"The Passion of Our Lord: 'Eloi, Eloi, Lema Sabachthani?'" (Lenten sermon on Mark 15:33-47)

“The Passion of Our Lord: ‘Eloi, Eloi, Lema Sabachthani?’” (Mark 15:33-47)

“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” So cries Jesus from the cross, as found in Matthew and Mark, where it is the only word from the cross that is recorded. “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” What is so striking about this is that it is spoken, and recorded for us, in another language. That language is Aramaic, which is sort of a cousin to Hebrew. Aramaic was the everyday language that Jewish people like Jesus spoke at that time.

And we find several places in the gospels where Jesus’ words in Aramaic are recorded. In Mark’s gospel, we hear Jesus raising a girl from the dead, saying, in Aramaic, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, arise.” Jesus heals a deaf man, touching his ears and saying, again in Aramaic, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened.” When Jesus prays in the garden, he starts his prayer by saying, “Abba,” which is Aramaic for “Father.” And now here tonight, this word from the cross: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”

Fortunately for us, Mark provides a translation every time he quotes Jesus in Aramaic. And so it is here. Mark gives the meaning, and it is in the form of a question: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But that raises the question of the meaning beyond a mere translation. Why is Jesus saying this? Why has God forsaken him? And what does that mean for us? Those are the questions we explore now, as we ponder the meaning of “Eloi, Eloi, Lema Sabachthani?”

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Why indeed? It makes no sense. If ever there was anyone whom God should not have forsaken, it was Jesus. Jesus was always doing the will of his Father. Never, not once, did he stray from that path. Rather, Jesus faithfully did what he was supposed to do, every single time. There are not many people you could say that about. In fact, Jesus is the only one. He is the only one who has ever lived to have perfectly kept God’s commands.

Of us, this could not be said. You and I have not done God’s will and kept his commandments, not anywhere like Jesus did. If we were to be judged strictly on our record of obedience and love toward God, God would be justified in forsaking us.

But Jesus? That’s a different story. After all, this was God’s beloved Son, with whom he was well pleased. The Father had said so, both in the voice at Jesus’ baptism and at his transfiguration. So why forsake him now? Why abandon him? Why let Jesus, of all people, suffer such degradation, humiliation, pain, and utter abandonment? Why?

To answer that question, we go back to where those words come from, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” You see, when Jesus speaks these words from the cross, he is quoting Scripture. These words are the first verse of Psalm 22, written a thousand years earlier. Psalm 22 is the prayer of a righteous sufferer, the psalmist experiencing a situation in which he felt he was being abandoned by God. The psalmist was experiencing unjust suffering at the hands of evil men.

Now Jesus is the righteous sufferer par excellence. And there are so many parts of this psalm that call to mind Christ’s crucifixion. The scorning and mocking: “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; ‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’” The physical agony of death by crucifixion: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.” Even down to the details of what happened to Jesus: “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet--I can count all my bones--they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” In the greatest depth and detail, Jesus fulfills this prophecy from Psalm 22.

But for God to let his Son--his beloved Son, his faithful Son--go through all of that. . . . Why? We dig deeper. Another prophecy from the Old Testament, also of a righteous sufferer, a faithful servant of the Lord, likewise forsaken by God. This time it’s Isaiah 53, the song of the Suffering Servant. Here we get the answer to the “Why?” question: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Here is the reason for the “Why?” of Christ’s abandonment. God let his Son experience this forsakenness, in order that he might bear our guilt and our iniquities. We could not atone for our own sins, so Jesus Christ, God’s holy Son, took them for us. He was wounded, that we might be healed. He was forsaken, that we might be forgiven. He was abandoned, that we might be adopted. Christ was stricken, smitten, and afflicted, and now we are redeemed, restored, and acquitted.

Yes, here is the outcome of Jesus’ Passion. Isaiah tells us: “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

So this is the “What” in answer to the “Why?” What you receive is the righteousness you have now before God, which you would not have otherwise. It is the life that is yours in Christ. It is the resurrection that awaits you. It is the comfort and the strength and the hope you have now, even in the midst of your own hours of darkness, when you feel like God has forsaken you. For God’s Word tells you that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And now we know the reason why. It means that now, in Christ, you have God’s own promise: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Mark 15:33-47 (ESV)

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, lema 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.” 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 Joses, 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.

And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

καὶ τῇ ὥρᾳ τῇ ἐννάτῃ ἐβόησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς φωνῇ μεγάλῃ λέγων,

Ελωι ελωι λαμμᾶ σαβαχθανι

ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Ὁ θεός μου ὁ θεός μου εἰς τί με ἐγκατέλιπές

I'm guessing the editors of KJV added the English translation.

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