My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

By Zion Kwok

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" was Jesus' famous cry shortly before He died. To answer this question, we review the events that led up to this climax and explore the reasons why Jesus died. Weaving through the pages of prophecy and poetry in the Bible, we find revealing texts that elucidate a master plan and momentous triumph from this most tragic of circumstances.

This book seeks to promote understanding of a major historical event and encourage confidence in a God who tells the end from the beginning. Alternating between quotations of poetic visions, songs of praise, and discussions about accounts of Jesus' life, we pray that the reader will grow in his or her understanding of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zion Kwok
• Release date: Mar 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311332509

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My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Copyright 2016, 2017, 2019 Zion S. Kwok

Published by Zion S. Kwok at Smashwords

Quotations from the World English Bible (WEB) are in the Public Domain.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Table of Contents

PART I: THE STORY

Chapter 1: Darkness

Chapter 2: The King of the Jews

Chapter 3: The Son of God

Chapter 4: The Trinity

Chapter 5: Was Jesus a Good Man?

Chapter 6: Does God Care?

Chapter 7: God’s Silence

Chapter 8: God’s Master Plan

Chapter 9: Prophecies about Jesus Christ

Chapter 10: What Is That to Us?

Chapter 11: What Shall We Do?

PART II: DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

Chapter 12: Was Jesus Separated from God?

Chapter 13: Death Is Not Separation

Chapter 14: People Who Are Physically Alive but Dead

Chapter 15: Jesus Avoided the Second Death

Selected Bibliography

PART I: THE STORY

Chapter 1: Darkness

An eerie darkness enveloped the land where Jesus hung on the cross – dying slowly, yet visibly alive. It was supposed to be a festive season in Jerusalem, when many thousands of Jews flocked for Passover. But for the small crowd that gathered there, the city devoid of sunlight, and for the man languishing on the cross, the dread of what was to come was deafening.

ELI, ELI, LIMA SABACHTHANI?

Jesus’ cry echoed off the rocky slopes. Confused by the sudden outburst, some people thought Jesus was calling for the prophet Elijah. But before long, He was dead. What did Jesus say? What did He mean? Jesus was quoting the first line of a familiar poem set to music, Psalm 22, written by King David 1000 years earlier.

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

2 My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer;

in the night season, and am not silent.

It was a cry of distress that came from Jesus’ lips. His God had forsaken him. How did Jesus end up dying? Why should God help Him? Was He mistaken in what He believed?

How Did Jesus End up Dying?

Jesus was a very popular teacher, telling parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. These stories were welcomed by young and old alike. He was also a powerful healer. Multitudes came to see Him to be cured of their various illnesses, and he healed even those with debilitating ailments such as paralysis and blindness. But the latest news came from the village of Bethany, just three kilometers or two miles from Jerusalem: a dead man, Lazarus, had been raised to life! Having been dead four days and buried in a tomb, Jesus came to the tomb and called for the man to come out—and he did! So excited were the crowds that they lined the road and shouted as Jesus passed by on His way into the city of Jerusalem.

John 12:13 they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!

These were remarkable words in a day when Judea was still a Roman province and governed by Pontius Pilate. So how did such a popular figure get killed just five days later? Did the Romans crush His rebellion in its tracks? The answer is a little more complicated.

Although Jesus was popular among the people, the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees loathed Him. Jesus presented Himself as the new authority, telling the people what was right and what was wrong. The teachings of the priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees were often empty traditions. Jesus’ calls for reform also included the valuing of heavenly treasures above earthly treasures – a departure from what Jesus pointed out as greed and hypocrisy in the religious leaders of His day. He also seemed to break the Sabbath rules from time to time – healing the man with the withered hand, healing a man who was sick for 38 years, giving sight to a man born blind. But more than that, Jesus claimed to be someone special: those who believe in Him would have living water, and they would never die. He also declared the sins of the paralyzed man forgiven. Jesus was claiming to be the Christ and the Son of God! But they could not easily catch Him saying those exact words publicly.

Finally, the chief priests paid one of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, thirty silver coins, and he led soldiers to arrest Jesus at night in an olive grove when He was not surrounded by a crowd. Gathering witnesses to testify against Him, they could not find any convicting testimony. Finally, the chief priest used an oath to ask Jesus Himself.

Matthew 26:62 The high priest stood up, and said to him, Have you no answer? What is this that these testify against you? 63 But Jesus held his peace. The high priest answered him, I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.

64 Jesus said to him, You have said it. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky.

65 Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy. 66 What do you think?

They answered, He is worthy of death! 67 Then they spit in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him, 68 saying, Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who hit you?

When Jesus boldly admitted that He was the Christ, the Son of God, his fate was quickly decided. But His admission is only blasphemous and dishonouring to God if it were false. But how could a man say things like he would sit at God’s right hand and come in the clouds of the sky? Consider an earlier episode:

John 10:33 The Jews answered him, We don’t stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God.

