“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10
What a sad, dark day it was for God. In all of eternity, He had never been separated from His beloved Son. Now as Jesus hung on the cross, God the Father had to turn His head away, unable to look upon the heinous sins that His Son bore upon His bruised and battered body for all mankind. The earth trembled violently, and a deep darkness fell upon everything.
What a sad, dark day it was for Jesus. He was rejected by those He came to save and betrayed by those He loved. Brutally crucified, Jesus was nailed to a rugged cross to save a world that refused to accept Him as the Son of God. He hung there all alone; even His Father had to turn away when the perfect Lamb of God took upon Himself the burden of all the sins of the world – past, present, and future. Now, it was finished, but the cost was unfathomable.
What a sad, dark day it was for the followers of Jesus. Despite all they had witnessed in their time with Jesus, their hopes were now shattered as their Messiah was cruelly executed. Fearing for their lives, they fled and cloistered themselves in dark, shuttered rooms. Jesus was dead. Hope had disappeared.
But Sunday was coming…
See our Savior hung between two thieves.
Hear the soldiers mock His name.
See His followers as they cry in disbelief,
This could not be the reason why He came.
See Him realize His life is through.
And see the love burn from His eyes.
Behold the temple veil as it is torn in two.
And hear the One on Calvary as He cries
Paid in full, I’ve done the work I came to do.
Paid in full, I’ve paid love’s final price for you.
When all hell tries to tell you that you’ll never win,
Just remember that the debt for your sin is paid in full.
(from “Paid in Full” by Mitch Hunter)
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” – Isaiah 53:5-6
**********
When hope is gone and all is dark, turn to Jesus. He is the Light of the World!