The PassionNäide

Have you ever felt abandoned by someone you trusted greatly? Perhaps it was a parent who wasn't present in your darkest hour, or a close friend who vanished when you needed them most, or maybe you're walking through a season right now where God feels distant and silent.

In today's passage, we witness the most profound cry of anguish in human history. For three hours, darkness covered the land while Jesus hung on the cross. This wasn't merely an eclipse; it was creation itself responding to the cosmic weight of what was taking place. The sinless Son of God was bearing the full penalty for all of humanity’s rebellion against God. And then, breaking through the darkness, comes the cry: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, ESV)

Jesus was expressing the human experience of bearing our sins' consequences. In His humanity, He felt the crushing isolation that sin creates between us and God. The fellowship that Jesus had always known with the Father was replaced by the weight of humanity's rebellion that He carried. On the cross, Jesus experienced the forsakenness that should have been ours so that we could receive the acceptance that should have been His alone.

We often wonder where God is in our suffering, why He seems silent when we need Him most. The beautiful truth is that Jesus, on the cross, suffered in our place so that we may never have to experience true separation from God. He experienced the darkness of our deserved separation so we could walk in the light of His eternal acceptance.

God now speaks a different word over your life. Instead of abandonment, He declares in Hebrews 13:5 (NIV): "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." This is a promise sealed by the blood of Jesus and guaranteed by His resurrection.

Even in His agony, Jesus remained in control. He "gave up his spirit," dismissing His life at the exact moment His work was complete. The darkness that seemed like defeat was actually the backdrop for humanity's greatest triumph.

Today, ponder this: How does knowing that Jesus felt the full weight of abandonment that our sin deserved change the way you understand God's unchanging presence with you in your darkest moments?