the temple rent from top to bottom, darkness was over all the earth, and there was a great earthquake, and some of the dead saints arose from their graves!
"And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." (Matthew 27:51-53)

If this great Saviour hath called you to be saved, and you realize what it took to purchase your redemption, and an eternity in hell separated from God, shall you not then serve Him with gladness and fear and trembling, that ye may have the joy of the LORD which is your strength? (Nehemiah 8:10)

Consider also the following gleaned from Signs In The Heavens; During Jesus Crucifixion

"Tertullian, an early Christian church defender of the faith, described the darkness surrounding the crucifixion as occurring exactly at the time of day that Jesus was upon the cross. “In the same hour (as the crucifixion), too, the light of day was withdrawn, when the sun at the very time was in his meridian blaze. Those who were no aware that this had been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it an eclipse. You yourselves have an account of the world portent still in your archives (Phlegon’s account)"

Further,
"There were stunning and supernatural forces that were present during the crucifixion of Jesus which existed without a natural cause. At no time in the history of the man has darkness overtaken the earth in the middle of the day, apart from a solar eclipse. During the crucifixion of Jesus, a profound event occurred that many attributed to the moon obscuring the sun’s light upon the earth. Unknown to the observers of this spectacle was the fact that during the particular phase that the moon, a solar eclipse was not possible. How could it become dark at noon and remain that way for three hours—specifically during the time that Jesus was on the cross, dying for the sins of the world? When we investigate the records that were written during that time, we find that this darkness was chronicled by several sources.

A substantial record from the Roman orator, Julius Africanus and the Christian theologian Origen, describes the account of this event that was written by the Greek historian, Phlegon. It seems that during the time in which Jesus was crucified, Phlegon wrote that an eclipse had occurred.[1]
Julius Africanus also records that Roman historian, Thallus, stated that the darkness that took place during Jesus’ crucifixion could not have been caused by a solar eclipse. The feast of Passover is always observed on the 14th day of Nissan (April), during a full moon. A solar eclipse can only occur during a new moon. It is astronomically impossible for a total eclipse of the sun to occur, concurrent with a full moon. Therefore, the darkness from noon to 3pm, could not have been caused by a solar eclipse."

"As the Son of God was made sin, His eternal fellowship with the Father was broken. All of the sins of the world were placed upon Jesus while He hung on the cross. In that hour, God could no longer have communion with His Son, as He was made sin for us. In a vivid illustration of this moment, God covers the land with darkness. Perhaps, He was speaking of the sadness, the mourning, and anger, that was experienced by God during that time."

As the Son of God was made sin, His eternal fellowship with the Father was broken. All of the sins of the world were placed upon Jesus while He hung on the cross. In that hour, God could no longer have communion with His Son, as He was made sin for us. In a vivid illustration of this moment, God covers the land with darkness. Perhaps, He was speaking of the sadness, the mourning, and anger, that was experienced by God during that time.

This moment, while Jesus was on the cross, was certainly not pleasant for the the Father who had enjoyed unbroken fellowship with the Son, forever. Although it certainly pleased the Father for His Son to redeem the world, this was also a time when the full wrath of God was poured out on His Son, who bore those sins.

The testimony of those who were present at the crucifixion of Jesus, describes three hours of darkness. The significance of this event appears to be for the purpose of demonstrating how the sins of the world were placed upon Jesus, for a world that had rejected Him.

Christian historian Paulus Orosius (375 – 418) wrote:​

“Jesus voluntarily gave himself over to the Passion but through the impiety of the Jews, was apprehended and nailed to the cross, as a very great earthquake took place throughout the world, rocks upon mountains were split, and a great many parts of the largest cities fell by this extraordinary violence. On the same day also, at the sixth hour of the day, the Sun was entirely obscured and a loathsome night suddenly overshadowed the land, as it was said, ‘an impious age feared eternal night.’ Moreover, it was quite clear that neither the Moon nor the clouds stood in the way of the light of the Sun, so that it is reported that on that day the Moon, being fourteen days old, with the entire region of the heavens thrown in between, was farthest from the sight of the Sun, and the stars throughout the entire sky shone, then in the hours of the day or rather in that terrible night. To this, not only the authority of the Holy Gospels attest, but even some books of the Greeks.