Apparently--or on the surface--it might have seemed like Jesus was forsaken at the cross. But was He? No! The Father had not changed, Jesus had not changed, and the Holy Spirit was mightily active to lead all to appreciate the depth of the sacrifice being made for us, both then and forever! While sin cut off Jesus' human life in only a matter of hours, the Father was with His Son, though unseen. Jesus' divinity did not die, but He bore our nature to the point of death as a sinless sacrifice to destroy Satan's power and set us free from sin, that we may affectionately obey God and overcome by having all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing! May we learn to exercise the "faith of Jesus" in how He learned to trust the Father's character over the horror of the way sin slew Him in order to redeem us from sin's ruin! What love we see here, and what an anchor to help us in the time of trouble so soon to come upon the world!
Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father's acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.
We can be victorious in Christ in every time of "apparent" failure. Let us remember that as the world's Redeemer Christ was constantly confronted with apparent failure--so do not look the circumstances you face, look to the character of God, the sacrifice made for us at Calvary, and the unchanging promises of His word whereby we may become partakers of the divine nature!
