The Seven Last Words on the Cross (4)

[Matthew 27:45–49]

This is the fourth saying Jesus spoke while on the cross: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”

Matthew 27:46 says:

“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’—which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
Here, “the ninth hour” refers to around 3 p.m. (according to the Korean Contemporary Bible).
The phrase “cried out in a loud voice” means that Jesus cried out to God the Father with a loud voice. Some even say that Jesus gave a cry of anguish. This implies that Jesus, with all His strength, earnestly and desperately cried out to God the Father from the cross.

About 700 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah (Christ) would not open His mouth:

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

In accordance with this prophecy, Jesus Christ remained silent not only during His trial and questioning but also while He was being crucified, during the time from noon to 3 p.m., when darkness fell over all the land (Matthew 27:45, Korean Contemporary Bible).

When we read the words “darkness came over all the land” (v. 45), we should consider it in connection with Exodus 10:21–23, which says:

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”

This ninth plague that God brought upon Egypt to rescue the Israelites brought thick darkness over all of Egypt for three days (v. 22), to the extent that people could not see each other or even move from their places (v. 23).
But interestingly, in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there was light (v. 23).
This indicates that the three days of darkness over all of Egypt were a judgment from God upon the Egyptians.

Likewise, when Jesus Christ was on the cross from noon until 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:45, Korean Contemporary Bible), darkness covered all the land, and there was no light (v. 45).
This shows that God the Father was pouring out judgment on His only Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the Light of the World (John 9:5), bore the judgment of darkness on the cross for three hours (Matthew 27:45).

During this time, those passing by mocked Jesus and shook their heads (Matthew 27:39–40),
the chief priests, scribes, and elders also mocked Him (vv. 41–43),
and even the two thieves crucified with Him insulted Him (v. 44).
Yet Jesus remained silent and did not open His mouth.
He kept silent for three full hours.

Then, around 3 p.m., Jesus cried out in a loud voice:
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Korean Contemporary Bible).

Just as God sent the ninth plague of darkness over Egypt for three days to deliver the Israelites,
He also sent the tenth and final plague upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians whose hearts remained hardened.

Exodus 11:5 (Korean Contemporary Bible) says:

“Every firstborn in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on the throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.”

According to this word, at midnight, God struck down all the firstborn in Egypt—from Pharaoh’s firstborn to the firstborn of those in prison, and the firstborn of the livestock.
As a result, Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the Egyptians rose during the night, and there was loud wailing throughout Egypt, because there was not a single house without someone dead (Exodus 12:29–30).
This was God’s judgment for the sins of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, for their sins were full, and thus God brought upon them such a punishment.

However, Jesus Christ had no sin, and yet He was crucified.
From noon until 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:45, Korean Contemporary Bible)—for three hours—while Jesus was on the cross, darkness came over all the land (v. 45), and He suffered the anguish of being forsaken by the loving God the Father (v. 46).

The Bible clearly declares that Jesus Christ was without sin:

2 Corinthians 5:21:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
(Korean Contemporary Bible: “God laid our sin upon Christ, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might be considered righteous before God.”)

1 Peter 2:22:

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
(Korean Contemporary Bible: “Christ committed no sin, and there was no lie in His mouth.”)

1 John 3:5:

“But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin.”
(Korean Contemporary Bible: “As you know, Jesus came to remove our sins, and there is absolutely no sin in Him.”)

Even though Jesus lived on this earth for 33 years and was tempted many times,
He never sinned.
He had no experience of sin whatsoever.

Then why did someone who had no sin not only get crucified, but also endure three hours of darkness, and suffer the eternal punishment of being forsaken by God the Father?

The reason is simple: For us.

Jesus was crucified in our place, bearing the punishment of being forsaken by God the Father, in order to save us from our sins.
And in the end, Jesus died on the cross.

An interesting point is that God brought the ninth plague of “thick darkness” upon the Egyptians for three days (Exodus 10:22, Korean Contemporary Bible). Similarly, the disobedient prophet Jonah was inside the belly of a great fish for “three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17, Korean Contemporary Bible), and Jesus, though sinless, was not only in darkness for three hours on the cross (Matthew 27:45), but also ultimately spent “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

The prophet Jonah described the belly of the fish as a place “like the grave” (Jonah 2:2, Korean Contemporary Bible) or “the land of death” (v. 6, Korean Contemporary Bible). Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights, Jesus said,

“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)

In order to save us, Jesus took upon Himself all our sins and was crucified. After His death, He was in the heart of the earth for three days and nights, just like Jonah was in the belly of the fish.

Just as God caused the disobedient prophet Jonah to be confined in a place like a grave or land of death for three days and nights (Jonah 2:2, 6, Korean Contemporary Bible), God also allowed His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be confined in the land of death for three days.
[Note: The English Apostles’ Creed expresses these three days in the “land of death” with the phrase “he descended into hell.” That is, Jesus truly experienced the agony of hell—utter darkness—for three days.]

Why?
So that we, who deserve to remain in that utter darkness of hell forever, may instead live eternally in the kingdom of heaven.

Just as God cast out the disobedient prophet Jonah from His presence (Jonah 2:4), He also cast out Jesus—who obeyed Him to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:8)—even to the depths of the earth, in order that we, who were His enemies and destined to be cast into eternal hell, might instead enter eternal heaven.

Jesus lowered Himself and descended even to the earth’s depths so that God might make us “those who are of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:48).

Here is the first verse of the gospel song “At That Time, That Crowd”:

“At that time, that crowd nailed Jesus to the cross.
With three rusty nails, the sound of the hammer echoed in my heart.
He washed away my sins with His blood.”

Now, when Jesus was nailed to the cross with those three rusty nails on the hill of Golgotha—do we hear the sound of the hammer in our hearts?
When Jesus cried out in agony on the cross,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
—do we hear that cry deep in our hearts?

May God grant us grace so that we may hear the fourth saying of Jesus on the cross:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v. 46)

And may we all, with all our strength, offer a song of thankful praise to God, saying:

“At that time, we nailed Jesus with those three rusty nails.
His cry of agony echoed in my heart.
He washed away my sin with His blood.”