Panel Discussion on Matthew 27:46

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Short Summary
The panel discussion explores Jesus’ final words on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” emphasizing their original Aramaic and Hebrew context and their fulfillment of Psalm 22 prophecy. The speakers explain that Jesus experienced a temporary withdrawal of the Father’s sustaining power as part of his sacrificial role, not true abandonment, and they relate this to believers’ experiences of feeling forsaken due to trials or consecration. They encourage relying on scripture and faith to overcome feelings of abandonment, highlighting that such trials serve to deepen believers’ identification with Christ and strengthen their spiritual walk.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Panel Discussion on Jesus’ Last Words from the Cross (Matthew 27:46)

Introduction and Context
– The discussion focuses on Jesus’ final words on the cross recorded in Matthew 27:46:
*“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”* meaning *“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”*
– This moment is considered the greatest act of consecration, with Jesus shedding his blood from head to feet.
– The Highland Park brethren requested this discussion to explore the significance of these words.

Reading of Scriptural Accounts (Matthew 27:35-50; Mark 15:33-34)
– Matthew’s account highlights details paralleling Psalm 22:
– Clothes divided by casting lots (Psalm 22:18).
– Mocking by passersby and religious leaders (Psalm 22:7, 8, 16).
– Darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour.
– Jesus’ cry in Aramaic: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.”
– Mark’s account also records the cry but uses “Eloi, Eloi” (fully Aramaic), while Matthew’s has a mix of Hebrew and Aramaic words.
– The use of Aramaic in these words emphasizes authenticity, emotional weight, and eyewitness testimony.

Language Significance
– Jesus likely spoke in Aramaic, the common language of first-century Israelites.
– The Gospel writers preserved these words in the original language to highlight Jesus fulfilling Psalm 22 prophecy and to provide dynamic impact for their audience.
– The New Testament was written in Greek to reach a broader Mediterranean audience, but the original language phrase was retained for significance.

Why Did Jesus Say These Words?
– The discussion explores whether Jesus was literally abandoned by God or was referencing Psalm 22 to point others to the messianic prophecy.
– Jesus’ bodily sufferings were immense, intensified by scourging and abuse (Isaiah 53:3-5).
– Jesus bore humanity’s sins, becoming a sin offering to bring people near to God (Galatians 3:13).
– Though God’s sustaining spirit was withdrawn momentarily, Jesus was never truly abandoned (Hebrews 13:5: “I will never leave you nor forsake you”).
– The withdrawal was necessary to fulfill the penalty of sin, which includes separation from God, as experienced by Adam.
– Jesus’ cry expressed genuine anguish and the deepest moment of suffering.

Psalm 22 and Jesus’ Experience
– Jesus’ mind was drawn to Psalm 22 because the events happening to him were fulfilling its prophecy:
– Mocking (Psalm 22:7), pierced hands and feet (v.16), and soldiers casting lots for his clothing (v.18).
– Although Jesus knew the end of the psalm promised victory and righteousness declared to future generations (Psalm 22:30-31), the immediate moment was one of intense suffering.

Meaning of “Forsaken”
– Biblical dictionaries (Strong’s Concordance, Vine’s Dictionary) define “forsaken” as abandonment or desertion.
– Jesus felt forsaken in a human, emotional sense, though God did not truly abandon him.
– Other Scriptures using “forsaken” include:
– Acts 2:26-27 (David’s confidence that God would not abandon him to death).
– Hebrews 10:24-25 (admonition not to forsake assembling together).
– The emotional reality of feeling forsaken is significant but does not reflect God’s actual faithfulness.

Application: Human Experience of Being Forsaken
– Consecrated believers may be socially forsaken due to their spiritual choices, as reflected in:
– Psalms 45:10 (leaving one’s people and father’s house).
– 1 Corinthians 6:14-17 (separation from unbelievers).
– Matthew 10:34-39 (Jesus’ warning about division caused by allegiance to him).
– Revelation 20:4 (the “social beheading” of those faithful to Jesus).
– Jesus warned that the world would hate his followers (John 15:18, 25).
– Such forsaking is not due to rudeness but due to consecration and differing spiritual hopes.

