And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SARACHTHAN?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?” Mark 15:34
Have you ever felt forsaken?
Has pain threatened to crush your heart, your spirit?
Today, Good Friday, this One who is Good, this One who helps us, prays for us, forgives us … this God who calls us friend, He gets it. Really gets it.
He hurt. His body was beaten, bruised, crushed. Scripture says He was wounded for our transgressions, bore the stripes for our sin.
He hurt. His spirit worn down by the weight of His purpose, the loss of communion with the Father, the brokenness of this world.
He hurt. In every way imaginable. He had to.
His pain was necessary to make His sacrifice complete.
In every way Jesus was human:
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17 ESV emphasis added
When our bodies ache.
When our hearts break.
When our spirit fails.
When the pain overwhelms.
When life is more than we can bear.
HE UNDERSTANDS OUR PAIN.
That simple, complex truth leaves me undone, overwhelmed, amazed.
And grateful. So, so grateful.
Today we remember the day darkness fell in daytime, the day the earth shook with the sorrow of heaven, the day the veil was torn in two … the day HISTORY was split in two.
His pain, our redemption.
[…] Jesus knows our pain, even the pain of rejection and feeling forsaken. {Mark 15:34} […]