Forsaken by God

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.

A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here,

and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced there's no one so good,

they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,

which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.

We are continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark.

In fact, we're getting very near to the end of the Gospel.

If you've been here for a while, you may remember we started back in 2021,

so it's taken us about two years, but now we are in the next to last chapter,

chapter 15 out of 16 chapters.

And if you took a look at my letter to the congregation this week,

you'll know that after this, starting in the month of August,

we'll be headed into the book of Judges,

because our practice is to trade off Old Testament and New Testament books.

But for a few more weeks, we are in the Gospel of Mark.

You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus

and His life and His death and His resurrection,

and we've for some time now been slowly walking with Jesus

in the last hours before His death and His resurrection.

And now we're coming here to the very end.

And so we're going to look simply at two things this morning.

First of all, the forsaken Savior,

and second, the torn curtain.

The forsaken Savior and the torn curtain.

I'm going to invite you to turn with me in God's Word.

We're in Mark chapter 15, starting in verse 33.

Mark 15 · chapter mention

And you can turn there in your Bible, you can turn on your phone,

and you can turn in your worship guide.

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.

And God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold,

even the finest gold, and it's sweeter than honey,

even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so that's why we read now Mark chapter 15, starting at verse 33.

Mark 15 · chapter mention

And when the sixth hour had come,

there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice,

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,

which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And some of the bystanders hearing it said,

behold, he is calling Elijah.

And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine,

put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying,

wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.

Verse 37.

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

And when the centurion, who stood facing him,

saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said,

truly, this man was the Son of God.

There were also women looking on from a distance,

among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary,

the mother of James the younger, and of Joseph and Salome.

When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him.

And there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you again for this time that you've given us.

You've called us and drawn us together to worship you.

And we thank you also that you've given us your word,

that you speak to us clearly, that you instruct us,

that you do what you do here.

You show us and tell us about your Son and our Savior, our Lord Jesus.

We ask that you would give us a clear vision of him this morning,

that we would see his great beauty and glory,

his love, his power, and his authority,

that you would grow our love for him,

our reverence for him, our obedience to him.

We ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Now we start this portion hearing about Jesus knowing that it is incredibly dark.

We're told, verse 33, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour.

To translate that into modern language,

we would say that's from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Or for some of you, 1,200 to 1,500.

The question here is, why is it so important?

Why does it matter that there's darkness over the land

as we begin Jesus' time here on the cross?

And to understand that, we actually have to go back in history,

in the story of God's people, of Israel,

to when they were in slavery in the land of Egypt.

When Israel was in slavery,

you'll remember they were in slavery for 400 years,

and then they were brought out,

they were rescued from Egypt by God.

We learn about this in the book of Exodus,

which is an Old Testament book.

Ex means out of, and the odos part means road.

So Exodus is just the road out of, the road out of Egypt.

And you'll remember that God delivers his people from Egypt,

from the hand of Pharaoh, who is unwilling to let them go.

His heart has been hardened.

And so God performs these 10 curses on the land of Egypt.

It starts out a little small, it gets worse and worse.

And one of the worst curses,

the ninth out of the 10th curse,

is the curse of darkness.

So over the whole land of Egypt,

no one can see their hand in front of their face.

And what happens then?

What's the 10th curse?

If you're familiar with the story,

you know that the 10th curse is the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt.

God's great act of redemption in the Old Testament is the Exodus.

It is God delivering his people out of slavery from Egypt.

The great act of redemption in the New Testament

is what we're looking at right here.

Jesus' death and resurrection,

delivering his people,

not from slavery to Egypt,

but delivering them from slavery to sin.

Why is it important then that there's darkness over the land?

In the first Exodus,

the curse of darkness preceded the death of the firstborn son.

In the second Exodus,

the same thing happens again.

Darkness precedes the death of God's son.

Exodus is being acted out all over again,

except it is even greater and more intense this time.

It is not the firstborn sons of Egypt who are dying.

It is God's own son who is dying.

Remember in the story of the Exodus,

God's people protected themselves

by painting the blood of a lamb on the frames of their doors.

That's where we get the term Passover.

God passed over the houses that were covered by the blood of the lamb.

Here we see that lamb die.

Jesus is the one,

the first Exodus pointed towards.

He is God's great and final act of redemption for his people.

And so it makes sense then that for three hours,

Jesus is hanging here on the cross under the curse of darkness.

It also helps us understand what the darkness means.

The darkness here is a sign of God's judgment.

And it's a sign of God's judgment specifically on the one who is hanging on the cross.

In other words,

Jesus for these three hours is experiencing complete separation from God.

Jesus during these three hours is receiving the punishment that we deserve.

Jesus during these three hours is under a curse.

The curse that was meant to be laid down on us.

Now I want us to pause here for a second

and understand the seriousness of what's happening to Jesus in this moment.

It is not just that he is separated from God,

that he's not experiencing the love and favor and smile of God that he's used to.

It is also that he is experiencing the wrath of God.

As darkness falls on the land,

Jesus is undergoing the purpose for which he came.

Jesus is receiving the punishment,

the wrath of God that is due to us.

Of course,

the separation itself would feel like hell.

One pastor says this,

the longer the love,

the deeper the love,

the greater the torment of its loss.

Which gives us a principle here.

The deeper the relationship,

the greater the pain of separation.

And here is Jesus,

who has the deepest relationship,

one that we cannot even imagine with the Father.

And so,

a pain greater than you or I can fathom.

The deeper the relationship,

the greater the pain of separation.

Jesus has the deepest relationship with the Father.

Therefore,

he is experiencing the greatest pain.

We cannot

imagine

the level of pain and suffering

that Jesus is experiencing

at this moment.

We cannot imagine

the level of pain and suffering

that Jesus faces

for those three hours.

And so,

the point is this.

Here,

we see,

we watch

Jesus receiving

what we deserve.

and we get

a small glimpse

of how terrible

that is.

We see

for a moment

Jesus receives

what we deserve

and we get

just a glimpse

of how awful

it truly is.

We see Jesus

taking our punishment

and we get

a sense

of how bad

that punishment

actually is.

You may have noticed

in your worship guide

on page four,

one man says this,

it is in Jesus' cry

that we see

more than anywhere else

are given to see

the sinfulness

of sin.

What must sin be

if it took

the God forsakenness

of God's own Son

to atone for it?

How are we even

to begin to measure

the awfulness

of sin?

It is only really here

that we come

to have any sense

of the sheer

awfulness of sin.

The real horror

of sin

is that it is

rebellion

against

our maker.

Why does

the darkness

matter?

Because

it shows us

how bleak

life outside

of Christ is.

It shows us

how hopeless

it is.

Darkness

here gives

us a picture

of what it

actually means

to be separated

from God.

It also

helps us

understand

Jesus' words

here in verse

34.

And at the

ninth hour

Jesus cried

with a loud

voice,

Eloi, Eloi,

lama sabachthani,

which means

my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

Jesus

here has been

cast into

darkness.

He's been

cast into

darkness

literally,

and he's

also been

cast into

darkness

spiritually.

God's

goodness,

God's

loving

presence

has been

fully

removed

from him.

And so

you'll see

also page

seven of

your worship

guide.

Same author

says this,

what is

hell?

It is

the absence

of the

gracious

presence

of God

and the

unending

experience

of his

holy

wrath.

All

support

has been

withdrawn

from Jesus,

the support

of his

father's

presence

and love

and the

support

of the

father's

common

grace.

There

was no

human

consolation

or support,

only

unrelieved

aloneness.

The

savior

of the

world,

the

Lord

of glory

is devoted

to

destruction.

Why

is Jesus

forsaken?

What

is the

answer

to

Jesus'

question?

Jesus

was

forsaken

for you

if

you're

in

Christ.

Jesus

was

forsaken

because

that's

what we

deserve.

In fact,

that's what

the prophet

Isaiah

tells us

in Isaiah

53.

All we

like sheep

have gone

astray.

We have

turned

everyone

to his

own

way

and the

Lord

has laid

on him

the

iniquity

of us

all.

Jesus

is forsaken

God

died

in the

way.

Jesus

died in

darkness

so that you

could walk

in the

light.

Jesus

had to be

rejected by

the Father

so that you

could be

accepted.

Jesus

experienced

hell

so that you

could be

with him

in heaven.

That's

why he

was forsaken.

And so

Christian,

the great

encouragement

for you

is this.

Are you

afraid

that God

will hold

your sins

against you?

remember

that Jesus

was forsaken.

Are you

afraid

that God

will abandon

you?

Remember

that Jesus

was forsaken.

Are you

afraid that

God might

run out

of patience

with you?

Remember

that Jesus

was forsaken.

forsaken.

Are you

afraid

that God

might give

up on you?

Remember

that Jesus

was forsaken.

Do you

believe the

lie

that there's

no future

for you?

Remember

that Jesus

was forsaken.

forsaken.

Jesus

was forsaken

by the

Father

so that

you

could be

accepted.

On the

other hand,

while there

is encouragement,

the challenge

is also

this.

Are you

convinced

that your

sins

are not

really that

bad?

Remember

that Jesus

was forsaken.

are you

convinced

that it's

mostly

other people

who need

to be

saved?

Remember

that Jesus

was forsaken.

Do you

believe

that we

are powerful

enough as

humanity

to fix

this world?

Remember

that Jesus

had to

be

forsaken.

that's

the

encouragement

and the

challenge

that God

gives us

in this

passage.

If you

are

anything

like me,

one of

your

favorite

things

about

living in

Colorado

is getting

pelted by

hail at

unexpected

moments.

Just so

invigorating.

It keeps you

on your

toes.

You never

know what's

going to

hit you.

One of

the things

I enjoy

doing when

the hail

comes down

is I

like to

stand on

the porch

of my

house and

watch.

Because I

know as

long as

things don't

get too

bad and

as long as

I'm on

the porch

everything is

sort of at

a distance.

I am

protected by

the roof

of my

house.

The roof

might not

be safe.

And some

of us

have learned

the hard

way.

But I

will be.

Natural

disasters

are a

reminder to

us, a

small picture

of God's

wrath and

judgment.

And there

are times we

get to watch

it from a

distance,

right?

God's

judgment.

This

passage is

a chance

for us

to see

God's

judgment

from a

distance.

It's a

chance for

us to see

God's

judgment from

a place

of safety.

All

people

are able

to watch

and see

God's

ultimate

judgment

judgment

from a

distance

for a

time.

All

people

are able

to watch

and see

God's

ultimate

judgment

from a

distance

for a

time.

What I

mean by

that is

we have

passages

like this

that give

us a

sense of

what God's

judgment

is like

and we

are not

experiencing

it right

now.

That is

not to

say we

will not

experience

it one

day.

Christian,

the good

news for

you is

this.

As we

see God's

judgment

in this

passage,

we take

shelter

in Christ.

You

will only

see God's

ultimate

judgment

from a

distance.

you are

covered,

you're

protected

by Christ.

That's

the good

news.

The bad

news is

this.

If you

are not

a Christian,

God's

judgment

is worse

than anything

you can

imagine.

God's

judgment

is worse

than anything

you've ever

experienced.

Christ.

And the

reason is

this.

You

don't

know

what

complete

darkness

is

like.

You

don't

know

what

complete

darkness

is

like.

And what

I mean

by that

is explained

on page

eight of

your

worship

guide.

Even

those who

do not

know

Jesus

in the

world

today

cannot

fully

imagine

an

existence

without

some

experience

of God's

grace

and

presence.

Life

on this

earth

is full

of God's

grace

every

day.

Even

the fact

that we

have

breath

and

life

is an

example

of God's

common

grace

which he

gives

to all

people.

Hell

though

will be

the full

experience

of God's

wrath

without

his

gracious

and

kind

presence.

It

will be

eternal

torment.

In

other

words

whether

you

believe

in God

or not

you

experience

his

gracious

and

kind

presence

every

day.

Jesus

tells us

in Matthew

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

that God

makes the

sun and

the rain

to fall

on the

just

and the

unjust.

God

gives

his

goodness

to all

people

on the

earth

now.

There

will

come a

time

when that

is not

true

anymore.

There

will

come a

time

when

those

who

have

rejected

Christ

will

experience

what we

see

pictured

for a

little

bit

in

this

passage

which

is

complete

and

utter

darkness.

Removed

completely

from all

of God's

goodness

and his

grace.

Hide

in

Jesus.

Jesus

is the

only

place

where

it's

safe

and

where

you

can

see

judgment

from

a

distance.

Jesus

is the

only

place

that's

safe

from

God's

judgment

on

the

evil

in

this

world.

He's

the

only

place

that's

safe

from

God's

judgment

on

the

evil

in

our

hearts.

we

see

Jesus

receive

God's

judgment

in

this

passage

so

that

we

could

hide

under

the

shelter

of

his

wing.

We

see

Jesus

receive

God's

judgment

so

that

when

the

hail

of

wrath

falls

we

are

covered.

I

told

you

two

weeks

ago

and

I'll

tell

you

again

the

greater

the

love

the

greater

the

loyalty.

The

greater

the

love

the

greater

the

loyalty

the

one

who

loves

you

the

most

is

worth

following

the

most

no

matter

what.

No

one

loves

you

more

than

Jesus.

no

one

is

worth

following

therefore

more

than

Jesus.

No

one

deserves

greater

loyalty

than

Jesus.

Jesus

was in

darkness

for

three

hours

so

that

you

could

walk

in

the

light.

Jesus

was

forsaken

by the

Father

so

that

you

could

be

accepted.

Jesus

experienced

hell

so

that

you

could

join

him

in

heaven.

Now

there's

a lot

of other

things

going

on

in

this

passage

but

I

want

to

call

your

attention

to

this

in

verse

38.

Remember

I

told

you

we

were

going

to

talk

about

two

things

the

forsaken

Savior

and

the

torn

curtain.

And

these

are

in

fact

two

sides

of

the

same

coin.

Jesus

receives

God's

punishment

the

wrath

that we

deserve.

He

dies

verse 37

Jesus

uttered

a loud

cry

and breathed

his last

and then

the next

thing we

heard

here

verse

38

and

the

curtain

of

the

temple

was

torn

in

two

from

top

to

bottom.

Now

why does

it matter

that the

curtain

of the

temple

was

torn

in

two

from

top

to

bottom?

To

understand

the

significance

of this

you have

to know

a little

bit about

the Old

Testament

temple.

First

of all

the Old

Testament

temple

was

understood

to be

the

place

where

God's

presence

was

in a

special

way.

So

when the

people of

Israel

were in

the

desert

where

would

the

temple

be

when

they

set

up

camp?

Temple

would

be in

the

very

middle.

And

they

would

set

up

camp

all

around

the

temple.

Inside

the

temple

there

was

the

holy

place

and

then

there

was

the

most

holy

place.

And

the

most

holy

place

was

the

place

that

contained

the

Ark

of

the

Covenant

and

it

was

the

place

where

no

one

was

ever

supposed

to

go

except

one

person

once

a

year.

So

once

a

year

the

high

priest

was

allowed

to

go

bringing

a

sacrifice

to

atone

for

the

sins

of

the

people

doing

all

sorts

of

preparations

to

make

sure

he

had

cleansed

himself

in

the

way

that

God

had

commanded

to

be

able

to

go

into

the

holy

of

holies.

And

there

was

a

curtain.

this

thick

curtain

that

is

torn

from

top

to

bottom.

Which

is a

way

of

saying

God's

presence

is now

something

his

people

can

access.

God's

presence

is now

fully

available

to

his

people.

God's

says

this

in the

back

of

your

worship

guide.

At

the

moment

Jesus

Christ

died,

this

massive

curtain

was

ripped

open.

This

was

God's

way

of

saying

this

is

the

sacrifice

that

ends

all

sacrifices.

The

way

is

now

open

to

approach

me.

Now

that

Jesus

has

died,

anyone

who

believes

in

him

can

see

God

and

connect

to

God.

God's

presence

is

finally

available

to

his

people.

Jesus

was

forsaken

so

that

you

could

be

accepted.

Jesus

was

forsaken

by

God

so

that

you

could

enter

his

presence.

In

fact,

that's

what

the

author

of

Hebrews

tells

us.

In

Hebrews

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10,

he

talks

about

this

tearing

of

the

temple

curtain

and

he

says

this,

we

have

confidence

to

enter

the

holy

places

by

the

blood

of

Jesus,

by

the

new

and

living

way

that

he

opened

for

us

through

the

curtain,

that

is

through

his

flesh.

Don't

miss

what

he

said

there.

Now

we

have

confidence

to

enter

the

holy

places.

So that

we're not

left

wondering

what that

means,

he goes

on to

tell us

two verses

later

exactly

what we're

supposed

to do

with

that.

Let

us

draw

near

with

a

true

heart

in

full

assurance

of

faith,

with

our

hearts

sprinkled

clean

from

an

evil

conscience

and

our

bodies

washed

with

pure

water.

what are

we

supposed

to

do?

Now

that

Jesus

has

died

and

the

curtain

has

been

torn,

we

are

supposed

to

draw

near.

Jesus

was

forsaken

by God

so that

we

could

enter

in

to

his

presence.

He was

forsaken

for a

purpose

so that

you

could

draw

near.

And so

Christian,

that is

true

of you.

Jesus

experienced

darkness

so that

you could

experience

God's

light.

Jesus

was

forsaken

so that

you could

draw

near.

And so

for you,

the command

is this,

draw

near

to

God.

draw

near

to

God

as

you

confess

your

sins,

knowing

that

it's

safe

because

Jesus

has

suffered

in

your

place.

Draw

near

to

God

looking

for

the

wisdom

that

you

don't

have,

knowing

that

God

promises

to

give

it

to

those

who

ask.

Draw

near

to

God

and

ask

him

for

your

needs

because

it

is

safe.

Jesus

died

in

darkness

so that

you could

walk

in the

light.

Jesus

was

forsaken

by the

Father

so that

you could

be

accepted.

Jesus

experienced

hell

so that

you

could

join

with

him

in

heaven.

And

that's

why

we're

going

to

sing

bearing

shame

and

scoffing

rude

in

my

place

condemned

he

stood

sealed

my

pardon

with

his

blood

hallelujah

what a

savior.

Let's

pray.

Our

Father

in

heaven

we

praise

you

and

thank

you

for

letting

us

only

see

your

judgment

from

a

distance.

We

thank

you

that

Jesus

lived

the

life

that

we

should

have

lived

but

didn't

and

died

the

death

that

we

should

have

died

saving

us

from

your

punishment

and

wrath.

We

thank

you

that

we

don't

have

to

be

afraid

of

darkness

because

we

know

that

we

walk

in

the

light.

We

don't

have

to

be

afraid

of

hell

because

Jesus

took

it

for

us.

We

don't

have

to

be

afraid

that

you'll

reject

us

because

Jesus

was

forsaken.

We

ask

that

you

would

grow

our

hope

and

our

faith

and

our

confidence

in

you

knowing

that

we

have

a

hope

that

is

firm

and

steadfast.

We

ask

these

things

in the

mighty

name

of

Jesus

Christ.

Amen.