Personal Experiences of Forsaking and Abandonment
– Examples discussed: divorce, adoption and feelings of abandonment in adopted children, workplace exclusion.
– These experiences can be painful but can also foster growth and greater sensitivity.

Do Christians Ever Feel Forsaken by God?
– Yes, especially those with sensitive consciences, due to struggles with imperfection and sin.
– Satan can cause discouragement and feelings of being cast off despite God’s promises.
– Hebrews 13:5-6 and Romans 8:38-39 assure believers of God’s enduring presence and love.
– Feelings of forsakenness often stem from faulty thinking, such as:
1. Equating suffering with forsakenness.
2. Shame over sins and mistakes.
3. Comparing oneself with others.
4. Focusing on self-sufficiency rather than reliance on God.
5. Neglecting God’s word and fellowship.
6. Forgetting one’s spiritual covenant and first love.
7. Seeking earthly rather than spiritual treasures.

How to Overcome Feelings of Forsaken-ness
– Recognize feelings as feelings, not facts.
– Trust God’s unchanging word rather than emotions, as expressed in the Martin Luther poem:
*“Feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God, no other is worth believing.”*
– Scriptures to meditate on:
– Hebrews 13:5-6: God will never leave or forsake.
– Romans 8:38-39: Nothing can separate us from God’s love.
– Maintain prayer, study, and fellowship to renew mind and spirit (Romans 12:1-2).

Why Does God Allow These Experiences?
– To help believers identify with Jesus’ suffering and be trained for future responsibilities in God’s Kingdom.
– Biblical examples: Jonah’s disappointment, Jesus’ rejection by Nazareth and disciples’ desertion.
– Such experiences humble believers and teach reliance on God’s strength, not their own.
– God works all things for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
– The goal is to keep the calling and election sure, maintain first love, and persevere in faith.

Conclusion
– The panelists express appreciation for the rich study and encourage trust in God’s promises over feelings.
– They emphasize the importance of spiritual growth through trials, fellowship, prayer, and scripture study.
– The discussion ends with mutual gratitude and blessing.

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Key Bible Verses Cited or Referenced:

– Matthew 27:46 — Jesus’ cry from the cross.
– Psalm 22 (notably verses 1, 7, 16-18, 30-31) — Prophecy fulfilled by Jesus’ crucifixion.
– Isaiah 53:3-5 — The suffering servant bearing griefs and sorrows.
– Hebrews 13:5 — “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
– Acts 2:26-27 — David’s confidence in God’s deliverance.
– Romans 8:38-39 — Nothing can separate us from God’s love.
– Matthew 10:34-39 — Jesus’ warning about division caused by following Him.
– John 15:18, 25 — The world’s hatred of Jesus’ followers.
– 1 Corinthians 6:14-17 — Separation from unbelievers.
– Revelation 20:4 — Souls who were “beheaded” for testimony.
– Romans 12:1-2 — Renewing the mind and transformation.
– Philippians 1:6 — God completing the good work begun in believers.

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This comprehensive summary captures the theological, emotional, and practical insights from the panel discussion on Jesus’ last words and their relevance to Christian experience and faith.

Transcript

Well, Brother Tom and I are going to discuss some of Jesus final words as he hung on the cross from Matthew 27, verse 46, and about that 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? Bible student Ecclesiastes have been preparing their hearts and minds this memorial season in remembrance for this greatest act of consecration. Jesus hung on the cross with his own blood shed from his head to his hands, down to his feet.

That was consecration lived to the fullest. The Highland park brethren have asked us to speak about Jesus statement from the cross just before he died. Brother Tom, could you please read the scriptural account?

Thank you, Brother Brad. Yes, and I’m going to read. I’m reading from the new international version. I’m going to read in Matthew 27, starting in verse 35, and the reason I am going to do that and read from Matthew is because one of the correspondencies we may mention as we go through this discussion is the fact that there are so many things about the crucifixion that are mentioned in the 22nd Psalm.

And this statement of Jesus is from the first verse of that 22nd Psalm. So I might highlight those as we go through, starting in verse 35. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots, and that’s mentioned in Psalm 22, and sitting down, they kept watch over him.

There, above his head, they placed the written charge against him. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insult at him, shaking their heads, and that again is from Psalm 22, verse 40.

