Word of Salvation – Vol. 27 No. 19 – February 1982

 

Christ’s Perplexity And Our Redemption

 

Sermon by Rev. J. vander Meulen on Mat.27:46

Scripture Reading: Psalm 22:1-15; Mat.27:32-50

 

Beloved Congregation,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.  In heaven we do not read that there is a sun.  Of the New Jerusalem we read that God’s glory is her light.  As far as the earth goes, we read: “And God said: ‘Let there be light and there was light’ “.

The light that comes every day speaks of God’s goodness and grace.  The Father in heaven makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good.  Sin, a dark, threatening power has overtaken this world, and yet God’s sun is shining.  God does not hide himself.  He does not let man perish in His wrath.  Paradise was closed for men, but God did not withdraw altogether.  In Noah He saves the world, with Abraham God makes a covenant, in the midst of His people Israel He dwells in the Holy of Holies.

The light of God’s mercy is yet shining, God is yet in this world with His grace.  He says to Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Man had indeed left God in sinful rebellion, but throughout all those dark ages God had never left man.  He keeps that world in His hand.  He calls and urges that fallen world to return to Him.  But now the day comes when God hides His light.  When the Son of God, loaded with the sins of the world is dying on the cross, then God’s wrath is poured out over fallen men.  Then God hides his face, then there is only his judgement, his curse and utter darkness.

When the judgement of God is pressing on the Son of God, on that day Jesus suffers alone.  He is forsaken and betrayed by his friends, rejected by the Jewish leaders, crucified by the Gentiles and last of all, the worst comes: God forsakes him too.  When God’s punishment, when God’s curse, when hell burst out upon our sin and guilt, then the man of sorrows has to bear it all in the darkest loneliness.

Then Christ laments: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

I.  Christ’s perplexity.

II.  Our Redemption.

I.  CHRIST’S PERPLEXITY

At first sight there is something in Jesus anxious question we do not understand.  Is it not strange that Christ, the Son of God, who knows and understands everything, yet gropes in the dark?  There is nothing hidden from him.  He knew that He was the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

He had said himself, ‘I lay down my life for my sheep.’  He had compared him himself to a grain of wheat, and had said: “Truly, truly I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it bears much fruit.”

When the soldiers had come to arrest him and Peter had quickly drawn his sword Jesus had said: “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?”  Jesus knew the way of suffering from step to step.  He knew that He had to suffer.  He fully realised all the time, that God’s wrath over our sins was upon Him.

Where does this strange, anxious “why” come from?  Jesus’ anxiety is sinless; He does not ask because He does not understand.  His question is one of bewilderment.  It is a cry from the depth of his anxious heart.  We cry also when we do not see an answer to the misery in this world.  When there did not seem to be a way out in those dark days during World War II.  When God’s hand takes away the dearest we have on earth, then we can cry to God in our bewilderment: “Why this sorrow, O God?”

We think of the millions, even women and children, who were murdered in Germany’s concentration camps, of an atom bomb, which swept Hiroshima from the map in one minute, of begging children, who starve to death.

Anxious cries go up, but the heavens seem shut for our eyes.  We call out and cry to a God who seems silent.  In all the nameless misery of this world, there is the continuous cry to God: Why, O Lord, why?

When God chastens his dear children on earth, then the heart groans: Am I Thy child, O Father?  Then Satan says: Is that a loving Father, Who is striking his child?  Then the world mocks at us: What use is your piety to you?  Then says Job’s wife: Curse God and die.

So often in this world we do not see the relation between the love and the chastisement of the heavenly Father.  But even when we are defeated in this misery and do not see God’s hand anymore in our darkness, then we are yet not suffering what Jesus did suffer in his darkest hour.  However horrible it may be, however senseless this world may seem, there is yet a loving God.

In his sorrow David laments indeed in Ps.22: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, Why art thou so far from helping me?”  But in this same psalm he still says: “I will tell of Thy Name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee…!” and… “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted.”

