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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
Mark tells us that Jesus was crucified at the third hour (Mark 15:25), which would have been nine o’clock in the morning. When He was nailed to the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
The morning wore on with jeering from the crowd and insults from the robbers on either side of Jesus. Nine o’clock, ten o’clock, ten thirty… Sometime during morning, one of the thieves asked Jesus to remember Him and Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (23:43). Then Jesus said to Mary, “Woman, behold, your son” (John 19:26).
At noon, after Jesus had endured three hours of agony and insult, something new happened and Christ entered into the heart of His passion. “Now from the sixth hour [noon] there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour [three o’clock in the afternoon]” (Matthew 27:45).
God turned off the light. When Jesus was born, there was light at midnight, and when He was crucified, there was darkness at noon. The sudden darkness tells us that something new was happening. Jesus was entering into the heart of His work as our sin bearer.
The darkness reminds us that the events that took place in these hours are beyond our understanding. But there are some things we know because God has told us.
Jesus bore our sins on the cross
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24)
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6)
Jesus bore the punishment for our sins
Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace (Isaiah 53:5)
Christ Jesus [was] put forward as a propitiation by his blood (Romans 3:24-25)
He is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2)
Propitiation means Jesus endured the punishment for sin. He endured all that hell is on the cross.
Jesus was completely alone in His suffering
In the darkness Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The Father did not cease to love the Son, but the comforts of the Father’s love were beyond the Savior’s reach.
Here we enter the deepest mystery of what happened in that darkness. The terrors of the Father’s judgment were poured out on the Savior. Try to take in what was happening here. Jesus became our sin bearer, and He was plunged into all the torments of hell. And in the depths of His agony, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Three windows into the cross
These words of Jesus open three windows into what was happening at the cross – the nature of sin, the pains of hell, and the extent of God’s love.
Jesus suffered for sins on the cross. Our indulgent greed, our cherished pride, our secret lusts were laid on Him. Learn to hate sin at the cross by looking at what your sin did to Jesus. Look at how He was forsaken for you and ask yourself, “What sin is there that I cannot forsake for Him?”
Jesus suffered hell on the cross. He suffered consciously in blackest darkness, surrounded by demonic powers, bearing sin, under judgment, and separated from the love of God. This is hell and He endured it for us. The worst part of hell is to be separated from the love of God forever. Jesus endured hell on the cross so you would never know what it is like.
God’s love is displayed at the cross and the extent of His love can be measured by the price that He paid to redeem you. Before He created the universe, God the Father had you in view and planned for you in love. Before you were ever born, God the Son took your flesh. He lived a perfect life for you. Then He went to the cross for you. God did all of this to save you. What greater proof could there be of His love for you?
There may be times in your life when you cannot feel the love or the presence of God. When these times come, you need to know that Jesus has been there too. When Jesus was in the darkness He said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Notice Jesus still referred to the Father as my God, even when He could no longer feel the comfort of His love. These words were a statement of faith from the lips of Jesus. When you cannot feel the love of God, you can exercise the same faith. God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). You have a Savior to whom you can always come, even in the darkest moments of your life.
Prayer
Father, help me to see Your love for me in the cross.
Help me consider what my sin did to Your Son
on the cross so that I learn to hate it.
Thank You that Jesus endured hell on the cross,
so that I would never know what it is like.
Father, when I cannot feel Your love,
help me to turn to my Savior,
who was forsaken, and find in Him
the strength that I need.
Colin Smith
Founder & Teaching Pastor
Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near - So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on Twitter.