And saying, you who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself. Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God. In the same way, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. He saved others, they said, but he can’t save himself. He’s the King of Israel.

Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. Verse 43. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, and that again is from Psalm 22.

For he said, I am the Son of God. In the same way, the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. From the sixth hour until the ninth hour. Darkness came over all the land about the ninth hour. This is verse 47.

About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, eli, Eli lama sabachthani, which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? When some of those standing there heard this, they said, he’s calling Elijah. Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. She filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, now leave him alone.

Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him, and when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit, and then I’m going to read just two verses from Mark, because it reads just a little bit in what he said in verse 30, starting at 33 and 34. At the sixth hour, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, verse 34 and the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani, which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And so we want to begin the discussion by asking why the Gospel writers record it in a different language than Greek and then give the translation. What language is it, Brother Brad? Yeah. Most scholars believe that Jesus likely spoke these words in Aramaic. This language is a common daily usage of the first century Israelite.

It was a blend of Aramaic and Hebrew, and the usage of the aromatic blend of Hebrew emphasizes the profound moment, serving as a powerful, dramatic, and historically accurate record for their audience, which highlights the emotional weight of his cry over.

Yeah, another, another example of Jesus words being recorded in both Aramaic and Greek is in Mark 14:36, when he was praying to his father in the garden of Gethsemane, and in Mark 14 verses. Well, I’m just going to cite verse 36. He says, Abba, father, and Abba is Aramaic, and so there they, they again give the translation.

And we wanted to highlight that, that there is a slight difference, and we tried to emphasize that in our reading between the Matthew and Mark accounts. In Matthew’s record, the first words, Ali, Eli, are Hebrew and the other two words are Aramaic. In Mark’s account, all of the words are Aramaic. His first two words are Eloi.

Eloi, and so this, this is one of the differences that, that we noted. Thanks, Brother Tom. Yeah, I didn’t realize there was a difference in that word, Eli or Eloi. So, Brother Tom, what was the purpose of them doing this?

Why was it written in this manner? Well, the New Testament was written in Greek because Greek was the common language of the Mediterranean world at that time in matters such as trade, politics, and daily life across the Roman Empire, and so the writing of the New Testament in Greek meant that it could go to a wider audience than if it had been written just in Aramaic, and that was important for the function of the spreading of the gospel. So that was kind of by God’s design and overruling.

And I appreciated some other thoughts that I found as I studied this of reasons for recording it in the original language. By using the native language, it gave the. It kind of emphasized the point that these were eyewitnesses. These were eyewitnesses that wrote this down, and so we have eyewitness testimony and authenticity in the narrative.

And by quoting the exact words, the Gospel writers highlight Jesus as the fulfiller of that prophecy in Psalm 22.

And perhaps the use of the non Greek phrasing was used for dynamic impact, portraying the profound suffering of the moment. So for those reasons and perhaps others, this, this was probably why they, they recorded it in that way.

But now we want to consider Brad, why did Jesus speak these words? Was he actually abandoned by his Father, at least for maybe an instant? Or was he merely trying to point the people and us to Psalm 22, which is prophetic about his life and his suffering? Was he just meditating on that psalm and thought, well, I’ll say those words or why did he say these words? Yes, a very good question, Brother Tom.

My answer may be lengthy. I mean, this is really the meat of the, of our lesson. So feel free, feel free to interject at a time you feel proper. Well, when we consider our dear master’s experience, we do well not to judge much from the last words of the dying respecting his own spiritual state. This definitely was not a sign of weakness in our Lord spiritual state.

His great bodily sufferings on the cross were greatly aggravated by his previous scourging and abuses experienced with the Roman soldiers. Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53 that he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement was laid upon him, that by his stripes we are healed. In the New Testament we read that he redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse, and that he was made a sin offering on our account, that he might bring us near to God.

And it was this that doubtless caused his intense suffering and his quoting of the prophecy from Psalms 22, verse 1. They had their purpose.

We remember that Jesus definitely was not abandoned by his Father. Remember, Jesus said he could ask his Father, and his Father would send him 12 legions of angels. Yet his love and Obedience to His Father’s will prevented him from doing this, and we also remember the help that he received in Gethsemane that enabled him to go through this very painful sacrifice.

