The Implications of Separation from God - Part 1

Jesus’ Separation from the Father

Mark 15:34 - And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

It seems impossible that God and Jesus could be separated; that the Father could forsake the Son. But regarding this matter, Rev. Billy Graham clarifies “The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death includes two dimensions—physical and spiritual. Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body. Spiritual death is the separation of the spirit from God. Since Jesus was dying for our sin as our substitute, He was experiencing the agony of separation from His Father. It was the agony of hell.”

Jesus was temporarily separated from the Father and it was so severe of a reality that He cried out! Jesus fully knew and understood “why” the separation was happening – for our good and God’s glory – so the question was not asked from ignorance. No, this cry is better understood as an exclamation in the midst of pain – the pain of separation from the Father. Jesus, who had been with the Father from eternity past; never separated, was now experiencing this phenomena of separation from the One with whom He had always been one with! I do not claim to even understand all of the implications of this. But with my limitations, I do understand that this separation must have been excruciating. Although temporary, it was, in my estimation, the most identified that Christ could possibly be with the state of man. Before we come into relationship with Christ, we are separated from God. Further, some of us will die in a state of spiritual separation from God. Jesus understood the implications of this separation and wanted no part of that! Jesus understands the vital importance of being spiritually connected with the Father. He understands it so deeply that He did not, even for a moment, want to experience separation – it was excruciating.

You will remember that when Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane, as He had sweated drops of blood, three times He asked that He be delivered from what was to come. Yet, in obedience to God and in relentless love for us, He said, “…not My will, but Yours be done.” He, in His humanity, could not help but dread what was to come and sincerely desired to avoid it if possible. In His Deity, He understood that it was needful and so relented from his plea for deliverance and subjected Himself to the perfect will of the Father. I imagine that the physical torture would have been at the forefront of His human thoughts while the separation from His Father would have been the impetus for this plea from His perspective as Lord.

Jesus’ separation from the Father was horrendous. But He willingly endured it for us. Remember we talked a while ago about the definition of love being “willing the good for another”? Well Jesus’ will was for our good – that we would have opportunity to live forever with the Father in heaven. He desired (along with the Father) that we would never experience spiritual death: eternal separation from the Father. Jesus’ torture was not just physical, but was also spiritual. We diminish His sacrifice by either not accepting His sacrifice freely given to us (but at great cost to Him) or by accepting His sacrifice but essentially make it of no value by living dishonorable lives.

For Christ, the implications of separation from the Father included torture for Him and victory for us. And, in reality, the victory was His as well because He defeated the enemy and took away his power to see us forever separated from the Father.

HALLELUJAH!