“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?” Matthew 27:45-46
Have you ever felt lost, empty, alone, even abandoned by the Lord? It’s almost like there is a thick darkness that surrounds you, and there really isn’t any hope of escaping it. In fact, it’s almost as though it is a tiny taste of hell. Well, if you would magnify those feelings thousands of times, I believe you would have a little taste of what Jesus endured on the cross.
In Matthew’s Gospel it states, “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, ‘Eli, Eli lema sabachthani?’, that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:45-46)
Matthew describes the darkness as being thick. Of course, some believe that the darkness was an eclipse or thick cloud cover. However, the Greek word “skotos” implies that this was more than just a physical darkness. This was a dark place where darkness reigns. In other words, the sun was obscured by a supernatural act of God.
Darkness has always been associated with the judgement of God against sin. So, here we see the judgement of God against all the sin of the world, the collective guilt of all of us, aimed right at Jesus. There, on that cross, Jesus became legally guilty of our sin, and for that He was judged. In the eyes of God, Jesus was guilty of genocide, child abuse, abortion, rape, all immoral acts, and so much more. The sinless One was made sin for us.
It is interesting that in Egypt, centuries earlier, the plague just before the final one, the one we know as Passover, was in fact, darkness. It reads, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.’” (Exodus 10:21). “A darkness to be felt”, that was the darkness of God’s judgement that was falling on Egypt. And now, just before the Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God was slain, darkness, a darkness that could be felt, covered the world like a blanket. Of course, darkness also represents the absence of God, who is Light. Because Jesus had literally become sin on the cross, the Father turned His back on Him, because the Father could not stand the sight of sin. It was from this thick darkness of judgement and abandonment that Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”
Jesus was quoting here from Psalm 22, which really is a prophetic portrayal of a crucifixion long before crucifixion was even invented. Jesus was actually living and dying this psalm. As Jesus hung there on that cross, the fellowship between the Father and the Son had been broken. That is what sin does. Jesus was experiencing the full impact of God’s judgement. He was receiving what you and I deserve. He was indeed forsaken by God Himself. Why? Because the indescribable sin that Jesus became, clashed with the infinite holiness and justice of God. When that happened, you better believe that there was hell to pay, and Jesus paid it all in full.
What we need to hold on to as tightly as we can is that, Jesus was forsaken by God so that you and I might be accepted by God. Jesus was cursed, that we might be blessed. Jesus suffered through that darkness, so that we might live in the light of God’s love, forgiveness, and peace. Jesus did indeed endure hell, so that we might enjoy heaven with Him.
Jesus was faithful to you and I, and He was faithful to His plan of salvation We need to cling to this great truth when we are going through the darkness of our spiritual struggles, or when our marriage or family seems to be falling apart, or in times of illness, or crisis, or in times when we feel so alone, so lost, and so empty. Because Jesus was faithful, we will never be alone or abandoned or forsaken, and praise God every day for this.
Lord Jesus, there are times when we all feel alone, abandoned and forsaken. At those times Lord, help us to look to the cross and see that You are Faithful. By becoming sin itself and putting sin to death in Your sacrifice, You have opened that door that leads to forgiveness, reconciliation, wholeness, peace and life. Thank you for this and help us to cling to this truth, this freedom, this light, even on the darkest of days. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
Keith Enko