This was to be a brief separation from God. God still loved him. In either of these senses, God could never have forsaken him, for he has promised, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we feel that sustenance was removed from Jesus for this brief time in order to finish his sacrifice to fulfill his divine plan. Secondly, Jesus was fulfilling prophecy and wanted his audience to hear reference to this suffering Messianic reference which began with the dramatic words, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

These dramatic words would lead them to go to the Scriptures to read the entirety of that Passage of Psalms 22.

So the Father’s sustenance and fellowship needed to be withdrawn from Jesus at this point on the cruel cross. Now, to the onlookers it certainly looked as if His God had forsook him. Jesus felt his Father’s absence, but he knew of the promise of his resurrection to the spirit plane. Jesus loved his people, and he quoted Psalms 22 to point his brethren that he is that suffering Messiah in order that they will have a fewer opportunity to accept him after Pentecost. Now it was a necessary part of our Lord’s suffering as the sin bearer.

The penalty of Adam’s transgression was not only death, but but additionally there was a separation or an alienation from God, his divine favor, communion, and direct personal relationship. Consequently, when our Lord Jesus took Adam’s place and suffered in his stead the just for the unjust, that he might redeem us to God by His precious blood. But it was not only necessary that he should die on our behalf, but also that he should experience that full cutting off and separation from the Father which was a part of the penalty of Adam’s transgression. He was not alienated or separated from the Father as a sinner throughout the three and a half years in which he was laying down his life, and neither did he suffer the full penalty during those three and a half years.

But we’re now at the moment of crisis on the cross, and for at least this brief period of time our Lord had to be deprived of the Father’s fellowship. It was necessary that the Father should hide himself from him as though he had been the sinner, just like Adam. But when the moment came that the Father’s fellowship or spirit was withdrawn from our Lord, it was difficult to realize the significance of this. This was almost more than he could bear. This temporary separation was the most terrible moment of all his experiences, and hence the startled inquiry.

My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me?

It is claimed that Jesus died of a literally broken heart, and that was evidenced by the fact that both blood and water proceeded from the spear wound inflicted shortly after his death. Brother Tom, I’m sure you have some further thoughts on this question as well. Thank you for all those thoughts, Brother Brad. Especially I liked Bringing in Isaiah 53, the prophecy of the suffering Savior. That’s very good.

I did not have that one down.

Some of what I say may overlap with what you said, but when I considered that he was. That statement was from Psalm 22.

And I was wondering, well, what. What brought his mind to that? Did he just think, oh, I’m going to meditate on Psalm 22? I actually think that Jesus thoughts were drawn to Psalm 22 by the things that were happening to him. Verse 7 of Psalm 22 says, all who see me mock me.

They hurl insults shaking their heads. We mentioned that before, and they, they, you know, challenged him to, to come down from the cross. Verse 16 of Psalm 22, they have pierced my hands and my feet. Verse 17, People stare at me and gloat over me.

And verse 18, they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. I’m sure our Lord had had, you know, total understanding and, and, and knew the all of the Old Testament. But I think as those things were happening to him, it drew his attention to that Psalm, and so that’s why he was meditating upon it and seeing that what was there was now being fulfilled in his own life. You know, intellectually, Jesus understood that he had to die.

But when the reality of that moment was upon him, as Jesus felt the very breath of life leaving him, and he was about to experience something he had never experienced before. He had seen. He realized that his Father was not going to sustain him and had withdrawn from helping him. As you say, not abandoned him, but he withdrew his sustenance, and then those words of the psalm came to his mind and his lips.

I believe it was genuine anguish. Emotionally, he felt abandoned, and the words of the psalm were simply the appropriate words to express it. You know, I think in an article I read. The title of the article is the Oneness of the Divine Family.

It starts on reprint 3160. I read this a number of years ago and I was amazed in reading that article that Brother Russell suggests that Jehovah only revealed details of his plan to his son as they became necessary for him to know. You know, I’d always had the thought that Jesus knew everything and all the details not according to this thought in this article, and so perhaps Jehovah did not explain in detail to Jesus what that dying sensation would be like or the fact that he would have to withdraw from helping him. You know, Brother Rick Serasi gave a wonderful presentation in Chicago a number of years ago, making the point that Jesus had not anticipated being executed for being a blasphemer against his own father.

