18 Why Have You Forsaken Me? (Mark 15:22-41)

On the cross in Mark 15:22–41, Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This episode walks through the illegal trials, the brutal crucifixion, and that agonizing question—not as a moment of divine breakdown, but as the clearest revelation of what it cost God to save people like us: priests and politicians, bullies and cowards, deniers and betrayers, the openly hostile and the quietly religious. In this week’s episode, we explore:How Mark frames the cross as the climax of Jesus’ mission and the final question in our series on what Jesus asksThe contrast between Jesus’ faithful confession before the Sanhedrin and Peter’s tear-filled denial in the courtyard—and why both men still need a SaviorThe injustice of Jesus’ trials: false witnesses, illegal procedures, and a predetermined verdict dressed up as righteousnessPilate’s political calculations, the crowd’s disappointment, and why they choose Barabbas—the violent rebel—over the Prince of PeaceThe soldiers’ vicious mockery, the crown of thorns, and how racial hatred and contempt find their target in a bruised and bound Jewish kingThe three things no one could force Jesus to do—speak to save himself, drink to dull his pain, or die before he chose—and what that reveals about his willing sacrificeWhat it means for Jesus to experience forsakenness and darkness under the “cup” of God’s wrath so repentant failures like Peter can be welcomed, restored, and loved foreverThe tearing of the temple curtain and the centurion’s confession, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”, as signs that the way to God is now open through Jesus’ deathThe searching question left for us: will we harden our hearts like the priests and scoffers, or weep like Peter and trust the crucified Son of God to redeem us?After listening, you’ll see the cross in Mark not as a tragic end to a beautiful life, but as the deliberate, loving center of God’s plan to rescue sinners of every kind. You’ll be invited to hear Jesus’ cry—“Why have you forsaken me?”—as the cost of your forgiveness, to bring your own failures and hardness of heart into the light, and to rest in the staggering truth that he would not save himself in order to save you.Series: Questions Jesus AskedStart Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.