E…E…L…S
Why did Jesus cry out, "My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?" Explore the pivotal moments of the crucifixion, the weight of the cross, and the depth of divine love that finished the work of redemption.
REFLECTLATEST
Stephen
10/10/20262 min read
Matthew 27:45–50
Three hours had passed since the crucifixion began. Jesus had been hanging on the cross since morning, with blood dripping from the wounds made by the nails that pierced His hands and feet.
It was noon—12:00 p.m.
Normally, this was the brightest part of the day, but that day was entirely different. From noon, an unprecedented darkness covered the whole land. The people panicked, unable to understand why it had become dark at midday. The darkness lasted until three o’clock.
Then the darkness began to fade, and the sun’s light returned. At about three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice:
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
That is, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?”
Pause for a moment. Until then, the Lord Jesus had never addressed the Father as God. In the Bible, He addressed or referred to Him as Father about 150 times, but not once did He call the Father God. Why, then, did Jesus address the Father as God at this moment?
The sins of the whole world were placed on Him, breaking the unbroken fellowship between the Father and the Son. The world’s sin came between them, and the Father’s role shifted from Father to Judge. Sin was judged, Satan struck His heel, darkness covered the land, and the Lord Jesus was separated from the Father. He had prayed earnestly three times concerning this separation. Yet saving the world was impossible without it. Therefore, the Father did not grant His request, and Jesus accepted the cup according to the Father’s will so that you and I could be saved.
After this, Jesus knew that everything had been completed. To fulfill Scripture, He said, “I thirst.” A vessel of sour wine (vinegar) was nearby, so they soaked a sponge in it, placed the sponge on a stalk of hyssop, and held it to His mouth. After receiving the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is finished!” Then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
The Lord Jesus became sin for us, paid the price, and redeemed us from sin and death. When this truth grips us and we grasp the depth of His love, we cannot remain the same; it radically changes and transforms us. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to the truth and bring us to our knees.