That had caught him by surprise, and that was the cup that he asked might be removed. He did not want to be crucified as a blasphemer against his own father, and I think the reality of this experience of death and what it would be like to have his father withdraw his sustaining power was something Jesus had not fully understood until the moment was upon him, and thus the cry of anguish, Jehovah’s sustaining power had to be withdrawn from him at that point.

And this was a true cry of anguish, and it really, seeing it that way for me, you know, makes. Makes the whole reality of Jesus sacrifice that much more powerful and real.

Very well said, Brother Tom. You know, Jesus was 100% human, and we read in Ecclesiastes that eternity is set into the hearts of men. So even more so, this eternity was set in our Lord’s heart because he was perfect, and, you know, it must have been that hope that was set before him.

That hope that was set before him helped him to endure the cross and the shame. I have another thought too. That yes, he quoted the beginning of Psalms 22, but I think in his mind he knew the very end of Psalms 22. If you don’t mind, I’m going to read verses 30 and 31 of Psalms. Yeah, Brad, that’s a great idea.

Prosperity will serve him, and it will be told of the Lord in the coming generation. They will come and will declare his righteousness to a people who will be born. That he has performed it. That was the great hope that our Lord had that made him endure this very bitter experience.

Yes, that. That. That victory at the. At the end of that psalm certainly was in his mind as well. Thank you, Brother Tom.

What does it mean to be forsaken? Well, if we look it up in a couple of sources like Strong’s Concordance, it says to leave behind in some place to let remain over, or to desert, to desert, and Vine’s Dictionary says to forsake, abandon, leave in straits or helpless and so those are. Are some of the things that we get from those Bible dictionary sources. If we look in an English dictionary, it says abandoned or deserted.

And I think, you know, we’ve kind of made a distinction in what we’ve said thus far, Brother Brad, that we kind of draw a distinction between being abandoned, and we say that Jesus was not really abandoned by his father, but that he had withdrawn his sustaining power. But I think to Jesus it may have felt like abandonment when this suddenly came upon him, and he realized that life was going out of him, and so the words again of the psalm just were the appropriate words to come to his lips at that point. If we look at some of the other scriptures in the New Testament where this word is used, it’s used in Acts, the second chapter in verse.

I’m going to read verses 26 and 27, Acts 2, 26 and 27. Therefore my heart is glad, my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead. You will not let your Holy one see decay, and that, of course, is prophetic of this.

And, and then in the 31st verse, seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead. King James, I think, says, forsaken, nor did his body see decay, and then one other scripture that. That uses this word that we’re very familiar with, Hebrews 10, verses 24 and 25.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much more as ye see the day approaching. Not forsaking the assembling. We could just as well use the word abandoned, not abandoning the assembling of ourselves together. So it really has that abandonment and desertion meaning.

But, and I think Jesus was expressing that feeling. It felt like that in that last moment to him. But we wouldn’t choose to say that his Father did abandon him, but it felt like it to him, I think, and that’s what makes it real.

I remember. Oh, no, I’m not gonna. Never mind. I’m gonna say over at that point. Do you have any thoughts on the meaning of forsaken, Brother Brad?

No, I really appreciate how you explained that, Brother Tom. You know, we think of our Lord as the Logos who was daily his Father’s delight, and for three days he was going to be absent from his father, wasn’t he? Yeah.

That’s another aspect. Thank you for bringing that out. He was going to be absent for that period of time, not just that moment of dying.

Well, going from this discussion and now thinking about, as I always try to do, and I think we all do try to think of what what application can we make from this part of the scriptural account? What application can we make to ourselves? And we might ask, do we ever feel that we have been forsaken by other people in our lives? Have we experienced something like this? Brother Brad well, I think the Lord’s people can say that, yes, we will be forsaken by other people.

But it’s because of our consecration. We have new hopes, aims and ambitions, spiritual hopes, aims and ambitions. Our sanctified lifestyle and letting our light shines is going to create a separation in the beautiful Psalms 45, verse 10 Remember our invitation. Listen, daughter, look and incline your ear. Forget your people and your Father’s house.

