And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
--Mark 15:34 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on May 18, 2013 of Psalm 94:1-11; Mark 15:21-47; 1 Samuel 20:35-23:6.
Jesus, when He walked among us, was God in human form. He was fully man, and He was fully God. From the very beginning He knew how it would all end. He knew exactly what must be done and why. He was completely aware of what He had to do and what would happen to Him for God's will to be carried out. Yet even forearmed with all this knowledge and divine power, Jesus still felt deeply distressed about what would befall Him, even to the point of asking the Father to change His plan (please reference Mark 14:33-36). Even with all this knowledge, even being God, Jesus was taken aback by the extreme depth of pain He suffered on that cross and shouted out, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
It wasn't the physical pain that Jesus endured being nailed to that tree or while hanging there that made Him cry out like that. Yes, crucifixion was a terrible means of execution meant to send a clear message to any potential enemies of the state. Death came slowly and painfully, usually dragging out two or three days. But that is not why Jesus cried out. He had already endured being beaten with rods by the Jewish Temple guards, getting slapped around by His Roman guards, and finally lashed with a whip that shreds flesh from the body. All this He withstood silently, without uttering a word or a whelp. Nor did the mental anguish make our Lord scream from indignation or humiliation. He had already been spat on, ridiculed, pushed around, paraded in front of those who just recently had worshiped Him, stripped of His clothing, had a murderer freed in His place, stood by as the people He came to save cast Him off. And all of this He again took without making a sound.
So what was the source of Jesus' great pain? What had caused Him so much distress earlier, just thinking about what would happen, that He told God that if there was any other way He'd rather not go through with this? What could bring God as Man to the very lowest depths of despair? Jesus, on that cross, took all of the sins of the world once and for all. What a horrible, tremendous burden He bore, all the sins of every person that ever lived, that was alive, and that ever would live laid directly on His shoulders. And all for our sake. (Please reference 2 Corinthians 5:21.) Is there any wonder why He would feel abandoned, why He would cry out to God, His Father?
We tend to think God has forsaken us just because things aren't going our way. We accuse Him of abandoning us when even the most minor affliction befalls us. We wonder if He hasn't turned His back to us when our prayers aren't immediately answered. We would never be able to stand the great suffering Jesus endured on our behalf, pain He did not deserve. So we can't hold it against Him that He for just a moment felt all alone and forgotten. But the thing is, God did not forsake Him. God brought Jesus back from death and into heaven to sit at His right hand. Nor has our Father in heaven abandoned us. He has great rewards in store for us as well. God knows what must be done and why. And it is all for our ultimate good. No matter how it feels at the time, God loves us and is working all things to the good of those who love Him and are called to His purpose (please see Romans 8:28). Praise God. Amen.
Dear Father in heaven, please forgive us when we doubt You, when we feel like You've forgotten us even though You have never broken any promise You ever made. Blessed Jesus, thank You for taking our sins upon Yourself so that we might be saved. Please forgive us when we add to that terrible burden by sinning against our Father and You. We want to do what is right in Your eyes, but we too often fall to the temptations of the evil one. Help us, O Lord, be truer to You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
It wasn't the physical pain that Jesus endured being nailed to that tree or while hanging there that made Him cry out like that. Yes, crucifixion was a terrible means of execution meant to send a clear message to any potential enemies of the state. Death came slowly and painfully, usually dragging out two or three days. But that is not why Jesus cried out. He had already endured being beaten with rods by the Jewish Temple guards, getting slapped around by His Roman guards, and finally lashed with a whip that shreds flesh from the body. All this He withstood silently, without uttering a word or a whelp. Nor did the mental anguish make our Lord scream from indignation or humiliation. He had already been spat on, ridiculed, pushed around, paraded in front of those who just recently had worshiped Him, stripped of His clothing, had a murderer freed in His place, stood by as the people He came to save cast Him off. And all of this He again took without making a sound.
So what was the source of Jesus' great pain? What had caused Him so much distress earlier, just thinking about what would happen, that He told God that if there was any other way He'd rather not go through with this? What could bring God as Man to the very lowest depths of despair? Jesus, on that cross, took all of the sins of the world once and for all. What a horrible, tremendous burden He bore, all the sins of every person that ever lived, that was alive, and that ever would live laid directly on His shoulders. And all for our sake. (Please reference 2 Corinthians 5:21.) Is there any wonder why He would feel abandoned, why He would cry out to God, His Father?
We tend to think God has forsaken us just because things aren't going our way. We accuse Him of abandoning us when even the most minor affliction befalls us. We wonder if He hasn't turned His back to us when our prayers aren't immediately answered. We would never be able to stand the great suffering Jesus endured on our behalf, pain He did not deserve. So we can't hold it against Him that He for just a moment felt all alone and forgotten. But the thing is, God did not forsake Him. God brought Jesus back from death and into heaven to sit at His right hand. Nor has our Father in heaven abandoned us. He has great rewards in store for us as well. God knows what must be done and why. And it is all for our ultimate good. No matter how it feels at the time, God loves us and is working all things to the good of those who love Him and are called to His purpose (please see Romans 8:28). Praise God. Amen.
Dear Father in heaven, please forgive us when we doubt You, when we feel like You've forgotten us even though You have never broken any promise You ever made. Blessed Jesus, thank You for taking our sins upon Yourself so that we might be saved. Please forgive us when we add to that terrible burden by sinning against our Father and You. We want to do what is right in Your eyes, but we too often fall to the temptations of the evil one. Help us, O Lord, be truer to You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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