“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34) These words are some of the most puzzling of any Jesus uttered while dying on the cross. Many Scriptures are drawn into the discussion surrounding why Jesus spoke these words. Passages like Psalm 22; Acts 2:31; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24; and 1 Peter 3:19, just to name a few. What do these passages reveal about the statement Jesus made? Did Jesus become a sinner? Was there a prophetic reason behind the words, or was it made only from a human standpoint? Did Jesus suffer separation from the Father as a result of bearing the sins of mankind on the cross? Why did Jesus say these words?

Peter’s statement, that the Savior “bore our sins” (1 Pet. 2:24), does not suggest that the Lord carried the “guilt” of human sin in His body personally. It simply states that He carried our sins “in His body.” A passage written by the prophet Jeremiah illustrates the proper meaning from a biblically verifiable perspective. In his lamentation over the fall of Jerusalem, the prophet wrote: “Our fathers sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities” (Lam. 5:7; cf. Eze. 4:4). The offspring did not bear the guilt of the previous generations; they merely were suffering the consequences of earlier rebellion. So Jesus did NOT die as a sinner; He died as a vessel bearing sin.

Old Testament prophecy speaks of the Messiah bearing “the sin of many” to make “intercession for the transgressors.” (e.g. Isa. 53:12) Thus, the statement in 1 Peter 2:24 is an acknowledgement of prophecy having been fulfilled. The statement also illuminates part of the reason Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 on the cross. In the reading of that particular psalm, it should be noted how many statements correlate with the actual suffering and death of Jesus during the crucifixion process. Christ was fulfilling prophecy and He was verifying that fact with His statement.

The Scriptures teach that God cannot look upon sin in passages like Habakkuk 1:13; cf. Psalm 5:4. The Word also teaches that sin “separates” a person from God (cf. Isa. 59:1-2). In the case of Jesus, bearing the sins of mankind, would it not be reasonable to conclude that God would not look upon Him in that condition and relative state? The Scriptures provide a resounding YES in answer to that question. It is a plausible assertion that the statement as recorded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 is not only tied to the fulfillment of God’s Word, but that it shows the awful separation Jesus suffered from God for the first time in His entire existence.

The answer to the question of why Christ said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is really very simple. Jesus was both validating the fulfillment of prophecy, and the fact that God cannot look upon sin. Jesus bore the sins of mankind in His body on that cross, and those who took part in His crucifixion committed many sins over the course of its final realization. Therefore it is more than reasonable to assert that God the Father could not look upon such a horrid scene and for that brief moment in time Jesus suffered what all rightfully deserve; and that was separation from God.

Some passages to note:

2Cor. 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Heb. 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Rom 6:9-10  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Eph. 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

1Pet. 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: