DEVOTION – DAY 597

Matthew 27:45-46 “The Messiah”

Matthew 27:45-46 “From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)”

The apostle Matthew recorded in the above verses that when Jesus was nailed to the cross, darkness fell over all the land for 3 hours from noon till three in the afternoon. This was a unique global phenomenon and because of its duration, it was obviously not an eclipse. At about 3pm, Jesus cried out in a dialect of Aramaic that Matthew translated for us. A simple reading would seem to reveal how deeply Jesus felt His abandonment by God the Father, as He carried the sins of the world on His shoulders and took on the full punishment for our sins. 

But, the words “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, is also a direct quote from Psalm 22:1a. This was a Psalm written by King David, hundreds of years before Jesus was crucified. The Psalm was well known and was seen as David’s anguished prayer as a righteous sufferer as he awaited deliverance. The Psalm was also considered to be a Messianic Psalm because it prophetically described the humiliation and suffering the Messiah would have experienced on the cross. By quoting from this well-known psalm, Jesus was declaring aloud that He is the Messiah came to fulfill His work on the cross. Jesus was also declaring aloud that although those present think He is defeated and forsaken, in reality He offers hope and restoration for God’s people just as Psalm 22 ends on a note of hope. Instead of a cry of despair, it is actually a declaration of Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, that through His work on the cross, there is hope and reconciliation for those who see Him as their Messiah.

We know people who have heard the gospel message and they believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. For them, there is hope and reconciliation with God. Their penalty for sin had been fully paid for. We also know people who reject the gospel. They want to trust in themselves and their own choice of way to reconcile with God.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the free gift of salvation through the work of your Son on the cross to atone for our sins. We pray that the gospel message be shared actively to an unbelieving world and we pray for the salvation of all our friends and loved ones. We pray in the glorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Questions

  1. Read Psalm 22. How does this psalm prophetically point to the suffering of the Messiah? 
  2. How does this compare to what Jesus experienced on the cross?
  3. By atoning for the sins of all who would believe in Him as their Savior, what is your response to Jesus Christ? Is He your Lord and Savior?