Daily Scripture
“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”
Matthew 27:45-51
daily Devotion
Through this piece of scripture, we see what events took place the last three hours Jesus was on the cross. These moments speak to the awful price Christ paid for our sin.
The verses state that from the sixth hour, there was darkness all over the land. This darkness was not localized but could be felt all over the earth. In scripture, we see darkness being used as a judgment sign (see Isaiah 13:10-11, Joel 2:1-2, and Amos 5:20). The darkness that covered the land while Jesus hung on the cross is God’s message of His wrath on the sin of the world. Jesus quite literally had the weight of everyone’s sin on Him while He was on the cross. He was facing God’s wrath so we didn’t have to.
Going on in the passage, Jesus cries out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” He speaks this out to show His true anguish as He is experiencing being separated from God for the first time ever. The fellowship that Jesus had with His Father had been broken. Christ hung on the cross at Calvary and was briefly separated from God while he died in our place. Christ is the substitutionary atonement for mine and your sins. He took our hell. Jesus let us know what hell is going to feel like… being forsaken. Sin produces separation from our Lord, which is the ultimate punishment.
If you aren’t a Christian, you stand separated from Him right now. If you are a child of God and you are sinning, you are separated from His fellowship. If being apart from God forever doesn’t scare you, then I would go as far as to say that you don’t really know Him. He is peace. He is my shield. He is my helper. He is my comforter. He is my hope. The thought of being separated from Him for eternity is so scary, and I’m glad I won’t ever have to experience that. The good news is that you don’t have to either! You can come to God because of what Christ did on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection. You can trust Him and surrender yourself, so you can be in His presence forever. Thank you, Jesus!!
Elise Williams