Temporarily Forsaken by God
Jesus has always enjoyed unbroken fellowship with the Father and the Spirit, except for one 3 hour period while He was hanging on the cross for us. Jesus was crucified at 9 am, but at noon darkness fell over the whole land of Israel until 3 pm. At the end of those 3 cruel hours, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:33,34) It was then that Jesus suffered the wrath of the Father for your sins and mine. We should all be eternally grateful for this and love Him completely for His selfless sacrifice for all of our sins.
Sin separates us from God. (Isaiah 59:1-2) Jesus was the sinless Lamb of God, the God/ Man who could die in our place, since He was God and man. (Romans 3:23; 6:23) However, part of the process of dying for us was to have all of our sins placed upon Him. (Isaiah 53:6) This was done during that 3 hour period of darkness. Jesus suffered the wrath of God and separation from the Father for that time that we all deserved to experience. That is how He paid for our sins with His precious blood. They all had to be laid on Him first, like the hands of the sinner being placed on the sacrificial lambs in the Old Covenant before the lamb's throat was cut and the blood drained out to atone for the sins of that person. Jesus took it all for us, and then, He graciously offers to forgive us totally, if we will confess Him as Lord and believe in Him as the One who died and rose again to conquer Satan, sin, and death, once and for all.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Mark 16 and Luke 1-2.
Sin separates us from God. (Isaiah 59:1-2) Jesus was the sinless Lamb of God, the God/ Man who could die in our place, since He was God and man. (Romans 3:23; 6:23) However, part of the process of dying for us was to have all of our sins placed upon Him. (Isaiah 53:6) This was done during that 3 hour period of darkness. Jesus suffered the wrath of God and separation from the Father for that time that we all deserved to experience. That is how He paid for our sins with His precious blood. They all had to be laid on Him first, like the hands of the sinner being placed on the sacrificial lambs in the Old Covenant before the lamb's throat was cut and the blood drained out to atone for the sins of that person. Jesus took it all for us, and then, He graciously offers to forgive us totally, if we will confess Him as Lord and believe in Him as the One who died and rose again to conquer Satan, sin, and death, once and for all.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Mark 16 and Luke 1-2.