The Triumph of Easter: A 6-Day Devotional for FamiliesSample

God Banished Jesus from His Presence for Us

Q. Did Jesus say God’s promise was fulfilled when he was crucified? 

A. [Jesus] said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

We read five different verses from the Bible today—and they were all memory verses from earlier times in our devotional. Each one points us to being able to understand what was happening when Jesus died on the cross. Jesus was banished for our sins. Jesus perished. Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb. Jesus represents God’s people who go into exile. Jesus’s death is the destruction of the Temple. The Bible has been showing us all along the penalty for sin. It requires separation from God. He banished Adam and Eve from the garden; he caused everything to perish in the flood; he killed all the firstborn Egyptians at the time of the Exodus; he sent Israel into exile; and he had Solomon’s temple destroyed to show that he was separated from his people because of their sin. Now, Jesus’s death shows us what all those events meant. Jesus takes on the punishment for the sin of his people. He was abandoned by God when he died on the cross (Mark 15:33–34). In his death you see the extent of God’s love for you!

Reflection and Interaction:

Do you see how the New Testament helps us understand the Old Testament? 

Thank God for giving us all the clues we need to understand the mystery of his great love.