Jesus’ teaching in Galilee

  • Mark 6:30-44 – Jesus feeds 5,000 men with five loaves and two fishes, with twelve baskets of food left over. Matthew says there were women and children also, meaning there were probably at least 10,000 people there in total.
  • Mark 6:50; Matthew 14:27; John 6:20 – Jesus said, “I am” according to the Greek. Compare Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8; John 8:24, 58.

Did God literally forsake Jesus on the cross?

  • Many have this idea of “substitutionary atonement,” wherein Jesus’ righteousness was transferred to man and man’s sin was transferred to Jesus.
  • Mark 15:34 is often taken to mean that God actually forsook Jesus on the cross.
  • II Corinthians 5:21 – The words “to be” are not in the original. The Greek is more accurately translated, “He has made Him sin, or a sin offering.” There are many places (Leviticus 10:17; Hosea 4:8) where the word sin is used in the sense of a sin offering. See also Hebrews 9:26.

Regarding Jesus taking on sin and being forsaken by God

  • If one is guilty, he deserves to die and his death would have no merit for everyone. If Jesus took on sin, when and how was He taken back into fellowship?
  • See Hebrews 10:5-10. Jesus came to do the will of the Father, which was that He suffer and die on the cross. See also Hebrews 9:26; Ephesians 5:2; I Corinthians 15:3; I Peter 1:18-19; Mark 10:45.

Jesus, a ransom

  • See I Timothy 2:6

What about the phrase itself?

  • See Psalm 22. Jesus was appropriating the message of that psalm to Himself, calling attention to the fact that He was fulfilling this psalm.
  • Psalm 22 can be divided in two parts:
    • Psalms 22:1-21 – Forsaken by God
    • Psalms 22:22-31 – Delivered by God
  • The forsaking was in appearance, not reality. See Psalms 22:24. God has not hid His face from nor despised the afflicted.
  • Psalm 22 was a Messianic prophecy and Jesus was calling attention to it:
    • Psalms 22:6-8 – expressed what happened to Jesus
    • Psalms 22:16-18 – referred to piercing His hands and feet
    • Psalms 22:24 – God had not hidden His face from Jesus
  • See Hebrews 5:7-8.
  • Jesus said, “It is finished,” which matches up with the last verse of Psalm 22: God has “done it.”

Is there any application for us?

  • When times are difficult, this psalm should be a great assurance to us (Hebrews 13:5-6).
  • I Peter 5:6-7 – It is okay to call out to God!
  • Romans 8:31-39