The Father turned His face away

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, what have You forsaken Me?" – Mark 15.34

This must be one of the most mysterious passages in all of scripture. It doesn’t seem to make sense when we read it.

‘How,’ we might ask, ‘can God forsake God?’

Jesus was forsaken by His disciples. Now He was forsaken by His Father. Jesus, the very Son of God and Saviour of the world, was all alone.

But why? How could this happen? How could the perfect lovingly heavenly Father turn His back on His son?

The answer is sin.

Here we have Jesus, God incarnate, hanging on a cross for one reason. He is there to bear the burden of my sin. When He took our sins on His shoulders God could no longer bear to look at Him because ‘He is of purer eyes than to behold evil.’

Stuart Townend captured the great truth in his hymn ‘How Deep the Father’s Love For Us.’

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

On the cross the Father turned His face away to bring you and me to glory. What a sacrifice!