We have to leave Father Adam’s house. This is a part of our consecration. First Corinthians 6, verses 14 and 17 Apostle Paul said, don’t be bound with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and lawlessness share together? Or what does light have in common with darkness?

What does a believer share with an unbeliever? Therefore, come out of their midst and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean. Of course our separation isn’t going to be due to rudeness and treating people poorly. We are going to be alienated and separated due to our consecrated lifestyle, and the Lord warned us of this in Matthew, chapter 10, verses 34 to 39.

I’ll just quote a part. Jesus said, do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword for I came to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law, and a person’s enemies will be members of his household. We quoted Revelation earlier, and I like Revelation 20, verse 4.

I call this a social beheading. A social beheading. Remember, it says, then I saw thrones, and they that sat on them, and judgment was given to them, and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and I think all of us have experienced the social beheading, whether it be in the workplace, within our own families, consecrated or unconsecrated, these things might happen.

In John 15:18, 25 our Lord said that we have different hopes, aims and ambitions. A striving for righteousness which will affect all aspects of our life in the workplace, our friends, our family, socially.

And he warned us, if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before. It hated you. If you are of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world. But I chose you out of the world because of this.

The world hates you. But this has happened so that the word that is written in their law will be fulfilled. They hated me for no reason. So this is going to happen, I believe, to all the Lord’s people.

Due to our consecrated lifestyle. We don’t actively pursue to to be forsaken by others through rude behavior or misunderstandings. But this will take place due to our consecration of our spiritual hopes, aims and ambitions and our striving for righteousness. How about you, brother Tom? I’m sure you have some good advice on this as well.

Yeah, I thank you for all that you’ve mentioned. As I thought about forsaking in human relationships, it came to mind the patterns we see in society today that are so prevalent. We all know that one of the most common things in society today is divorce of married couples, and so many people in the world go through this experience of feeling abandoned by a spouse, and we know even some of some brethren within our fellowship have had that experience.

And so that has been a difficult experience that many in the world and some even within our fellowship have had that difficult experience, and sometimes those are done amicably, sometimes not. But it’s a forsaking or abandonment nonetheless, and then I think of children who feel abandoned by their birth parents. Birth mother Janice and I have two adopted sons and they were given up and we’ve adopted them.

And that feeling comes up and sometimes can affect them, and we learned as we contemplated adopting that statistically it is known that people who have been given up and adopted have a much higher prevalence of turning to drugs and suicide. So the abandonment, even if hopefully that place with a good family, and hopefully Janice and I have provided a good family situation for them, it still is a reality that these people, at least at a subconscious level, affects them, and it’s a painful experience. So that’s one thing that came to my mind.

It can be very hard to heal those experiences of feeling abandoned and being forsaken. I know that personally in my working career, I had the feeling of being abandoned by the agency that I worked for. It’s too long of a story to tell, but I definitely felt abandoned by not being included in the mainstream of the agency’s mission. They said, you’re kind of outside our real mission, and it made to feel like a second class citizen or employee within the agency.

It made me feel like an outsider, and yeah, that was a painful experience, went on for years. So we can experience this abandonment in our lives, and that was due to no fault of your own, wasn’t it? Right.

It’s a powerful story. I mean, I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything because of what I’ve learned from it and how it has helped hopefully shape me into a more sensitive and inclusive type of person. But I mean, that’s what adverse experiences do to those who are following as disciples of Jesus. We grow into better people because of those adverse circumstances. Or at least that’s the intention.

But now, Brad, maybe we want to turn our attention to something even more directly related to, to our Lord’s experience in our theme text and ask, do we ever feel that we have been forsaken by our Heavenly Father or by the Lord Jesus? Do we ever feel that they’ve forsaken us? And what circumstance might lead to this feeling? You want to start us? Sure, this is possible, but it’s no fault but our own.

We have the precious promises. Hebrews 13:5. I will never leave you nor forsake you. But you know we have three enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil.

We can believe God. Numbers 23:19. God is not a man that he would lie, nor a son of man that he would change his mind.

Has he said and will he not do it? Or has he spoken and will he not make it good? Sister Coretta, she quoted this Next Scripture, Philippians 1, verse 6. For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of the Lord.

