Bible Question:
If Jesus Christ was God, then why was He scared when He was dying. He called “O Father why did you leave me? ”
Bible Answer:
Jesus was born into this world as a baby. He was a special baby since He was virgin born. His birth had been predicted by many prophecies, one as old as four thousand years (Gen. 3:15). He was God in human flesh. His birth was extraordinary according to Matthew.
But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” (NASB) Matthew 1:20-23
Jesus’ birth did not require a human male. Mary miraculously gave birth by the power of the Holy Spirit. That new life within her was God who took on human flesh. God already existed in eternity past, but the human life was new. We discover from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that He grew up from a baby into a child, from a child into a teenager, and then into adulthood. He experienced thirst, hunger, anger, and sorrow as we do today. He also slept as we do and He died like we will. He was a human all the way.
We also discover in the New Testament that He learned and increased in wisdom.
The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. (NASB) Luke 2:40
We are told that Jesus had to increase in wisdom since He was also human and since He was growing into an adult. If we were to ignore the fact that He was also human and assumed that He was only God, then we should be asking, “Why did Jesus have to learn and grow in wisdom?” That is, we would wonder why God had to learn. The answer is that Jesus willingly limited His knowledge, the display of His glory, and some other things while He was a human (Phil. 2:5-8).
You have asked, why was He scared?” That is, why was Jesus scared in the Garden of Gethsemane? When we read about Jesus’ anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane before His death, we are reminded once again that Jesus was human and not just God. Jesus had left His disciples after they had supper together, in order to pray. Matthew and Luke record this for us,
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (NASB) Matthew 26:39
And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently . . . (NASB) Luke 22:41-44
Jesus was in anguish as any human being would be who knew He was about to die a cruel death on a Roman cross. The movie “The Passion” illustrates the gruesome, bloody death He was facing. Death by crucifixion was not sudden. It was a long and painful death that came only after great suffering. But He was also God, and therefore remained committed to the reason He came. He was also ministered to by an angel.
Conclusion:
Jesus responded in anguish in His humanness as He anticipated the horrible pain that was coming. When I die, I would like to just die and have it end quickly. Jesus knew that His death was going to be embarrassing, bloody, gruesome, and cruel. No wonder He wanted to know if this was the only way to fulfill the plan of saving us from our sins. Did you notice that after Jesus asked if it was possible to escape death by the cross that He quickly indicated His willingness to continue with the plan? On the Roman Cross, Jesus declared the plan to be “finished.”
Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (NASB) John 19:30
When Jesus was dying on the Roman cross, He cried out asking why God had forsaken Him. We believe that He asked this question because 1) He was dying for our sins, 2) those sins separated Him in His humanness from God since He was both God and man, and, therefore, 3) He felt left alone as He died with the sins of the world on Him. Then he cried,
At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” (NASB) Mark 15:34
Did you notice that He died when He voluntarily gave up His spirit? Neither you nor I can do that. But the God-man, Jesus Christ, could and He did. The plan was finished and His reason for coming to this earth was complete. Now anyone who believes the reports about Jesus Christ and places their trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sins will be forgiven and spend eternity with God. We can thank God.