English
๐๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง
The Fatherโs abandonment of His Son reveals the horror of sin, the necessity of judgment, and the mercy of God.
๐ฅ๐๐๐
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ, โ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ช, ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ช, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข ๐ด๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช?โ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด, โ๐๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฆ?โ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ฑ:๐ฏ๐ฐ
Additional Reading: ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฏ:๐ดโ๐ญ๐ฌ; ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฏ:๐ฏ๐ญโ๐ฏ๐ฏ; ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ณ:๐ญ๐ดโ๐ญ๐ต; ๐ง๐๐ง๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฏ:๐ฏโ๐ณย
Martin Luther once spent hours motionless and immersed in deep contemplation over this text. Observers thought he was in a trance, neither eating nor drinking. He finally emerged, saying, โGod forsaking God! No man can understand that.โ
We cannot comprehend Christโs agonizing cry on the cross. In that hour, the sinless One suffered the horror of sin. His bitter lament betrayed the torment of hell. It was the sound of sinโs price paid in full. Eternity will not exhaust the story of what Jesus endured in those dark hours on Calvaryโs cross.
The cross reveals the most violent and mysterious outpouring of Godโs wrath in all the Scriptures. God abandoned His Son to satisfy the demands of justice. Jesus bore the full measure of divine wrath against the sins of the world when God โlaid on him the iniquity of us all.โ The Father descended in judgment on Golgotha to unleash His fury not against sinners but against the Sin-bearer.ย
When a judge delivers a verdict on a guilty criminal, he decrees justice or mercy; he cannot pronounce both. But when God delivered His sentence against guilty humanity, justice and mercy met in perfect harmony. The penalty paid for sin affirmed Godโs justice, and our purchased pardon demonstrated His mercy.
Isaac Wattsโ hymn captures the awe we feel when we contemplate Christ upon the cross:
๐๐ญ๐ข๐ด! ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅย
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ช๐จ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ
๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅย
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข๐ด ๐?
ย
๐๐ข๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ
๐๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ?
๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ!
๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
Consider how the cross reveals both Godโs justice and mercy. How does this understanding affect your view of Godโs character and His actions in your life?
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
Pray for an opportunity to share your testimony with another person, highlighting Godโs mercy on your life.
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
Heavenly Father,
We come to You in awe and gratitude for Jesusโ sacrifice on the cross. His cry, โMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?โ reminds us of the horror of sin and the necessity of judgment. We cannot fully grasp the depth of Christโs suffering or the weight of the divine displeasure He bore on our behalf.
Thank You for Your mercy shown through Jesus, who took our punishment and offered us forgiveness and eternal life. Teach us to show the same mercy to others.
In Jesusโ name, Amen.