The Cost of Grace
4 min read
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Mark 15:33-34
The people who were right there did not understand what Jesus was saying, even though He “cried out in a loud voice.” Jesus was surely calling out to God the Father, knowing that He was about to suffer the fullness of His wrath for the sins of humanity. But even in the moments before His greatest suffering, Jesus knew that God would not forsake Him in the end.
Jesus’s cry was not merely a cry of anguish, but it was one final cry of revelation for the those who could hear. Jesus was telling those around Him (and telling us) that His death was in fulfillment of Psalm 22. The first line (the title) of that psalm reads: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm that prophesies, not only about the suffering of the Messiah, but more importantly, about God’s deliverance of the Messiah and His people from death for the glory and praise of God.
And the people around Jesus couldn’t even understand what He was saying, and it wasn’t because He couldn’t be heard. It’s because the Scriptures were not written on their hearts. And so the language of the Scriptures was unintelligible to them.
But if the bystanders had known that psalm, maybe their eyes, ears, and hearts would have been opened. Because in His final moments, the Messiah was also telling them …
those who seek the LORD will praise him—may your hearts live forever!
— Psalm 22:26bc
And also, …
He has done it!
— Psalm 22:31c
It was on Good (!) Friday, almost 2000 years ago, that Jesus hung on the cross and said these words. And so, as the song goes, I will remember also:
I’m forgiven because You were forsaken
I’m accepted; You were condemned
I’m alive and well; Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again
Amazing Love
How can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing Love
I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You
In all I do, I honor You.
Father, Thank You for sending Your Son, my Lord, Jesus, to die on the cross for me—for taking Your full wrath upon Himself because of my sins. I confess that my life does not honor You in all that I do, which is why I need Your grace all the more. Cleanse me with Your blood and I will be clean. Don’t count my sins against me, and I will be healed. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
