About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” - which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 NIV).
What took place on the cross was the most unnatural separation in the history of the universe. Jesus, God the Son, was spiritually separated from God the Father. For the only time in eternity, there was a separation in the Trinitarian being of God.
This separation was because Jesus took the penalty for sins within Himself, and that penalty involved the Father judging the Son for the sins of the world, and separating from Him, deeming the Son’s physical and spiritual death.
I add that the “ninth hour” was roughly nine hours after sunrise.
For over 1,000 years Hebrew was the language for the ‘children of Abraham.’ They were even called “Hebrews” after their distinct language. Why the switch to Aramaic?
In the wake of the northern kingdom, Israel, being conquered by the Assyrians, the southern kingdom, Judah, had a revival thanks to King Josiah. And Judah had periods of general devotion to God. But a point was reached where the Israelites of Judah increasingly devoted themselves to false gods and also did other sins. The result of their forsaking the LORD was exile in Babylon, and the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
As captives in Babylon, their native language of Hebrew faded, and they picked up a common language of that region, Aramaic, the closest Semitic language to their native Hebrew.
Because of the incredible faithfulness of God, the Israelites were able to return home in 536 B.C. Now Aramaic remained their common language, yet Hebrew was preserved in Scripture, and was preserved within the Israelite community by the devout.
Have you ever felt forsaken by God?
I have.
Makes sense, since there was a physical and spiritual separation between God and people after the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Yet that disaster was all due to people forsaking God, not the other way around. For those of us who follow Jesus, spiritual unity is now possible thanks to Jesus, and we have been baptized by the Holy Spirit. However, we are not yet with our Trinitarian God in full. We still must deal with problems caused by our sins. We still must deal with hurts from other people. And disasters continue to strike in this world, resulting in more hurts. With so many hurts, sometimes I feel like I have been abandoned by God. Yet if spiritually united with God in Christ, there can be comfort in the heart from Him, the One who will never forsake His children.
Going back to the subject of the Aramaic language, such a desperate expression from the cross in Aramaic rather than in Hebrew is a reminder of the fact that much sin was committed against God in history. Punishment was inevitable.
We all have sinned. We all deserved punishment. This yell of agony appeals to us to ponder the fact that Jesus suffered the ultimate agony on the cross, taking the punishment we deserved. Jesus was our substitute. Jesus took our punishment because He loves us. Jesus loves you.
Hunter Irvine
Scripture Love Blog
