Daily Devotional

-February 21, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-Jesus Was Forsaken By God Because He Died For Our Sins-

“Now about the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 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 27:45-46).

Much of the scene of the cross was shrouded in darkness over all the land. It was an impermeable darkness. The only other time when there was darkness in the daytime was when God brought a severe plague of darkness on the Egyptians. The Scripture says that darkness could be felt. Here the cross it was very similar but even more ominous.

The last three hours of Jesus’ crucifixion was when He bore our sins and accomplished our salvation. God laid our sins on Him, He bore them in His own body, and He became sin for us. God darkened the land while this transaction took place. All our sin, evil, wickedness, and wretchedness was transferred onto our Savior. He bore our sin debt and paid it in full. God’s wrath and judgment was heaped on our precious, sinless, holy Redeemer. He shed His blood to wash away our sin.

It is amazing after all that Christ suffered, He summoned all His strength and cried out to the Father. He quoted Psalm 22:1, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me…” The answer to this question is both simple and sublime: He was bearing our sin, and a holy God cannot look on sin. Thus God forsook Him. He died all alone on the cross in darkness. There was none to comfort Him or help Him.

Oh, what a heavy price our Savior paid to save us! Prior to the cross, the Son had wonderful and blessed communion with the Father all the time He was on earth as well as in eternity past. Now, however during His time on the cross, God turned His back on Him. He suffered something we will never have to. God promised us, “I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.” This is found in a number of Scriptures.

Because Jesus died for us, He was forsaken that one time. As a result, we who believe in Him will be with Him in heaven forever. He will be with us and never leave or forsake us. We who deserved death, physical and spiritual, now have life abundant and eternal; we who should be chained in darkness forever, now have light in the Lord; and we who were guilty have been pardoned and forgiven. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

The hymn writer Robert C. Chapman wrote, “In His spotless soul’s distress, I have learnt my guiltiness; Oh how vile my low estate, since my ransom was so great.” This hymn is titled “Oh, My Savior Crucified,” and the tune was composed by Mozart.

Have a blessed day of worshiping and praising the Lord for His sacrifice on the cross. Remember the One who was forsaken for us will never leave us or forsake us. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean