The use of the cry of Jesus "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" to teach that Jesus died spiritually and suffered a literal seperation in spirit from God the Father is an example of bad teaching resulting from undisciplined use of scriptures.
Whenever we read the scriptures, we must understand what we read, in light of the whole, and individual parts can not be used to bend whole over arching truths out of shape.
In other words, when the whole bible clearly teaches one idea, it is folly to take one verse and interpet in such a way as to explicitly contradict the teaching of the whole bible.
For example, The whole bible from beginning to end teaches the oneness, the complete unity of God as one being. We know that this one being has three persons also from scripture, and that all three persons are equal and all share the same natural characteristics. All are omnipresent, all are omniscient, all are eternal, all are omnipotent etc.
to then take one verse and teach that it is a complete contradiction to this, that the Son was seperated from the Father and experienced spiritual death, flies in the face of scripture and reason.
This is all the more true because it is based not on explicit statements in scripture, but rather on logic and inferences from scripture.
The scripture never says "Jesus died spiritually" rather this is infered from the statement that he paid the price of our sins.
The scripture never says "The Son was seperated from the Father" this is infered from the fact that Jesus cried out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
So, based on inferences and their own reasoning, they directly contradict the teaching of the entire people based on a few passages which could all easily be understood in ways that do not contradict the rest of scripture.
Looking at the cry from Jesus on the cross. The first thing of note, and probably the most important thing, is that Jesus is here quoting the opening line of the 22nd psalm.
This psalm is prophetic of Jesus on the cross. What we see here is a man in deep anguish crying out for relief, even while he realizes that God is still with him. The cry "why have you forsaken me" has not to do with the fact that he has been cut off from God, but rather with the fact that God has not delivered him from his suffering, but rather has allowed him to endure in his suffering.
This can be seen clearly in the opening of the psalm.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?"
It becomes clear in the psalm that the person speaking has NOT been abandon by God, but rather is expressing his deep agony and asking why God has not delivered him from his agony, and at the same time answering his own question.
The speaker in Psalm 22 goes through a litany of evils and sufferings that have come upon him, but at no point does he say, or hint that he believes God has abandoned him.
witness these sections...
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
and
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
From that point the rest of the psalm is great praise to God for his provision and deliverance.
So often when Jesus went through his life he said and did things specifically to fulfill prophecy.
this also was a fulfilled prophecy. The 22nd psalm is amazing when you compare it to the crucifixion! It really makes one wonder how any Jew can possibly not believe in Jesus. But thats beside the point.
The point is This psalm was written fortelling the immense anguish that Jesus would suffer, and how he would feel in the midst of that anguish, He understood why he was there, he knew why he had to do all of this. He knew all that it would entail.
Jesus never had to ask "why?" in the same way we do, because he didn't know?
What he is doing here is crying out as an expression of anguish and torment.
Just like in the garden the night before, when he said to the Father "if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, but never the less not my will, but yours be done."
Jesus knew it was not possible, he knew he would have to drink the cup. People miss the point of these things because they forget Jesus' humanity. Its not that he thought the cup really could pass..
Most of us, I think have been in times and places, where we simply could not restrain ourselves from crying out... even though we knew already the answer.
Even when you know the answer and you are fully resolved to accept it, it is just the over whelming of emotion and anguish that you have to give it voice and let it be expressed.
going even a step further.
We all know that God is with us always. As Christians God is within us always. We are his temple. But there are times when you can feel his presense and times when you can not.
This doesn't mean that God has left you, it means that whatever you are experiencing at that moment has over-whelmed you and eclipsed your ability to sense that God is with you.
I know that you would all recognize and agree with this when it comes to us, but for some reason you demand that this can't be the case with Jesus, God must really have left him.
Yet, that is not possible. God can not leave God, God can not abandon God, God can not cease to be God.
