The Scream of the Damned
7/08/2007
"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - Matthew 27:46
This my friends, is the scream of the damned. It is the cry of a man utterly condemned by God, a man bearing the full and horrible wrath of God. It is a cry of desperation uttered in the midst of a spiritual blackness that you and I will never know.
Do you hear the pain in Jesus' voice? He was forsaken by the One He loved most, rejected by His closest friend. Jesus was crushed and cursed by His father, condemned and judged upon the cross. Even those who spend an eternity in hell will never know what Jesus endured, for they are only punished for their sins. Jesus was punished for the sins of millions.
Consider for a moment the blackness that enveloped our Lord. He was perfect, holy, and righteous, never sinning once in His entire life. As the righteous God, He hated and despised sin. Yet on the cross, it was as if He became sin itself. He became what He hated so passionately. Our lusts became His lusts, our anger His anger. Every vile word we ever spoke was placed upon our Lord, every perverse thought laid upon His soul. This is why He was forsaken by the Father.
What would move our Lord to do such a thing? Why would He take the great weight of our sin upon Himself? Only infinite love and mercy could move Jesus to save us. Only a heart that beats with compassion for sinners could move the Son of God to become sin.
Don't let another moment pass without thanking the Lord for His great love. Let your heart be filled with gratitude to Jesus. Remember the many sins you have committed, and thank the Lord for taking them all upon Himself.
2 comments:
I thought you were going to, somehow, talk about the scream of damned menv, and was shocked to read on that you were talking about JESUS. I should be stunned, horrified, and sickened to think of my Savior screaming the cry of the most condemned man that ever lived. I want to be horrified that my Savior suffered my judgment, and that, I, the guilty one, will never have to suffer judgment, because Jesus took God's righteous judgment of me off of my head, and took it on His own. I want to be holy, so that I don't grieve Him or harm Him any more than I already have. Oh, to hurt my Savior more; God forbid it, I beg of You. Holy Spirit, please bring more, every single day, of Your sweet conviction of sin and the power to turn away from it, that I may never hurt Him again. I know that I will sin again. It grieves me. I'm so grateful that I have a Savior that has forgiven me all of my sin, and made me His own and the Father child of love. His love makes no human sense. I cannot understand. May it cause me to, simply, adore Him more.
Brilliant message. I used to think Jesus died on the cross for our sins and immediately returned to heaven. Back then, many men were crucified, so there must be more I wasn't getting. Today, news reports show a small percentage of horrible crimes committed, so cruel that I can't even write here. I cringe when remembering the awful thoughts and actions from my past. Today I made a spiteful remark to my husband and an unjustified snippy comment to my son. Toss in a little jealousy and self-pity, multiply x every person on the planet who ever lived and put all the shame and disgust on Jesus. Maybe our minds can comprehend a neuron's flash of the hideous intensity He suffered in our place.
He loves us when our hearts are ugly and nasty, then gives us opportunity to change (repent). I can't wait to be with Him in heaven. It's going to be wild.