THE CROSS OF JESUS
THE ANSWER TO LONELINESS- 15th March 2026
Eph 2:11-18 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— (12) remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (13) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (14) For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (15) by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, (16) and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (17) And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (18) For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Mar 15:33-39 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. (34) And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (35) And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” (36) And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” (37) And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. (38) And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (39) And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
The Lonelienss epidemic
Your personal experience?
Not what God intended - it is not good for man to be alone Gen.2:18
Elijah - And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” (1Ki 19:4)
“I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts… but now, I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” (1Ki 19:10)
The psalmist: Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. (Psa 25:16)
A consequence of the fall
For: your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness. (Isa 59:2-3)
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” Ps.22:1
The reality of Jesus' experience on the cross: : “Eloi, Eloi, lama Sabacthani” “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me!?” Mk.15:34
FORSAKEN
Consider the relationship with Jesus and His Father...
Imagine how it must have been for His Father to abandon Him?
(Lam.1:12) “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, which the lord inflicted on the day of His fierce anger”
Why - because he carried the sins of the World - and bore the punishment they deserved!
So we don't have to!
“God did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all” Rom.8:32
Eph.2: 12-16 remember that you were… separated from Christ… having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you… have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility… that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Through his death – Jesus deals with our sin which has separated us from God
And reconciles us to the Father for now and all eternity
“I will never leave you nor forsake you,.” Heb.13:5
“in his death, Christ has penetrated into the abyss of all men’s lostness”
He has endured the worst that sin can do and borne the separation from God
In being abandoned – Jesus provided the solution to our loneliness
He himself is our Peace
The woman at the well.
This is what Jesus achieved on the cross.
And this is what Jesus invites you to know.
Peace with God and peace with others!
WEEK 5 THE CROSS – THE ANSWER TO LONELINESS
Ephesians 2:11-18, Mk.15:33-39
INTRODUCTION
Do you enjoy being alone? Always? Why or why not?
Talk about the difference between being alone and loneliness.
Do a google search around loneliness in our society.
Is it common and why do you think so many people experience it?
BIBLE STUDY
Read Ps.22:1 Think (and tell if you can) Tell of a time when this could have described how you felt
Do you think Jesus ever felt alone (look at Mk.15:34)?
Jurgen Moltman he “was bound to experience [this death] as rejection by the very God whom he dared to call “My Father’… It was the experience of abandonment by God in the knowledge that God is not distant, but close; does not judge but shows grace. And this, in full consciousness that God is close at hand in his grace, to be abandoned and delivered up to death as one rejected, is the torment of hell.”
Imagine and Talk about the extent of his feelings about this. See Lam.1:12
Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from me!
Was Jesus alone on the cross? Why? See Rom.8:32
CC Ryrie “all that is involved [in this] is inscrutable, but He gave himself, He was made sin, He bore our sins, and His soul was an offering for sin. His work was to bear sin.”
Leon Morris asserts: “It is one thing to put up with a death engineered by the forces of evil in defiance of the will of God, it is quite another to undergo a death to which God has handed one over.”
Allan Richardson “The Cross of Christ is the visible, historical revelation of the “Wrath of God”.
How do you respond to these statements?
Read Gal.3:13 and 2 Cor.5:21 How is this good news for us? (see Heb.4:15,16)
Morris: To be really one with us Christ had to know something of our loneliness. But he did more... He endured the god-forsakenness that was our due. He entered our loneliness to take it away, and because of what he has done we know the fulfilment of the Old Testament promise “I will never leave you nor forsake you,.” Heb.13:5
How has God taken away our Loneliness? (See Eph.2:14-16)
What difference could and should that make? (See Matt.28:20, Rom.8:38-39)
SOUL TRAINING
Each day this week:
Get up 15 min before normal, find a quiet space. Keep the light off. Sit in silence. Alone. And meditate on the words: “I am with you always” Matt.28:20
Take 5 min to be still and quiet and in the stillness, slowly repeat the phrase over and over.
If you mind wanders, just acknowledge it and return to repeating this truth
Then take 5 min to think about what happened the day before, how you felt, the good and the difficult – repeat the phrase into each of those situations
Take 5 min to think about the day coming, the various circumstances and challenges you will face – repeat the words into each of the things you will face.
