"My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" - The Awesome Truth From Christ's Last Words
"And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is, being interpreted is, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' . . . And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost." - Mark 15:34, 37 The last words of Christ dying on the cross are disturbing to many. They look and say, "See? Even Jesus despaired in that great hour," or "See? Even Jesus felt like God had abandoned Him." No doubt, the travail of the crucifixion would be enough to break even the best of us, however, there is a more likely, and I daresay, a more encouraging understanding on these pained words. First, some cultural context Back in first century Jewish culture, and even in some communities in the present day, it was the standard practice of all children to memorize Scripture, that is, the Old Testament. Scribes and scrolls were scarce in those days - not everyone had more books than they know...