And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" – Matthew 27:46 (NKJV)
How would you feel about having to stand on a stage and watch a video of every sin you have ever committed? The angry outbursts, selfish motives, critical attitudes, jealous intentions, secret addictions, boldface lies, etc. It'd be enough to make you probably want to crawl under a rock! Even still, what Jesus endured was so much worse. The Bible says He, ". . . bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness . . ." (I Peter 2:24).
The burden of dying for sins you didn't even commit is bad enough, but can you imagine being forsaken by God? Jesus was completely abandoned! It is the same word Paul used when he wrote, "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed . . ." (2 Timothy 4:10). Paul looked for Demas and could not find him; and Jesus looked for His Father that day and could not find Him either.
So was David wrong then when He wrote, ". . . I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. . . ?" (Psalm 37:25). No, because at that moment, Jesus was anything but righteous. When you visualize the image of Christ being crucified on the cross, you see the gossiper, the liar, the cheater, the alcoholic, the porn addict, the child abuser, the murderer. Does it bother you to see His name linked with theirs? Well, Jesus did even more! He put Himself in their place - and ours! In a move that broke God's heart, He poured out all His righteous judgment on His only Son. So, when Jesus cried from the cross, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?", He said it so we would never have to.
"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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