So we have all the precious promises in the Scriptures that if we do feel this way, the fault would lie with us, not with the Lord. Brother Tom. Thank you, Brad. You know, a Christian may experience the feeling that God has abandoned them, especially a Christian with a tender or sensitive conscience. You know, some of us struggle with this wonderful statement of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew the Fifth chapter verses, verse 48.

I think it’s the last verse of the chapter where he says, be perfect. Therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect, that can be a very hard one and can lead to discouragement. When we think about the imperfections in our life that, that we have and we struggle against, and usually there’s one or two Things that we repeatedly trip over, and you know, it’s as you said, it’s really our own fault and it’s the fault in our own thinking.

Know I think of the verse in part of one of our hymns. I can’t say which one, but when I think of self, I tremble. When I look to thee, I’m strong.

Satan is very good at keeping us focused on our imperfections and that that can make us feel very terrible about ourselves, and I will say by way of personal testimony, if you will, that I experienced those kinds of thoughts about a year after becoming a part of the Bible Student Fellowship, about a year after consecrating my life to God, and that state of mind was with me for several months. I was certain that God must have cast me off and I believed I was headed for second death because I was still had so many imperfections in my life and I was repeatedly tripping over these particular weaknesses. Satan just worked on that and worked on that and got me to a point of deep discouragement.

And if I gave a whole testimony on it, I would tell you how, how the Lord brought me out of that, and that is amazing. But I think we need. You’ve mentioned some scriptures. Another one that we can draw to our mind if we feel like that God may have abandoned us or forsaken us is Romans 8, verses 38 and 39, where Paul writes, for I am convinced that neither death nor nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So if we feel forsaken, it is our thinking that has separated us from God. He has not forsaken us. Brother Tom, can I share seven points of faulty thinking, please? Well, we know that the devil is the director of our two other enemies, the world and the flesh, and his deceptions often involve twisting circumstances and emotions or feelings during times of suffering, unanswered prayer or personal failures.

And these can create a false belief that God has abandoned or forgotten you, as Brother Tom shared with us. So one, one mistake is to equate suffering with forsakenness. A person may mistakenly use personal pain, hardship or silence from God that he no longer cares or who has withdrawn his favor from us. That’s faulty thinking. Two, shame over unintentional or intentional mistakes, disobedience or unconfessed sins.

Satan can whisper in your ear that your mistakes and sins are far too great for God. To forgive you, and he tries to make you feel unworthy of God’s presence and grace, and therefore you’re forsaken. We need to always remember we need to go to the throne of grace for forgiveness. Another mistake in thinking is comparing our cross and our Christian journey with the cross and spiritual journey of our brethren.

And then we conclude that, gee, I’m not as blessed in the same way as sister so and so or brother so and so. I must be unloved or forsaken. That’s faulty thinking, focusing on self sufficiency. Oh, I’m doing fine on my own strength. I don’t need help from the Lord.

That is faulty thinking. That can lead to the feeling of forsakenness. You know, we always have to be filled with the spirit. Paul said, do not quench the spirit. So it’s very important that we do not neglect the study of God’s word, his great and precious promises, and also the fellowship with his saints who share all these same spiritual hopes, aims and ambitions.

And some of these ways it’ll help us not to forget our first love, to help us not to forget our covenant of sacrifice in order that we seek spiritual treasures and not earthly. Because searching earthly treasures can certainly lead to a feeling of abandonment over. Thank you for sharing those. I might ask you to even send those to me. That’s a good list.

A very good list. I once purchased a book that ended up providing me material for a discourse called Precious Remedies against the Devices of Satan. You know, Paul says we know his devices, we’re not ignorant of them, and yeah, learning to identify those things is very important.

So, Brother Tom, are we drawing near to the end? Right. Well, I can ask you, how can we resolve these feelings and re establish our connection with the Father and Jesus? Well, you used the right word in your question, talking about feelings, and that is what it is.

It’s a feeling. It’s not the reality. When we feel forsaken by God, we must acknowledge that these feelings are real, but we must also acknowledge that they are just feelings, and since we talked about Martin Luther in our opening message today, someone, another person shared a poem that was written by Martin Luther, and it addresses this point very directly. I don’t know if the poem has a title.

