When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Mark 15:33-34 HCSB
Have you ever felt alone and forsaken? Have you ever been lost and did not know where to turn? Have you ever felt helpless? Have you ever felt that no one cared what you were going through? These are natural feelings all of us have felt at some point in our lives.
Jesus felt these same feelings as He hung on the cross dying. He cried out to God the Father asking, “Why have You forsaken Me?” He was quoting David’s Psalm 22:1. The darkness that filled the skies began at noon and increased until three in the afternoon when it was almost completely dark. Many believe that the darkness indicated that Jesus’ death was a supernatural event and the darkness represented the evil of all of the sins of the world that would be placed on Jesus. Because God is a Holy God and cannot be associated with anything evil, at the moment all the sins of every person in the world were placed on Jesus, God turned away. Jesus felt as though He had been forsaken because it was the first time He had ever experienced not having the loving presence of His Father. Jesus had to experience everything that we must experience amidst our sin and shame. As sinners we are not acceptable to God and we have a broken relationship with Him. It is only through Christ that our
sins can be forgiven and our relationship restored.
Thank God for providing the perfect sacrifice for your sins. Thank Jesus for paying the ultimate sacrifice of taking your sins upon Himself and dying in your place. Know that Jesus has experienced everything you have experienced and understands how you feel when you are rejected and feel forsaken. Take all of your cares and concerns to Jesus. Only He can bring peace to your broken soul.