Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mark 15:34)
Read: Numbers 15:17 – 16:40, Mark 15:1-47, Psalm 54:1-7, Proverbs 11:5-6
Relate: “I met my father for the first time when I was 28 years old. I made up my mind that when I had children, my children were going to know who their father was.” That is Will Smith, I mean Christopher Gardner, in the movie Pursuit of Happyness. I don’t think I have ever seen a movie that better shows the love and relationship between a father and his son. In the movie Christopher is living the life of a modern day Job. He loses his house, his wife, and his car. He is a failure at his job. The only thing he has left is his son (and a competitive unpaid internship with Dean Witter). How this movie shows the bond between the father and son while Christopher tries to balance starting a new life, homelessness, and fatherhood is absolutely heart wrenching. This clip shows the moment when he has hit rock bottom:
Imagine if, at that point, Chris got up and just left his son there in the bathroom floor. Imagine him walking out the door and leaving his boy all alone. Every good relationship we have is just a poor reflection of the relationship we can have with our heavenly Father. Even more, because Jesus was sinless, He had that perfect relationship with His Father in a way we will only experience in heaven. Imagine the perfect communion, the complete unity they had. And then, one day… no, it was not just one day. It was the worst possible moment of the worst possible day anyone could ever have. That was when the relationship was severed.
React: My dad died suddenly when I was nineteen. In my grief, there were a few different friends who approached me that had also lost their fathers. Far, far more were those who came to me who never met their dad or whose father had walked out of their life at some point in the past. I have met those who have been abused or have been unspeakably scarred by the actions of the very men who should have been loving and protecting them the most. There have been times when the felt loss of my dad made me feel like I had been abandoned. I can only imagine how much greater that pain must be for those who actually had been abandoned. Jesus doesn’t have to imagine. He was there. My sin severed His relationship with His dad.
Respond:
Dear Father,
Time and again You have proven to me that You will never abandon me. Others will fail me. Sometimes through their sin, sometimes through the unpredictably and fragility of this thing called life others will fail, but You never will. You cannot. You will not. Even when I am faithless, You will remain faithful. In those dark moments deep inside the shell of me, hold me close and whisper Your love. Help me remember that nothing… nothing can pull me from Your love.
Amen
THE RIVER WALK 
Yeah there is a difference in language between Mark and Matthew
Thanks again BJ, you are right, we can’t imagine and when Jesus prayed three times in the garden the evening before, I am sure that this separation was part of what He didn’t want to endure, but He did. How can we not praise Him for this. Blessings.
When reflecting on pieces like this I am so thankful to have had the blessing of an incredible earthly father until his passing and a heavenly Father that orchestrated it all including Him bringing me to Him so I could experience perfect love.
very good analogy and amen to prayer
Beejai, I, too, lost my father to cancer at age nineteen. The comfort I found was knowing that I was loved.
-Alan
Great post.I must say here that my father is my best friend.A true friend without interest.Also great movie.I like the part when he told his son “Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you… You can’t do something. Not even me. All right? You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it.