Cross Words, 5of9

~ More Words To His Father While Suffering Spiritually ~

Jesus Christ made seven gripping last statements while He was dying for our sins on the Cross of Calvary.  This is part of a Sunday series looking at the last words of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Passage (phrase 4)  ~  “Now from the sixth hour [noon] until the ninth hour [3:00 p.m.] 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).

Comments  ~  God is absolutely holy—He has “Zero Tolerance” for anything but absolute holiness.  God also has unlimited love.  These two factors come together at the Cross.  God sent His Son into the world to pay for your sin and my sin.  The collision occurred at the Cross of Calvary.  While Christ suffered extreme pain He also suffered separation from His Father.  That is what sin does—and He was paying for our sins. 

Don’t Miss This  ~  (1) The Cross originated from the love of God, the Father (John 3:16).  (2) The Cross was a joint effort of the Father and His Son (John 6:38, 10:30).  (3) The first purpose of the Cross was for God, not for us.  (4) The Cross caused a break in fellowship between the Father and the Son—not a break in the basic unity of the Trinity.  Fellowship with God is always broken by sin—the Son of God was paying for our sin.  (5) Darkness (representing sin) covered the land as the Son (the “light of the world”) paid our penalty.  When sin’s penalty was paid light was restored.  (6) Our Savior had to be separated from God spiritually as well as physically—otherwise He would have only saved our physical bodies.  (7) The Son of God was truly abandoned by God the Father—that is He suffered divinely as God.  (8) Someone has put it this way, “A God who could not suffer is a God who could not love.”  While God the Father’s presence was withdrawn, His love was not!  (9) Our Savior’s cry was of distress not distrust of the Father. 

the key question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This is the most important question you will ever answer. If you do not answer it, or answer it incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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