In this world, in the heart of God’s child, still shines the sun.  In the greatest sorrow there is still God’s hand.  Even if we do not feel the heart of the Father, there is still the Father’s love.  Despite our little faith we may still know, that in everything God works for good with those who love him.  But when the man of sorrows groans at the cross, then he does not only feel forsaken, but he is forsaken.  Jesus cries in his bewilderment, as we all cry and yet we do not suffer as he suffered.

We feel forsaken, He was forsaken.  When we feel our pain and misery, then we know only from afar what Jesus suffered.  The pain of his soul was sharper than any of us will ever feel.  The agony of hell He has born.  Not a punishment inflicted by men, but the eternal wrath of a holy God, the Son of God had to endure.

The heavy punishment of a judging God, the curse of mankind He had taken upon himself.  We can only stammer, we stand in awe when we think of this suffering.  Here we can only be silent.  In this darkness God is hidden.  Here is only God’s judgement and condemnation.  This is eternal darkness, this is eternal death.  To be forsaken of men is terrible; to be forsaken of God is hell.  The King of the world, the Son of God, who became flesh, is cast out in the hell of God’s eternal punishment.  There He bears the full height and depth of the guilt and the penalty of our sins.

There He suffers the utmost terror.  There He tastes death a thousand times.  There He endures the full wrath of God over our guilt.  And this sufferer is Jesus, who could only a few hours ago still say: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  For Him who had said to the Father: “I knew that thou hearest me always”, for him the Father is now hidden.

His soul cries for the Light of God, but He find darkness.  All those years on earth the Father had been so very near, but now in this last extreme suffering, now the sins of the ages, now God’s curse over this world is poured out on Jesus, now there is nothing else but one endless sea of darkness, now He sinks away in the abyss of God’s eternal doom.

Only last night the loving hand of the Father had been upon him, when the angel wiped blood from his brow, now he seeks and gropes for a spark of God’s mercy, but He only finds God’s wrath.  Here we must bow down in deep humility, for this hell was suffered for us and our sins.  Christ was forsaken in our place.  He was made sin for sinners.  We had wilfully turned our backs upon God.  We had forsaken our God and had deserved to be eternally forsaken by God.  We had deserved to be cast out from God forever.

But Jesus entered into this night of being expelled by God.  He humbled himself unto the very deepest reproach and anguish of hell, in body and soul, on the tree of the cross, when he cried out with a loud voice, My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken me?, that we might be accepted of God and nevermore be forsaken of Him.  He cried “Why” to atone for our sinful “Why” and to give us peace.

Here is the divine answer to our suffering.  Often we do not see it, but here is the deliverance, which the cross is offering to us.  Because Jesus was forsaken of God, we may enjoy fellowship with God forever.  In our suffering there is yet a loving Heavenly Father.  That is the fruit of Jesus’ suffering.  Our pain and distress is not a dark problem anymore.  We may think that God is far away.  We may cry: Why art Thou hidden from me?  We may be very impatient and deeply sinful in all this asking.  Even the Psalms are full of it.

Yet Jesus cried in utter loneliness to pay for our sinful crying.  For this word on the cross is not a word of defeat.  In this word is something of Victory.  Jesus does not let God go.  On the contrary, He holds fast unto the Father and therefore this word speaks also of…

II.  OUR REDEMPTION.

For when Jesus asks “why” it is a holy, sinless “why”.  He is the Lamb without blemish or spot, who committed no sin and on whose lips no guile was found.  Even in his deepest distress, He did not sin or charge God with wrong; He did not curse God and die.  When Satan challenged Jesus in the wilderness, the Son of God defeated Satan with the Word of God, “It is written”.  And now in His last moment on the cross that same Word is still a source of power and strength to him, the words of the Psalm are still on his lips.  Not for one moment did Jesus let God go, His Father go.  He remained obedient.  He has born the infinite burden of God’s wrath with complete surrender.

