Watch
Listen
Read
Famous Last Words: Perfect Peace
“Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
Pastor Rollan Fisher
Palm Sunday is an acknowledgement of Jesus’ authority, coming as the benevolent king to rule over the nations. Yet in times like these, our world can echo the cry of Jesus on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Focus: We will be kept in perfect peace when our minds are stayed on Jesus.
Perfect Lessons
Jesus’ experience on the cross gives us perfect lessons for our trials.
Perfect Savior
Jesus was shown to be a perfect Savior by what His time on the cross accomplished.
Perfect Peace
We are kept in perfect peace as we rehearse the reality that temporary tragedies can lead to eternal victories in Jesus.
As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
-Matthew 27:32-54
Perfect Lessons
Jesus’ experience on the cross gives us perfect lessons for our trials.
"I think that taking life seriously means something such as this: that whatever man does on this planet has to be done in the lived truth of the terror of creation, of the grotesque, of the rumble of panic underneath everything. Otherwise it is false."
-- Ernest Becker, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Denial of Death
Lament is a Biblical response while I prayerfully wait for answers. However, I am commanded not to fear.
Why?
The Cross You Threw Off Because You Were Forced to Carry it Can Become your Salvation
“People know instinctively that if Christianity is true they will lose control, and they will not be able to live any way they wish. So they are rooting for it not to be true, and are more than willing to accept any objections to the faith they hear.”
-Timothy Keller
As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.
-Matthew 27:32
Like Simon of Cyrene, some of you were forced to carry a faith (cross) that was not your own, so you’ve been tempted to throw it off. You’ve looked for freedom of thought, love and pleasures in all of the wrong places. However, these detours can leave you damaged and be found wanting. Now is your time to return. God Knows Everything God is not surprised by anything that we experience. We can trust God’s sovereignty when we look at the prophetic writings of Scripture: Psalm 22 is one of several Messianic Psalms foreshadowing the person and suffering of Jesus on the way to his salvific work on the cross:(King David wrote these words somewhere between 1010 and 970 BC)
Foreshadowed:
they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
-Psalm 22:18
Fulfilled:
And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.
-Matthew 27:35
Foreshadowed:
All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
-Psalm 22:7
Fulfilled:
And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
-Matthew 27:39-42
Foreshadowed:
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
-Psalm 22:8
Fulfilled:
He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
-Matthew 27:43,44
Foreshadowed:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
-Psalm 22:1
Fulfilled:
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
-Matthew 27:45-50
Because God is not surprised by anything, we can be confident of the following, even in the midst of suffering:
“There is no panic in heaven! God has no problems, only plans.”
-Corrie Ten Boom
The safest place to be is in right relationship with Christ and in his hands.
There will be times that it seems like God is not doing anything.
39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
-Matthew 27:39-44
There will even be times where you may feel abandoned by God.
When you go through health, financial or relational difficulties, it is human to ask the question, Where are you God? Jesus asked the same question.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
-Matthew 27:46
Jesus knew the plan going in. He spoke about his sacrificial death, burial and resurrection that would lead to the salvation of the world repeatedly throughout his ministry. Yet in the stress and strain of the moment, our emotions cause our perspective on things to get fuzzy. When Jesus took on the sin of humanity, and for the first time in his existence experienced separation from His Heavenly Father, he cried out in agony, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
People misunderstand tragedies.
They thought that Jesus was calling out to Elijah.
47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”
-Matthew 27:47-49
The moment that it seems like God is forsaking his people is the very moment when he is working his plan of redemption for the world.
But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”
-1 Corinthians 2:7-9
This leads us to the benefits of a perfect Savior.
Perfect Savior
Jesus was shown to be a perfect Savior by what His time on the cross accomplished.
What happened as Jesus died? What was the significance?
The Veil Was Torn
This act was opening the way to God’s presence in the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
-Matthew 27:51
The Dead Were Raised
Because Jesus was crucified, the dead can come out of their graves.
52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
-Matthew 27:52,53
Those Far Away Came to Saving Faith
54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
-Matthew 27:54
Perfect Peace
We are kept in perfect peace as we rehearse the reality that temporary tragedies can lead to eternal victories in Jesus.
The phrase “do not be afraid” is recorded at least 365 times in the Bible.
“If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.”
-Corrie Ten Boom
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust.
-Isaiah 26:1-5
Trials can bring us low, and at times, we may not understand what God is doing through them. Our hearts’ cries can reflect some of the Lord’s final words,“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Yet if we remember the perfect lessons taught to us at the cross, about a perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, we will he kept in perfect peace as our minds are stayed on Him. Repent of sin today and put your faith in Jesus to make sure that you are walking in that peace.
Study
Click HERE to download our study guide!
Second City Church - Famous Last Words - Parables of Jesus - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2020