October 8
October 8
On our behalf, Jesus took every ounce of the Father’s rejection.
Matthew 27 records a terrible and dark moment of suffering for Jesus as he hung on the cross:
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. (Matt. 27:45–50)
The physical darkness that enveloped the earth for three hours signified how dark that time on the cross truly was. Yes, the scourging of Jesus was horrible, and it is impossible to imagine the pain he experienced when they drove nails through his hands and then hoisted him onto the cross like a cut of beef. None of that physical pain, however, came close to the trauma Jesus went through when he cried, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” But that horribly dark and painful moment was at the same time a moment of glorious, undeserved grace.
Jesus lived a perfect life as our substitute. In our place, he faced all of the temptations that we face, yet without sin. Then he hung on the cross as our substitute, carrying the heavy load of our sin. He hung there, willingly taking the punishment that we deserved. But as he experienced our rejection, he cried out in emotional and spiritual agony. It seems unthinkable that the Father would ever separate himself from the Son. And the Trinity cannot be separated. But in these words, the man Jesus testified to the fact that, for our redemption, he was separated from the Father: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus came to earth knowing his job description. He knew that he was coming as the sacrificial Lamb. He knew there would be a decisive redemptive moment when the Father would not exercise his almighty power to come to his rescue. As a man Jesus would hang between heaven and earth, utterly forsaken and alone, rejected not just by his fellow man, but by his heavenly Father. This was necessary so that what was impossible for us to accomplish on our own would be God’s gift to us: sin defeated, forgiveness granted, and reconciliation accomplished.
Jesus’s humanity endured the Father’s rejection so that the children of his grace never would. He was willing to be left utterly alone, so that we would never be alone. He endured the full extent of the Father’s anger, so that his anger would never fall on us again. Celebrate today that, as a child of God, you will never be forsaken. Hanging between heaven and earth, Jesus settled that once and for all. His redeeming love for you will never be broken.