This cry of Jesus does not come in the middle of His suffering but at the end.  He does not interrupt the pain of hell with His question to the Father.  Even in the very depths of his condemnation He leaves nothing undone, and He does not drive away the eternity of God’s anger for one moment.  In patience, in obedience to the Father, and in love for this world, He suffers without answering back one word.  And when He breaks the silence, after He has been forsaken of God for three hours of deep darkness, then He still clings to the Father, then He still does not answer back.  Then there is still obedient submission to God’s punishing hand.  Then He does not say, “Why hast Thou forsaken me?”  But: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”  It is not a cry of despair.  Depressed under the punishment of hell, He still puts His hand in the strong hands of the Father.  Though expelled from God, He still clings to His God in love.  He suffers but does not perish in His suffering.  He descended into hell, but comes out triumphantly.  The Prince of Life defeats death and conquers hell.

When this word is spoken the darkness gives way and the light shines again.  Then the sun comes back and Jesus enters into Paradise.  If He had sunk away in the depth of being forsaken, then there would have been no redemption for anybody.  Then we were all lost forever.  His suffering was as deep and great as our sin and guilt was.  And in that depth of being forsaken by God, He has suffered without sinning, He has fully paid our penalty, He has completely born God’s wrath.  He has not perished in despair and doubt, He has not abandoned God.  He has suffered all that we had to suffer.  He has paid all that we had to pay.

And now we are redeemed from wrath and punishment and sin.  Jesus asked: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”  “Why this hellish pain?”  And the answer is: Lord, Thou hast been forsaken of God to reconcile us to God, to give peace with God, to all His children.  Jesus was forsaken for us, to bring us, the wandering ones, back to God.  Jesus was in hell, in order that we should have a place in heaven.  He was mortally afraid, to give us joy.  He was in the darkness, that we should see the light.  God was hidden from Him, that we should be accepted by God and taste His love.  Here we adore the miracle of divine grace.  Jesus was forsaken of God and now we may be with God.

It was for crimes that I have done,
He groaned upon the tree.
Amazing pity, grace unknown,
and love beyond degree!

Can you sing this too?  Were your sins also paid on that tree?  Are you saved?  May God give that we see our sin and guilt upon Christ.  Then we may say: It is finished, also for me.  When we are reconciled in Christ, when our sins are washed away in Jesus’ blood, then we may sing:

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth,
over sin and death and hell.

If you want to receive an eternal blessing from the Christ, who was forsaken for you, then you must learn to pray, “My God, my God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Are we prepared to stand so humbly at the cross?  There is no other rescue than only this Jesus.  Outside Him we have to suffer ourselves the darkness of being forsaken by God forever.  When Christ has not born our punishment, then we will have to suffer it ourselves eternally.  Jesus only suffered for believing sinners.  The joy of the Easter morning is only for them, who have been with Jesus on Good Friday in deep repentance.  Say it with the thief on the cross: “Jesus, remember me.”  Then we may be with God forever in holy fellowship.  Then we may go into Paradise and that Paradise starts here today.  The sun shines, God’s love warms our hearts.  All weary and heavy laden sinners find eternal rest at Jesus’ cross.

It will still happen that we question God.  We will still ask sometimes, Why is the hand of the Father so far away?  Where is God’s love?

But we may know, whatever our pain and sorrow is, that Jesus was like His brethren in everything.  He has been tempted in our weaknesses.  He has pity on us and lives to pray for us, sinful, questioning, crying people.

His innocent question on the cross covers all our guilty asking.  Believing, we look back at our Saviour, who was forsaken to save us, who reconciled us by His bewilderment and perplexity.  Here we ask in amazement: How could Jesus suffer this for me?  Why all this grace?  Why Jesus for me, in my place?

We do not understand this love, we only adore the miracle and praise this Saviour now and ever.

Amen.