Sample Devotion - Dying Words
Jesus' Fourth Word from the Cross
It is a terrible thing to be rejected and forsaken, especially by those who are most important to you. One of the scenes of the history of our Lord's suffering that draws our greatest sympathy is that of Jesus, our Brother, "treading the wine press alone," as the Scriptures had prophesied. His friends disappointed him and forsook him, leaving him to endure the angry rejection of priest and people and to suffer the pain of the scourge and the cross alone. Our hearts surely must go out to him as we remember that he experienced all this for us.
His suffering deepened. On two occasions during Jesus' life his heavenly Father had spoken from heaven to assure him, "You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased." But now, on the cross, the Father looked down from heaven and saw the sins of the world – also your sins and mine – which Jesus was carrying in his body, and he let the full weight of his wrath against sin fall on this Sin-bearer. For one eternal moment his Father turned away from Jesus – and the beloved Son knew the anguish of the forsaken in hell. And from the depths of his soul Jesus cried out, "My God, why have You forsaken me?"
His words were not a complaint – though he was the sinless One. His words were a prayer. They expressed his desire to keep in touch with his Father even when the window of heaven was closed against him. What Jesus was experiencing was no pretense. He was experiencing it fully and purposefully. It was no surprise. Jesus knew in advance what was at the bottom of the cup that he was to drink. As the Son of God he had participated in the divine decision that sent him to drink it.
Because Jesus carried out the saving plan willingly and purposefully, it did not destroy his desire for nor his assurance of a continued relationship with his Father. He was the only one who could endure the judgment of hell and not be reduced to a self-pitying hatred for God. Instead, in his aloneness and separation, he kept on crying out for God, expectantly waiting for the awful moment to be over; eager for restoration of the Father's loving presence with him, fully confident of the victory that awaited him – a victory in which you and I share.
"My God, why have You forsaken me?" Can you listen to Jesus' words on the cross and not recognize the deadly nature of sin – also your sin? Can you listen to Jesus, knowing that, in your stead, he accepted the hellish wages that your sins have earned, and not trust him and love him with your whole heart and give him your life?
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