My source didn’t have a title on it, but this is what the poem says. Feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the word of God, not else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel condemned for want of some sweet token, There Is one greater than my heart, whose word cannot be broken. I’ll trust in God’s unchanging word till soul and body sever.

For though all things shall pass away, His Word endures forever. That’s a great poem. Because we need to depend on what the Bible tells us, and we’ve. We’ve identified some of these scriptures that he will never forsake us, and we need to trust on that.

And so if we get into the point of feeling that we’ve been forsaken, we need to go and read those scriptures. It’s Hebrews 13, verses 5 and 6. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. Because God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, the Lord is my helper.

I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? So that is just very important for us. I’ll share a quote too. It was from a reprint.

God will never leave nor forsake you understand that God’s presence is not dependent on. On your emotions or feelings, but on his faithfulness and promise to you found in His Word.

Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, Brother Tom. I was mistaken. We have one more important thought to discuss.

Yeah, and I have lots of scriptures, but we don’t have lots of time on that point. But go ahead with that next part. Yeah, we’re going to draw our discussion to a close. I’m going to ask Brother Tom, why would the Father allow this to happen to us?

Well, as I thought about this, I thought, well, the servant is not above his master. God might need us to experience a little bit of what Jesus experienced. We know that. So that we can more deeply identify with him and learn to respond to such circumstances as he did. It can be part of our training to be shepherds of the world in the Kingdom.

We can see examples in the Bible. Jonah is one example that came to my mind. He felt forsaken by God. God had sent him on a mission and then the people repented, and he was disappointed.

He was upset, and then he felt that God had had forsaken him, and so that. That was one we can think of before the cross. We can think of Jesus being rejected by the people he grew up with in Nazareth.

They tried to kill him by throwing him off a cliff. He was rejected by the religious leaders of his. Of his own people, and on the night he died, Peter denied him three times and all of his disciples fled. So the Father may need us to have those experiences so that we can more closely identify and draw closer in spirit and in our heart and mind to the one who we are following, the one who provides the example.

Do you have any thoughts, Brad? Yeah. Why would the father allow one of his children to reach this point? Well, first of all, it must be his will. Because he said that all things shall work out for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

So, as you said, this must be an experience that the Lord’s people should experience. You know the saying, I am strongest when I am on my knees, and you know, we need these humbling experiences to regain our trust. Not in our own strength and might and will, but to trust him and his promises, and it’s another lesson, you know, of Ecclesiastes.

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. When one forgets to seek the spiritual treasures in doing God’s will and following our Lord, that is true happiness, and we have to make sure that we don’t go astray, that we do not leave our first love, and that’s only possible through our efforts in making our calling and election. Sure.

Pray without ceasing.

Study God’s word personally in our ecclesias, in our conventions.

And these kind of things are what should help us. That we will never get to this point where we will let feelings or the adversary tell us that God isn’t dealing with us anymore. It is a constant battle indeed. Yeah, we need to get to that point where we don’t trust those feelings so much. We have to pay attention to them.

But one of the feelings that we have, absolute testimony in God’s word is that he will not abandon or forsake us. We’re given feelings for a reason. But that’s one that that feeling is totally from. From Satan. Yes.

And, and we need to.

We need to ignore those kinds of feelings. But yeah, the adversary is the director of the word of the world and the flesh against us. In terms of what you just said, indeed, one of the things that I have appreciated. We often cite Romans 12, verse 1. You know, suddenly it’s gone from my mind because I was thinking about verse two.

Really. But do not be conformed to the ways of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In the transformation of our mind, we not only need to bring in the positive, correct thoughts, the things that we can learn from absolutely true sources like God’s word, but we also need to get rid of the thoughts that are faulty human thinking, which can lead to those kinds of feelings, and that’s why I appreciate the list that you brought out. Yeah, we need to.

Yes, we have to get rid of the old man, Peter, or Paul calls it, and put on the new man. Yes. Well, Brad, I think we’ve covered what we wanted to, and the time’s about right. Thank you for all that you prepared.

And this has been a blessing to prepare this with you. Thank you, Brother Tom. Likewise.

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