How could a man, Jesus, be God? And what does Christ mean? We’ll revisit these questions in later chapters.

The Roman Cross

But Jesus didn’t die at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders. He was crucified by Roman soldiers, as the occupying power reserved for itself the right to apply the death penalty. While the Roman law recognized Judaism as a permitted religion, the Romans were more concerned about keeping the peace than settling disputes about the Jewish faith. Therefore, Jesus was handed over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate with the charge of treason against Rome. Incredibly, Pontius Pilate asked Jesus a few questions and then wanted to release Him.

John 18:33 Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to him, Are you the King of the Jews?

34 Jesus answered him, Do you say this by yourself, or did others tell you about me?

35 Pilate answered, I’m not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me. What have you done?

36 Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.

37 Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king then?

Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

38 Pilate said to him, What is truth?

When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

Pilate really did not see any threat from this unarmed, idealistic King, who spoke so sensibly to him. But the chief priests must have been furious! They stirred up the crowds of people with their charge of blasphemy and demanded in unison that Jesus be crucified. Witnessing the frenzy of the mob, Pilate still did not give in. But when they accused Pilate of disloyalty to Caesar if he were to abet a rival King of the Jews, Pilate was unnerved and gave the order to his soldiers to crucify Jesus. He died the same day.

Why did Jesus die? How does this story affect you? We invite you to patiently weave through prophecies, poetry, and stories as we seek to discover the answers to these questions.

Back to Top

Chapter 2: The King of the Jews

John 19:19 Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Jesus died at the hands of the Romans because He was the King of the Jews. What made Jesus the King of the Jews? What were the rules for inheriting the throne of Israel? Moses wrote:

Deuteronomy 17:14 When you have come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and possess it, and dwell in it, and say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me; 15 you shall surely set him king over yourselves, whom Yahweh your God chooses. You shall set as king over you one from among your brothers. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

So first, the king must be an Israelite that God chooses. God chose a number of kings during the course of Israel’s history: Saul, David, Solomon, Jeroboam, and Jehu. But Jesus was not just claiming to be a king. He was also the Christ. Christos is a Greek word that means anointed, which directly translates the Hebrew word Messiah. The anointing refers to the action where the prophet Samuel poured olive oil on Saul’s head to indicate that God had chosen him to be Israel’s first king. In Jewish thought, the Christ was the ultimate king who would rule forever.

The Expected Jewish Messiah

Many things were written in the Old Testament Scriptures about this Christ from ancient times. Some of the dates mentioned below are specified as BC, or the number of years Before Christ. Time progresses from higher numbers down to lower numbers in the years before Christ until 1 AD, when we start counting up from Anno Domini, or the year of our Lord, up to the current time of 2017 AD. So it has been over two thousand years since Jesus was born around the year 4 BC.

Long before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Daniel wrote around 500 BC:

Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

In Daniel’s vision, a man approached God and received an everlasting kingdom, over all the nations of the earth! To gather more details about this everlasting kingdom, let us consider God’s earlier promise to King David around 1000 BC:

2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

So a descendant of David would be king in the everlasting kingdom – Jesus was a descendant of David.

Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers… 6 Jesse became the father of King David. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been Uriah’s wife. 7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the father of Abijah. Abijah became the father of Asa… 15 Eliud became the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan. Matthan became the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

And what would this king do? The prophet Jeremiah wrote around 600 BC:

Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name by which he shall be called: Yahweh our righteousness.

This king would rule with righteousness, rescuing the Israelite tribe of Judah and keeping all of Israel safe. But we don’t see Jesus ruling over the world today, so how could this king be Jesus? Is there anything else written about the Christ? Why, yes!

The Birthplace of the Christ

Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him. 3 When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born. 5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah,

are in no way least among the princes of Judah:

for out of you shall come a governor,

who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’"

The Jewish Bible scholars knew that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. But there’s more.

Christ’s Appearance in Galilee

The prophet Isaiah wrote around 700 BC:

Isaiah 9:1 But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined.

3 You have multiplied the nation.

You have increased their joy.

They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the plunder. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian. 5 For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

This passage describes the son to be born who will sit on David’s throne forever. He will bring peace and joy. But there is a special emphasis on the tribal lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, which are near the Sea of Galilee. Did Jesus spend any time near the Sea of Galilee? Yes!

Luke 4:14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. 15 He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Matthew 4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles,

16 the people who sat in darkness saw a great light,

to those who sat in the region and shadow of death,

to them light has dawned."

17 From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. 18 Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.

Jesus grew up Nazareth in Galilee, and spent much of His time there teaching His disciples, who were mostly residents of Galilee. He also performed many miracles in cities like Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. The people in Galilee had indeed seen a great light.

Matthew 11:20 Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. 21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, on the