The Strand Study Bible

MARK MARK teach ( Jn 20:17c ). The FATHER , the SON , and the HOLY SPIRIT are three distinct, co-eternal persons, called the Godhead ( Gen 1:1c , 26a , Deut 6:4 and Rom 1:20b ). They are all equally God and each O N E is worthy of our worship ( Jn 4:20-25 & 9:35-38 and Acts 5:4 ). G. Campbell Morgan in The Gospel According to Matthew notes: 1607

When we look at this Cross and listen to His words thereon, we must be very careful that we do not divide between the Deity and the humanity of Jesus. If He was God manifest in the days of His teaching, He was God manifest on the cross; God coming into identification with the issue of the sin of man. 1

In making this statement ( My GOD , my GOD , why hast thou forsaken me ), Jesus was letting the world know that the price for sin had just been negotiated. Seeing that the price for sin is eternal ( Rom 1:16 ), something eternal had to give. That “something” was Jesus’ willingness to give up certain aspects of his eternal authority that He had shared with Deity for all eternity past ( I Cor 15:28 , Mk 15:34a and Phil 2:6c ). NOTE – This is the first time in Scripture that one Person of the Triune Godhead personally addressed the other two as “God.” God has spoken to the other members of the Trinity (Gen 1:26 & 11:7, II Sam 24:11-16, Psa 110:1, Isa 6:8 and Zech 2:4), and has even referred ( Isa 48:14 ) to them as “Lord” (Gen 16:11, Isa 6:12, Hos 1:7 & 2:20 and Amos 6:8 & 8:11) or “God” (Gen 21:17 & 35:1, Exo 15:26, Hos 1:7 and Amos 4:11-12 & 6:8); but He has never addressed another member of the Trinity as “Lord” or “God” until here in Mark 15:34. 15:34b This word ( forsaken ) is the Greek word HQNDτHOLSH9 ( enkatelipes ) and means “ to abandon .” Lawrence O Richards in Bible Reader’s Companion notes:

The Gk. word ( enkataleipo ) is intensive, with strong moral and emotional overtones. Christ was not abandoned to the grave (Acts 2:27). Yet at the moment of death an awesome rent was torn in the very fabric of the Godhead. It was this separation from God, the ultimate meaning of “death” in Scripture, that was the price Christ paid for our sins. 2

CHRIST was “abandoned” by both the FIRST and THIRD Persons of the Triune Godhead for the first time in all eternity past when He “sealed the deal” to save us at three o’clock on that afternoon. Although the sin of the world was laid upon Him beginning at noon, He was not “forsaken” until three. Matthew Henry’s Commentary notes:

During the three hours that this darkness continued, we do not find that he said one word , but passed this time in a silent retirement into his own soul, which was now in agony, wrestling with the powers of darkness, and taking in the impressions of His Father’s displeasure, not against Himself, but the sin of man, which he was now making his soul an offering for . 3

The FATHER’S anger was not at Jesus during those last three hours on the cross (from noon until three), but at man’s sin that had placed Him there. In this period of darkness Christ became the Sin offering for the world (Jn 1:29 & Rom 5:8 & II Cor 5:21 and I Pet 2:24 & 3:18) and as such was forsaken by the Father. Near the end of this period of time, Christ could bear the separation no longer and cried out in a loud voice, " My GOD , my GOD , why hast thou forsaken me ." NOTE – The question has often been asked: Why did Jesus wait to “seal the deal” until just moments before His death? Why not “seal the deal” at noon when the sin of the world was first placed upon Him?” The answer to that question is quite simple. To “seal the deal” meant “abandonment” (an awesome rent in the very fabric of the Godhead), and Jesus knew it. Thus, instead of spending three agonizing hours separated from the other two Persons of the Triune Godhead, Jesus waited until He was about to die. Smart God! Then with one sweeping statement ( My GOD , my GOD , why hast thou forsaken me ), Jesus would forever put away the sin that would put away man for eternity, for eternal damnation is the price for sinning against an eternal God. 15:38 According to Hebrews 10:19-20, the veil depicted CHRIST’S flesh and our only way into the Holy of Holies (the presence of God). It took God becoming flesh to bring us back into his presence. 16:9-20 Like I John 5:7-8 , these twelve verses, starting with the word “ Now ,” do not appear in two of the most trustworthy ancient manuscripts of the NT, the Sinaiticus (c. AD 350) and the Vaticanus (c. AD 325). Charles John Ellicott in Ellicott’s Bible Commentary notes:

In some of these (e.g., in the Vatican MS) there is a blank space left between verse 8 and the beginning of Luke, as though the writer had suspended his work and waited for materials. The absence was noticed by Jerome, who says that “nearly all the Greek texts omit them.” 4

C.I. Scofield in The Scofield Reference Bible agrees. He notes:

Verses 9-20 are not found in the two most ancient mss., the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus; others have them with partial omissions and variations. 5 On the other hand, verses 9-20 are referred to by Irenaeus (c. 170 AD), and are found in the Alexandrian and Cambridge MSS and in twelve other uncials which are nearly as old as the two which omit them. IN CONCLUSION – In tracing these texts back, most scholars believe the longer ending (vs 9-20) was added in the first half of the second century. Thus, evidence from every line of research seems to suggest that these twelve verses were not part of Mark’s original text, but were added later.

1 Morgan, G. Campbell. The Gospel According to Matthew , Tarrytown, New York: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1929. Print. 2 Richards, Lawrence O. Bible Reader’s Companion , Colorado Springs, CO, Cook Communications, 1991,2004. Print. 3 Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary , Old Tappan, NJ, Fleming H. Revell Co., Vol. V, Print. 4 Ellicott, Charles John. Ellicott’s Bible Commentary , Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1971. Print. 5 Scofield, C.I. The Scofield Reference Bible , New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 1967. Print.