Day 39
"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46, NIV).
What caused Jesus the greatest agony on the cross was not our sins, because He knew that we were going to be forgiven and saved. What broke His heart was thinking that His Father had turned His back on Him. Jesus went through an experience that, thank God, we will never have to go through—not just crucifixion, not just the agony of the body, but the agony of mind and spirit, feeling that God had actually deserted Him. 'My God, My God,' He cried out, 'why have You forsaken Me?' (Matthew 27:46). Had God forsaken Him? Yes, momentarily, that He might die the death of a sinner, without God.
Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the whole world on the cross (1 Peter 2:24), and these sins temporarily separated Him from His Father. He voluntarily gave Himself to die in our place—He loves us that much!