In Matthew 27, verses 45 and 46, the Bible reveals to us the fourth saying of the seven sayings on the cross. So far in this series, the seven sayings on the cross that I've preached through three of the sayings at our Lord's Supper services throughout the year. At first, he had cried, Christ had cried, Father, forgive them. for they know not what they do. And certainly that saying we can understand because we know Jesus had a huge heart of compassion for the lost. We studied the second saying where he spoke to the repentant thief, today thou shalt be with me. in paradise. And again, it's easy to understand those words as it reveals his purpose on the earth was to come and to seek and to save that which was lost. In his third saying, he directed it towards his mother. And we can appreciate his focus on his mother, even at the greatest pinnacle of stress in his life, woman behold thy son. But this fourth saying is tragic and sudden. and difficult to understand. Do you ever think about the word forsaken in our English language? Out West, they have ghost towns. Don't know if you've ever visited a ghost town out West, but it's a town that's been forsaken. It's a town where people lived and they communed together. There was a community feeling, but because industry went up or something bad happened in the town, people moved away and forsook the town. And certainly that's a sad thing to go and study. But what other heavy burdens are conjured up when we think of a man forsaken by his friends? When we think of a wife forsaken by her husband? When we think of a child forsaken by his or her parents, and yet we get to this scene at the cross, and Jesus, God's only begotten Son, is forsaken by the creator of the universe, and Christ senses it, and Christ cries out, why hast thou forsaken me? Christ was abandoned by His disciples, but He did not cry, Peter, Peter, why hast thou forsaken Me? Nor did He cry, James, James, why hast thou forsaken Me? You see, the Father's presence had been Christ's home. The Father's bosom, His dwelling place. Up to this point in His life on earth, never a thought was out of harmony with the Father's mind. Up to this point. But now on the cross, he's separated from the father like never before. He never experienced this in his lifetime up to this time. You see, Christ took all of the physical punishment of the cross and bore it and remained silent. In fact, the Bible says as you read through the description of what he suffered, yet he opened not his mouth. But when it came to his father forsaking him, he could not bear that. without opening his mouth and saying the fourth saying that we know on the cross, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? In our short time before the communion service tonight, I want you to look at three simple points on this saying of the cross, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Number one, the cry of desertion. The cry of desertion or of abandonment. Christ was separated from the Father pointing to God's justice. God's justice. Sin separates and it is seen in no greater fashion than in God separating from his own Son who bore the sins of the world in those three hours of darkness that we know that the Bible describes prior to him saying, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? These words mark the climax of Christ's suffering on the cross. They had beaten Him. They had arrayed Him with a crown of thorns. They had scourged Him and buffeted Him and even spit on Him and plucked His beard. They took His garments and they cast lots, leaving Him in open shame. They taunted Him. But the thing that broke His spirit or His heart the greatest, my friend, was not all the physical sufferings that He endured. But it was the spiritual separation that he had from the Father as he cried out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It reveals the unwavering justice of God, this cry of desertion. The fact that God turned his back on his son reveals to us the awfulness of sin. My friend, we don't think that sin's as awful as it is, but it's good to go to the cross every once in a while, and it's good to study the cross, and it's good to study the sayings of our Lord, because it reveals how awful sin is. You know the verse in Romans chapter six, verse number 23, for the wages of sin is? but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Physical death, we know, is the separation of the soul and the spirit from the body. We've had some physical deaths this year, haven't we? We've had some people that have passed on and their soul and spirit has gone to be with the Lord and their body into the ground. Physical death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body. But spiritual death, is the separation of the soul and spirit from God. Which is worse? Physical death or spiritual death? Spiritual death. Did you know that Jesus on the cross was experiencing both? Physical death and at the same time spiritual death in the sense that He was separated from God for those hours on the cross. Turn over to Luke chapter 15 if you will tonight, Luke chapter 15. Luke 15 is the story of the prodigal. And the father says this about his son. He says, for this my son was dead. Now question, he's seen his son in person, right? He went out and he ran out and hugged his son. So was the son physically dead? No, he wasn't physically dead. You know what the father was saying? He was saying there's a spiritual separation. The soul and spirit of this, my son, was separated from me. My son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they began to be married. He was not dead physically, but spiritually he was alienated and separated from his father. I want you to know the cry of desertion tonight points out the justice of God, that God has to deal with sin. It also points out and reveals the consistency of God's holiness. God's holiness. Did you know that there must be a payment for sin every time in order that God's holiness be satisfied? Turn back in your Bibles to Psalm 22. It's a messianic psalm. It's a psalm in which it's recording some of the things taking place in Christ's mind and in his speech leading up to the cross and on the cross. And in Psalm 22, we have the quote from Matthew 27, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It's in actually verse number one. We believe there's a dual application here. We believe that the psalmist may be praying what the psalm is reflecting in the heart and mind of Christ. And so my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not. And in the night season, I am not silent. Of course, the psalmist speaking here. But look at verse number three. But thou art holy. Connect those words to verse number one. