11/27/2017
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1). Jesus suffered for our sin. Although He is the son of God, He obeyed God's will to save the human race. It was His love towards all people. As a human, Jesus suffered physical pains on the cross. He could have chosen to avoid that agony. Instead, He chose to suffer for our sin. He experienced agony on the cross. His cry on the cross reflects His endurance for our sin and love for us. It was not a cry of doubt, but an urgent appeal to God, appeal forgiveness of our sins. The Romans mocked him saying "Hail, king of the Jews" (Matthew 27: 29). We Christians are, at many times, despised by people. But Jesus is our hope and victory that God promises us.
He thirsted while on the cross (Matthew 22:15). Even in His suffering on the cross, He received no help at all. All people who were healed and saved by Him avoided to help for His innocence. He even could not receive a sip of water, only a sponge soaked in a jar of wine vinegar (John 19: 28,29).
He declared God's name (Psalm 22:22). We praise God. We praise His mercy. David praised God for delivering him in the time of great pains and troubles. As Christians, we can declare God's name rather than complaining. We declare His salvation. We thank Him that He sent His only Son on the cross to save us. The purpose of the church is to declare God as our creator and our Father. We must declare God's name before audience in every situation.
Jesus carried our burden of sin. In His last moment, His cried out of "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" -which means , "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27: 46). Jesus Himself is the Son of God and was totally innocent from sin. It means that He was not needed to suffer or carry our burden of sin. But because of His obedience to God and love for us, He became an atonement and a bridge to God.
He came to do God's will: "I desire to do your will, Oh my God; your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8). As God's children, we do God's will. We desire to do God's will. It is called obedience. We follow Christ, not the world. We live holy lives as our Father is holy. We live by the teaching of Christ in the Bible.
Jesus is the eternal priest-king (Psalm 110:4). As a priest like Melchizedek, Christ will never abuse His divine position and His reign will be forever. He is our Lord forever. We will dwell in His kingdom forever. It is the reward for us who possess great joy overcoming great suffering for Jesus. Amen.
