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Matthew 27:45-50
Matthew 27:45 (NKJV) states, “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.” To clarify, the day in biblical times began at 6:00 A.M.; so the sixth hour would be 12:00 P.M., and the ninth hour would be 3:00 P.M. With this in mind, the time of the darkness as described in Matthew 27:45 would have been from 12:00 noon until 3:00 in the afternoon. It was about this time when Jesus cried out words that are found in Psalm 22:1, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” This is the moment at which Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39, NKJV). It was in this moment that Jesus felt the separation from His heavenly Father that each person who has refused to believe in God feels when they are at the point of death and the realization hits that they are going to be forever separated from their Creator God. It is the realization of sin and the consequences of it that is felt at the moment of death for sinners in the unforgiven state. It is a spiritual realization of the way, the truth, and the life that a sinner becomes aware of at the point of physical death. It was the cup that Jesus was required to drink from in paying the price for the sins of humanity.
This is a promise that Jesus felt the physical pain and suffering of sin for all sin.
At this moment, God turned His back to His One and only Son while yet being assured of His return through the purity of Jesus in fulfilling His mission – fulfilling the requirements of the Law yet dying to sin in His purity. The Law of sin cannot grasp one who is sinless, but the sinless One went to sin to conquer it once for all. We learn in Galatians 3:13-14 (NIV), “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” All who put their faith in Jesus are saved from experiencing this pain and suffering at the point of death and forever after. Open your heart to Jesus today and live, forgiven and free from the death penalty of sin. Live in the glory of God and the righteousness of His One and only Son who died in your place to pay for your sins.
Dear LORD,
Jesus took our sins upon Himself and paid our debt to sin on the cross so that we don’t have to. Please open our eyes to the salvation and forgiveness that only Jesus provides for all who will believe in Him. In Jesus name I pray, amen.