It is one thing
to pass through trials,
temptations,
physical pain,
and suffering.
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to feel completely abandoned,
alone …
forsaken!
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We’ve all experienced it.
“What have I done wrong?”
“Can you hear my prayers?”
“Oh God … where art thou?”
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And so did Jesus
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Both Matthew and Mark record this moment on the cross …
where the God of Heaven and Earth cried out to His Father …
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
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Of this moment, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland wrote …
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“Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
– “None Were With Him” – Jeffrey R. Holland
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Why?
Why did Christ have to experience this?
And why would Matthew and Mark feel it necessary to record this in a book meant to convince others of the divinity of Christ … not his mortality?
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It’s worth noting that Jesus was quoting Psalm 22:1.
An indication that in His moment of intense suffering …
Christ drew strength from the scriptures.
It’s also a fulfillment of prophecy.
And perhaps this was a necessary moment in Christ’s own testing.
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But far more than any of that, it provides deep insight into Christ’s love for us.
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We’ve all felt those moments …
Wondering if we’ve been totally abandoned by Heaven.
Wondering if something we’ve done has somehow cut us off from divine help or love.
Wondering if we’re now left totally alone to tackle the trials surrounding us.
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Why did Christ experience this?
But certainly so He could help US!
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His atonement is infinite. It covers everything … including feeling forsaken and abandoned.
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He understands us perfectly … making it possible to love us perfectly.
No earthly hand can offer that.