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And then the realization, but thou art holy. You realize the reason why God had to forsake the son on the cross was because God is holy and he had to send a message to the world that he had to separate from sin. Watch this. Even when it was laid on his own son, he separated himself from his own son. My friend, that paints a picture of God's holiness that is extremely consistent as He deals with sin. As He deals with sin in our lives, we've got to remember He is a holy God. And sin separates me from God. It breaks fellowship with God. Every time as a believer that you sin, fellowship is broken with God. It's not what it was before you sinned. It's different. It's distant. It's not the same. There's something missing. I don't have the sweetness. I don't have the open communication. I don't have an open line. God can't talk to me and I can't talk to Him. Why? Because of sin. just like it was on the cross for Christ. Listen to this verse, 2 Corinthians 5.21, for He, God, hath made Him, Christ, to be sin for us who knew no sin. Do you understand the holiness of God tonight? Would you think on this verse with me that the holiness of God moved God to make His Son sin for you and me? It had to happen. It was the only way that His holiness and that His justice would be satisfied is if He would make His own Son, the one that He loved the most, sin for us. In another passage of Scripture, in Romans chapter 8, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Christ becoming the sin bearer alienated him from the Father on the cross. Christ's words, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, were the fulfillment of the curse pronounced on him in Galatians chapter 3, verse number 13, where it says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. The truth is tonight, believers, God's holy nature could not do less than judge sin. Even though it be found on His only begotten Son, not in His only begotten Son, Jesus never sinned. But our sins were laid upon Him, and it moved God to separate Himself from Christ. Remember in the garden that sin alienated Adam and Eve, did it not? I mean, they were walking with God and talking with God in the cool of the day, and all of a sudden they were hiding themselves. There was a drastic change in the relationship. Sin resulted in the same thing in Cain's life. In Genesis 4, verse number 14, the Bible says this, Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face shall I be hid. Cain had a realization that him and the Lord were not on face-to-face terms. He was not on fellowship terms with God. You know why? Because of his sin. And he testified of it. Because Israel's sin, though the temple was accessible, the Holy of Holies was not. The veil was there. You know why the veil was there? Because of Israel's sin. Only the high priest could enter in and offer sacrifices because the veil sent a message that sin separates a person from God. I want you to understand tonight that when we look at Christ's cry of desertion, we need to understand that it is our sin that separates us from God, and it was our sin that separated Christ from God on that day. The leper in the Old Testament represented sin, and when a leper was defiled, he was moved outside the camp. In Leviticus chapter 13 and verse number 46, speaking of the leper, it says this, all the days wherein the plague shall be in him, he shall be defiled, he is unclean. He shall dwell alone, without the camp shall his habitation be. I want you to know it's a picture of Jesus Christ in the New Testament because in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse number 12, the Bible says this, and listen carefully. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. He suffered separated from the Father. Oh, these are illustrations. But the holiness of God revealed in judgment means that the unsaved will forever be banished from the presence of the Lord. Remember in Matthew chapter seven, listen to these words, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Remember the words in 2 Thessalonians chapter one, verse number nine, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction. Watch this from the presence of the Lord. My friend, it's one thing to be separated from God's presence for a time on earth when you're in sin and you repent and you get back to God and fellowship is restored. It's a whole nother thing to be separated from God, your soul and spirit, FOREVER! But God warns of that. He warns of everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. You know that God's eyes of holiness can't even look on sin? According to Habakkuk chapter 1 verse number 13, thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and canst not look on iniquity. That's the eyes of God. That's how holy God is. When Job entered into the presence of God in Job 42.6, he said this, wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. When Isaiah entered into the holiness of God, in Isaiah chapter number six, we understand that he said what? Woe is me, for I've seen the Lord of hosts. Holy, holy, holy is God