Did God Turn His Back on Jesus?

Why did Jesus holler out, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?”

Another possible explanation for Jesus’ statement is that He actually was abandoned by the Father. Some have suggested that a better declaration is that the Father turned His back on Jesus, or turned His face away from Him. Could this be true?

As Greg pointed out in his message, there is considerable controversy surrounding Jesus’ statement above and great theologians debate its meaning. Some say that it’s impossible for God to have abandoned Him or to have turned His back on Him because the Trinity cannot be split; God has been looking upon sin from the first two humans that He created in the Garden of Eden so looking on Jesus was no different. They also point to the Psalm 22:24 prophecy that says that God will not turn His face from Him but has listened to His cry for help.

I am not a great theologian (perhaps just an applied theologian), yet, I find myself drawn to what I believe to be a more compelling argument. God’s battle against sin hasn’t just been waged since those first humans appeared; it has been waged since before the world was even created. In anticipation of sin, God planned for our salvation through the death of His Son, the Lamb of God, since the foundation of the world.  (Rev.31:8). And when Jesus was dying on the cross for the sins of the entire world, all of our sins—without exception—were transferred to Him. Note this powerful promise:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

In order for Jesus to be able to save us all, He needed to pay the ultimate collective penalty for us all. And remember, the ultimate penalty for sin is separation from God, forever. Atonement means to “turn away God’s wrath by satisfying His violated justice.” Jesus didn’t just have to die for us … He had to atone for our sins and experience the full weight of God’s wrath: separation from the Father. Therefore, in Jesus’ moments on the cross, the Father turned His back and could not look upon His Son because all He would see would be sin. Jesus endured the separation from God that we all deserve, making Jesus’ suffering complete: physical, emotional, mental and finally spiritual. Being separated from God is the ultimate agony and suffering.

Back to the controversy. Does this mean then that on the cross and in His death, Jesus stopped being God, thereby creating a split in the Trinity? Absolutely not! It was God’s plan … the Father, the Son and the Spirit … that because of His love for the people He created, He would also be the sacrifice to allow them to defeat the power of both sin and death. Jesus didn’t stop being God when the Father turned His back on Him; He was fulfilling His own divine appointment.

But what about the prophecy that God would not turn His face from Him and that He has listened to His cry for help? It's easy to be a bit one-dimensional ... a bit reductionistic, and fail to see things from God's perspective. Of course God DID hear Jesus' prayer and He DID answer Him for deliverance ... but not before Jesus would first deliver us. Remember, there was a second divine appointment on that weekend. On Sunday morning the Father turned His face back towards His Son so that the Savior of the world could lead the way to set us captives free. Jesus rose from the dead to live forever so that we too could live forever.

Please join me in prayer: Heavenly Father, when Greg spoke about the temple curtain being torn in two, from top to bottom, it reminded me that through Jesus’ death, we could now have direct access to You and no longer had to go through priests or other representatives. Thank You that Jesus died for me so I can speak with you myself right now. Amen!