“…My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” – Matthew 27:46 (KJV)
It was to redeem us that Jesus lived, suffered, and died. He became a “Man of Sorrows” so that we might be made partakers of everlasting joy. God permitted His beloved Son, Who was full of grace and truth, to come from a world of indescribable glory and to come to a world marred with sin and darkened with death and curse. He permitted Him to leave the bosom of His love, the adoration of the angels, to suffer shame, insult, humiliation, and death (Isaiah 53:5).
See Him in Gethsemane and upon the cross!
The spotless Son of God took upon Himself the burden of sin. He who was one with God but felt in His soul the awful separation that sin makes between God and man. Thus wrung from His lips the anguished cry, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” It was the burden of sin and the separation from God that broke the Son’s heart.
Jesus said, “Therefore, doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it up again” (John 10:17 – KJV). None but the Son of God could have accomplished our redemption, my friends. Jesus is ‘not ashamed to call us brethren’ (Hebrews 2:11). He is our Sacrifice, our Advocate, our Brother, bearing our human form before the Father’s throne. He has lifted us from the ruin and degradation of sin so that we might reflect His love and share His joy.
Such love is without parallel. The matchless love of God for a world that did not love Him. The more we study the Divine Character in the light of the cross, the more we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice, and the clearer we discern innumerable evidence of love that is infinite and tender. It surpasses a mother’s yearning sympathy for her wayward child.
Prayer
Father, I come into Your presence thanking You for forgiveness. In a culture where many experience clinical depression because of guilt, I know my past is redeemed because of Christ’s sacrifice for me. Your forgiveness is amazing. Although I don’t deserve it, You pour it out freely and lovingly. Thank You for pardoning me; I bless Your Holy Name, Amen.
Read: John 3:1-2; Hebrews 2:11
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 42:7-11; Luke 12:1-34; Deuteronomy 9; Deuteronomy 10
