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

When Jesus went to the cross, He knew of the unprecedented cost. It was a momentous event, thefirst and only time he would be separated from God the Father. But why did this separation have to occur? Scripture tells us that God cannot and will not be associated with evil. The prophet Habakkuk proclaimed, “Your eyes are too pure to see evil, And You cannot      look on trouble.” (Hab. 1:13).

This is why Jesus had to be both fully God and fully man. He had to be fully God so that He could live a sinless life. He was the lamb without blemish who took away the sins of the World. He had to be fully man so that He could suffer and die. The physical agony of the cross was not the worst of the suffering that Jesus endured on the cross. The worst part was that the      Father forsook him. God made Jesus, who knew no sin,    to become sin for us. In other words, for every sin that any Christian has or will commit, God punished Jesus     for those sins. His wrath against your sin was poured     out on Jesus when He hung on the cross.

When Jesus utters the words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46), He quotes from Psalm 22. This is not a cry of despair but a declaration that the prophecy of His suffering is being fulfilled. The first half of Psalm 22 references the suffering of the Messiah, but the second half speaks of the resurrection victory that God will give to the Son.

Jesus was forsaken so that all who would believe could have eternal life. No Christian will ever experience the wrath of God, eternal punishment, or hell. Because He was forsaken, we are forgiven.

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark