“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””(Mark 15:34 )
To the Muslim the idea that a prophet could die a cruel death on a cross is anathema. To the 1st century Jew it wasn’t exactly what they expected from their long awaited Messiah.
To those of us who believe Jesus was and is the Eternal Son of God it should be even more remarkable. The question “why did God forsake him?” Rings out down the ages.
The answer is simple: because of you and me. Because he both loved us, and yet was full of righteous anger against our sin.
Because of that lustful look you just surreptitiously took when you thought no one was noticing. Because of that angry word to my wife. Because of the greed that lies within us and which our culture celebrates. Because of a thousand other sins you and I have committed, most of which we don’t even remember.
Ultimately Jesus died because there was no other way for him to be a righteous judge and still forgive us, as the book of Romans explains.
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