What Wondrous Love

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Mt 27:46 NKJV

Imagine having to stand and watch every sin you’ve ever committed replayed for all the world to see: your secret addictions, your selfish motives, your angry outbursts, your critical attitudes, your jealous heart. How do you think you’d feel? Well, Jesus experienced much worse. The Bible says, “[He]…bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1Pe 2:24 NKJV). It’s bad enough to die for sins you didn’t commit, but imagine being “forsaken” by God! It’s the same word Paul used when he wrote, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2Ti 4:10). Paul looked for Demas and couldn’t find him. And on the cross Jesus looked for His Father and couldn’t find Him either. Does that mean the Psalmist was wrong when he wrote, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken” (Ps 37:25 NIV)? No, because at that moment Jesus was anything but righteous. When you look at Him hanging there you will see the gossiper, the liar, the cheater, the alcoholic, the porn addict, the child abuser, the murderer. Does it bother you to see His name linked with theirs? Well, Jesus did even more. He put Himself in their place—and yours. In a move that broke God’s heart and gave us the gift of eternal life, God poured out His righteous judgment on His Son. So when Jesus cried from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He said it so that you would never have to. What wondrous love!

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