Why have you forsaken me?

I was going to answer this in my own words, but I think that Matthew Henry did a much better job in his Bible commentary:Note, [1.] That our Lord Jesus was, in his sufferings, for a time, forsaken by his Father. So he saith himself, who we are sure was under no mistake concerning his own case. Not that the union between the divine and human nature was in the least weakened or shocked; no, he was now by the eternal Spirit offering himself: nor as if there were any abatement of his Father's love to him, or his to his Father; we are sure that there was upon his mind no horror of God, or despair of his favour, nor any thing of the torments of hell; but his Father forsook him; that is, First, He delivered him up into the hands of his enemies, and did not appear to deliver him out of their hands. He let loose the powers of darkness against him, and suffered them to do their worst, worse than against Job. Now was that scripture fulfilled (Job_16:11), God hath turned me over into the hands of the wicked; and no angel is sent from heaven to deliver him, no friend on earth raised up to appear for him. Secondly, He withdrew from him the present comfortable sense of his complacency in him. When his soul was first troubled, he had a voice from heaven to comfort him (Joh_12:27, Joh_12:28); when he was in his agony in the garden, there appeared an angel from heaven strengthening him; but now he had neither the one nor the other. God hid his face from him, and for awhile withdrew his rod and staff in the darksome valley. God forsook him, not as he forsook Saul, leaving him to an endless despair, but as sometimes he forsook David, leaving him to a present despondency. Thirdly, He let out upon his soul an afflicting sense of his wrath against man for sin. Christ was made Sin for us, a Curse for us; and therefore, though God loved him as a Son, he frowned upon him as a Surety. These impressions he was pleased to admit, and to waive that resistance of them which he could have made; because he would accommodate himself to this part of his undertaking, as he had done to all the rest, when it was in his power to have avoided it.[2.] That Christ's being forsaken of his Father was the most grievous of his sufferings, and that which he complained most of. Here he laid the most doleful accents; he did not say, “Why am I scourged? And why spit upon? And why nailed to the cross?” Nor did he say to his disciples, when they turned their back upon him, Why have ye forsaken me? But when his Father stood at a distance, he cried out thus; for this as it that put wormwood and gall into the affliction and misery. This brought the waters into the soul, Psa_69:1-3.[3.] That our Lord Jesus, even when he was thus forsaken of his Father, kept hold of him as his God, notwithstanding; My God, my God; though forsaking me, yet mine. Christ was God's servant in carrying on the work of redemption, to him he was to make satisfaction, and by him to be carried through and crowned, and upon that account he calls him his God; for he was now doing his will. See Isa 49:5-9. This supported him, and bore him up, that even in the depth of his sufferings God was his God, and this he resolves to keep fast hold of.Krispy

Christ was forsaken on the cross because all the iniquity of the world was laid upon him. At that point the father cut himself off from him because of sin. This is by far the ultimate punshment. Being cut off from the prensence of God. Christ experienced Hell so you didn't have to. Hell is a place Forsaken of God for eternity. He was forsaken, so you didn't have to be. There are verses where the father cannot look upon iniquity, and how he is pure and holy. The wrath of God against Sin was laid upon the son so that it can be witheld from this wicked generation. And this is one of the many things that Christ accomplished on calvary. What an Awesome God we serve.While what you're saying is true, I would be cautious about describing hell as being cut off from God. While it is true that someone in hell is cut off from God, being cut off from God is not hell itself. I was cut off from God before I was saved, and I was having a grand ol' time for the most part.I've heard people (Billy Graham included) describe hell as being cut off from God, and it has now become a way of describing hell in a way that it is NOT described in scripture. Hell is a lake of fire, everlasting fire and torment, everlasting death.So while true that one is cut off from God if they end up in hell, we must be very careful not to water down what hell is. If you say to someone "hell is being cut off from God", and that person is not saved... they will think like I did: "So??"It's poilitcally incorrect today, even in the church, to say that hell is a lake of fire where sinners are tormented for eternity. It makes people uncomfortable, or it may offend someone.So now we say "hell is being cut off from God". Man can not live on cotton candy... man needs meat.Krispy

warriorofgod, you're right. I did understand what you were getting across, I was merely offering that we need to be careful with this because a lot of people have watered down scripture. So many people read these posts that dont ever write on this forum, and I just couldnt let that go by without saying what I said.But I did understand what you're saying, and the basis of what you said is definately true.Krispy