Almighty. Brethren, I don't know that we're living with eyes on a holy God. but it'll affect and it'll help you to triumph over sin if you would just recall to mind that God is holy and that God's holiness caused him to separate from his own son on the cross over sin. This cry of desertion reveals the basis of salvation. I want you to look at 1 Peter 3, verse number 18. You see, there is no way of transferring your sin upon Christ without transferring the penalty of it as well. There's a payment that's required for sin. In the Old Testament, it was a blood sacrifice, wasn't it? Pointing to the New Testament that there would be a blood sacrifice and that would be Christ. In order for Christ to take your sin and forgive you and cleanse you of it, he had to pay the price or the penalty. And he did. In 1 Peter 3 and verse number 18, the Bible says, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. In Nahum chapter one, verse six, the Bible asks these questions. Who can stand before His indignation? Who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by Him. There is one answer to that question. The answer is His Son could stand before His indignation. And He did. And He took it. And He took it, if you could picture it this way, if you could picture hell condensed into three hours, Those last three hours on the cross when darkness came down in the middle of the day, it was like midnight at midday. Christ faced the separation from the Father. Christ faced what we would face in hell. He faced the outer darkness. He faced the torments in his body. And my friend, he paid the penalty and endured the fierceness of his anger on our behalf. Now my friend, when we partake of the table tonight, it is no small deal to take time to remember the death of our Savior. He endured the wrath of God that we deserve. Our sins have been committed. God's claims against us have been fully met. Christ was forsaken of God for a season that we might enjoy His presence forever. There's no sweeter presence that we can enjoy today, my friend, than to be in the presence of the Lord. I enjoy the presence of my wife, and I enjoy the presence of my family. My kids are coming home for Thanksgiving next week, and we're looking forward to a grand reunion again, and fellowship around the table, and all of that. But really, none of that can give me what my fellowship with God can give me. what being in the presence of God gives me. And I have that forever because of Christ facing what he did on the cross. He was forsaken that I might be forgiven. Christ drank the cup of woe that you and I might drink the cup of joy. My friend, when he says why, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? There's a lot of truth behind that verse. It reveals God's justice. It reveals God's holiness. It reveals the basis of salvation. And then I want you to see tonight the curse of darkness. Not only the cry of desertion, but the curse of darkness. Notice in verse number 45 now, going back to our text. Verse number 45. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And we know in the ninth hour is when he cried out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So at the sixth hour of the day, noontime, to three o'clock, it's pitch black, it's dark. And at three o'clock in the afternoon, after three hours of torturing darkness, Christ cries out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? At this point in the crucifixion, Jesus had already been on the cross for about three hours. But now as the sixth hour approaches, darkness covers the land, and now he cries out. Remember, God is light. The darkness is the natural sign of his turning away. Christ was left alone with the sinner's sin in darkness. He suffered the outpouring of God's wrath, and the pain of sense, what he could feel, and what he could see, and the pain of loss, what he didn't have. No father with him to go through it. Think about these words earlier in his life, in John 11, verse 42, when he spoke of the father, he said this, and I knew that thou hearest me always. but no communication on the cross, separated from the Father. In John 8, verse 29, he said this, and he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone. But now from the sixth to the ninth hour, he's all alone. Enduring darkness so that you could walk in light. The three hours described on the cross were hours of great darkness, literally, but they also had to be great hours of darkness emotionally and mentally and spiritually. As at the end of it, he cried out. I don't think he was hanging on the cross and he said it like this, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I believe he cried out like the Bible says. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? As much effort as he could put into those words, he announced those words on the cross. The cry of desertion, the curse of the darkness, but lastly, the challenge for the Christian, the challenge for the Christian. Go back to Matthew 27, verse 46. Eli, Eli, lama sabathani, that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? One writer said, and I quote, listen carefully, if thou thinkest God has forsaken thee, do not give up thy faith in him, but like thy Lord, cry thou, my God, my God, again and again. If thou hast had one anchor before, cast out two anchors now and double the hold of thy faith." What an example. Christ cried out, not God, God, but my God. My God, why hast thou forsaken me? The challenge for the Christian is that Christ's faith remained constant. Christ's cry was not a cry of distrust, but rather of distress. Christ kept the faith on the cross. His soul still cleaved to God the Father. He remained trusting, watch this, though there was no deliverance. Turn to Psalm 22. Almost finished. He trusted. though he was forsaken for a season. Great example that Christ gives us on the cross. It's easy to trust God when all is well. When the days are bright, when the news is good, when the family is all well. But it's hard to trust God. The rubber meets the road when things turn dark. And when you don't see deliverance, and the bad news sometimes comes in like a flood, but I want you to know you have an example in Christ tonight. Look at verse number five in Psalm 22. They cried unto thee and were delivered. They trusted in thee and were not confounded. But I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head saying, does that sound like the people that crucified Christ? Sure does to me. He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted him. Mocking the power of God. Mocking the Father himself. Mocking his trust in the Father. But thou art he that took me out of the womb. Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breast. I was cast upon thee from the womb. Thou art my God from my mother's belly. Did Jesus lose his faith on the cross? I'm talking from a human perspective now. And the answer is, no, he didn't. No, when they were actually trying to get him to maybe speak against his father, hey, you've trusted in him to deliver you. Will he deliver you? He still cried out, my God, my God. Good example for us. And my friend, you have the promise that he will never leave thee or forsake thee. In Hebrews 13 and verse number five. Do you understand that you actually have it better than Jesus did in his life? Because there was a season that God forsook him. And the Bible promises you, you will never have a season where God will forsake you. When God seems silent, Christian or distant, don't give up your faith. When you feel forsaken and it's all turning sour, don't give up your faith. Follow the example of Christ, my God, my God. He's still my God. No matter what's happening in my life, He's still my God. No matter what's happening in our country, He's still my God. He's still my God. You know what God likes to hear from us? My God. My God. That's what he heard from Christ on the cross. If God spared not, and I close, if God spared not his own son when sin was found on him, what possible hope is that he will spare the sinner when you stand before him at the great white throne judgment? My friend, again, I draw the net tonight. If he didn't spare his own son as the sin bearer, do you think he's gonna spare a sinner that doesn't come to Christ in faith? My friend, he's not gonna spare you on that day. At the great white throne judgment, he will not make a wrong judgment. There will be no court of appeals on that day. There will not be a mistake and there will be not an ounce of mercy given on that day. I want you to know on that day of judgment, God is gonna deal with sin in his justice and in his holiness and in his wrath. That's why you ought to be prepared today. That's why you ought to trust Christ today. Maybe you're joining us by way of live stream and you joined us this morning and you passed on the opportunity. Let me give you another opportunity tonight. Let me invite you to come to Christ tonight in your home or where you're sitting. In the church tonight, if you're dealing and doubting salvation or you know you're not saved, let me invite you to come to Christ tonight. If he spared not his son, he'll spare not a sinner in the day of judgment. I want you to understand, believers, that we ought to have a hatred for sin because of what it did to our Savior. We ought to confess it and forsake it right away. Before staying on the cross ought to be a great motivator to keep us from sinning and to deal with our sin before a holy God. I want to remind you tonight that sin murdered God. Murdered the Son of God. Are you a friend of sin tonight? To be a friend of sin would be an enemy of God, according to the Scriptures. Sin pierced the heart of our Savior as he cried out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Do you love your sin tonight too much to give it up? When it brought that pain to the heart of Jesus, My friend, this saying ought to motivate us to deal with sin. And this saying ought to motivate the Christian to say, Lord, I don't care what happens in my life, you're my God. Lord, I'm gonna hold on to you like Christ held on to you on the cross. No matter what else is going on in my life, Lord, if I feel like I'm distant from you, or I don't feel like you're answering, or I just feel like you've taken the hedge down and let everything hit me, which, by the way, is the way Christ must have felt that day, I can still cry out, my God, my God. Job said it this way, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Thank you for joining us by way of the internet today. We're so glad that you were able to be with us and we pray that the service was a blessing to your heart. Even though the sermon is over, our service is not over. At the end of our service, we give an opportunity for people to respond and come to an altar and pray over what God dealt with them about. Sometimes people come to call upon Christ and to be saved. Others come to make a decision for Christ regarding their Christian lives. Others come to call out to the Lord about special needs and situations in their lives. Maybe God has dealt with you today about some specific area of your life. I invite you to make an altar right there in your home, a quiet time before the Lord where you pray to Him and respond to Him about what He has spoken to you about. If you made a decision for the Lord today, we would be glad to hear about that decision and or answer any questions you have today about the message that was preached. You can contact us by way of email at info at mountziononline.org or by way of phone at 717-927-9227. Again, we thank you for joining us today and we look forward to you joining us again for our live stream. weekly on Sundays at 10 45 a.m and on Sunday evenings at 6 45 p.m. If we can meet a need in your life please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you and God bless you.