Abandoned

Scripture: Matthew 27:45-56 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” 47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. 49 But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.” 50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. (Matthew 27:45–50 NLT)

“Why have you abandoned me?” Jesus was alone! He had been betrayed by one of his closest followers, denied by another, and deserted by all! He had been mocked by the Jewish priests and elders, beaten by the Romans, and mocked and spat upon by the passersby. And now, hanging suspended between heaven and earth, for the first time ever, he can no longer sense the presence of God.

Jesus was not merely the Son of God, Jesus was a fully-human man! Now all the sin and sins of the world, from Adam’s disobedience in Eden, to the lying priests and elders who convinced Pilate to unjustly sentence him to death were on his soul. All the sin and sins of his betraying, denying, deserting disciples, the sins of Herod, the sins of Attila the Hun, the sins of Hitler the Nazi, the sins of every rapist, murderer, and abuser, and especially my sin and your sin—all that sin was on his soul! We can’t fully know, or imagine, or understand how that felt! What was it like to, for the first time in eternity and the first time in his life, feel the guilt and shame and crushing weight of sin? And then, under the weight of that guilt and shame and sin, he cried out to his Father to forgive us all!

Then, in the greatest step of faith a man has ever taken, he let go, released, dismissed his spirit, and dying, fell headlong into the abyss of darkness and hell. And falling into hell, he took away the sins of the world! And my sin and your sin!

And as he released his spirit, and as he fell alone into the darkness, he trusted God, who had abandoned him; he trusted his Father, whose presence he could no longer sense or feel, to bring him back. Words fail!  Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Prayer:

Thank you Father, that you so loved the world that you gave your only Son, whom you love, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. You did not send your Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it! Thank you! Amen!