My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
March 6, 2005 - Mark 15:33-41
Open It
At what time in your life have you felt most lonely?
What is your first recollection of dealing with the death of a pet or grandparent?
Explore It
What unusual occurrence took place as Jesus was dying? (15:33)
What did Jesus say "at the ninth hour"? (15:34)
What do Jesus' words at the ninth hour reveal about how He was feeling right before He died? (15:34)
What did Jesus mean when He said that God had "forsaken" Him? (15:34)
How did the bystanders misunderstand what Jesus was going through? (15:35)
What offer of help did Jesus receive? (15:36)
What does the fact that Jesus twice cried out in a loud voice tell us about the way He died? (15:34, 37)
What happened right after Jesus' death? (15:38)
How did the centurion react to Jesus' crucifixion and death? (15:39)
What caused the centurion to believe in Jesus? (15:39)
Who watched Christ's crucifixion from a distance? Why? (15:40-41)
Get It
What do you think motivated one man to offer Jesus a drink of wine vinegar?
What does it mean that the curtain of the temple tore?
What did the tearing of the temple curtain symbolize?
What difference does Jesus' death make in your life?
What did Jesus' words on the cross mean?
What kind of isolation did Jesus experience in His death on the cross?
How can we draw encouragement from the loneliness Jesus endured?
In what way can following Christ or doing what God wants be a lonely experience?
How does it make you feel to know that Christ endured such intense suffering for your salvation?
What significance is there for you in the fact that a Roman soldier recognized the great truth that even the religious leaders could not see?
How has your study of this passage changed your perception of Jesus?
In what way is every person indebted to Christ?
Apply It
What can you do as a reminder of what Christ did for you?
When might you have to face loneliness as a part of following Christ this week?
Notes
Mark 15:34:Jesus did not ask this question in surprise or despair. He was quoting the first line of Psalm 22. The whole psalm is a prophecy expressing the deep agony of the Messiah's death for the world's sin. Jesus knew that he would be temporarily separated from God the moment he took upon himself the sins of the world. This separation was what he had dreaded as he prayed in Gethsemane. The physical agony was horrible, but the spiritual alienation from God was the ultimate torture.
Mark 15:37: Jesus' loud cry may have been his last words, "It is finished" (John 19:30).
Mark 15:38: A heavy curtain hung in front of the temple room called the Most Holy Place, a place reserved by God for himself. Symbolically, the curtain separated the holy God from sinful people. The room was entered only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, by the high priest as he made a sacrifice to gain forgiveness for the sins of all the people. When Jesus died, the curtain was torn in two, showing that his death for our sins had opened up the way for us to approach our holy God. And it was torn from top to bottom, showing that God had opened the way. Read Hebrews 9 for a more complete explanation.