Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Matthew chapter 27, verse 46.

And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying,

Eli, Eli, Lemis sabaktani.

That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

What a humbling verse to read and reflect on Jesus, on cross amidst all of the physical agony and pain that we know

accompanied the cross, at least as best as we can know. I don't even think we can really fathom

all of the physical pain involved in the cross.

But here in this verse, we realized that there was a spiritual agony that was far deeper than even that physical pain that Jesus here was in a sense enduring separation from the Father.

Why have you forsaken me? he asked. And there's so much,

theologically, that we could talk about here. And there's so much theologically that we could talk about here.

And even practically,

I'll hear some preachers

when they talk about this text

and talk about the crucifixion

just say,

oh, the father couldn't bear

to see what these soldiers were doing to his son, so he turned away.

But that is not what's going on here.

The reality is Jesus is at this moment on the cross.

He is enduring the judgment penalty for sin that I deserve, that you deserve.

It's not that the father can't bear to see what these soldiers are doing to his son.

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