April 18, 2025 | Be God's Family
Jesus Dies on the Cross
Scripture: Matthew 27:45-56(NIV)
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 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?”).
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Devotional
It is easy to focus on the anguish Jesus must have felt in these moments. Research suggests that Jesus was crucified at 9am and died about 3pm, after six long hours. But then why is it called “Good Friday” if all we can focus on is the pain? What is Good about it?
Before he died, Jesus cried, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?, which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Jesus knew what God asked of him; he knew that his fate would be unbearable and he chose to bear it anyway. In this moment, Jesus is perhaps at his most human, experiencing the full weight of all the sins of the world. This suffering is so great that it makes Jesus feel separated from God, even though he is God himself.
Do you recognize this feeling? When all is dark, when the pain is too much, when we feel alone, don’t we all look for God? Does He not seem far from us? Don’t we cry out, why am I alone? Jesus needed to feel this uniquely human place to completely understand us, so that he could be with us in those moments. He is the pathway to God and in our darkest moments he understands exactly how we feel and is ready to stand in our pain with us.
Jesus’s cry of anguish is quickly followed by this line of scripture:
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
In English, Jesus’s final comment is 3 words, but in Greek it is just one: Tetelestai. This is not a concession, but a victor’s cry! This is a cry of a job finished! This is a cry of triumph! The suffering is over, and so is the separation. Jesus goes through the dark into the light, and he brings us with him. And in doing so the veil is split in two, God is no longer hidden from us.
We have a way to see God even when we feel most separated from Him, and that way is Jesus. This is the Good in Good Friday! Jesus became the bridge to our God. He is the light in our darkness. He paid the price we never could, so that we could know God the way He does. In our darkest hours we can cry out to him–Why? –and he will hear us and understand us. Then we can shout in victory “Tetelestai!” We are saved, God is with us. It is a Good Friday after all.
Poem
Deathbed Agony
Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
Psalm 22:1-2, 6
My deathbed reeks with rotting flesh
The worms ‘round table gather
Forsaken, I am all alone
To no one do I matter
My nightmares swirl, surrounding me
Engulfing me, I’m drowning
Paid mourners lend their open palms
Requiring coins, palls donning
There’s no one list’ning to my cry
For just a sip of water
To quench my parched throat, mollify
Their own schemes only matter
Despised, afflicted, suff’ring, I
Now offer up my life’s breath
With none to soothe or comfort me
I yield myself to this death
