The Price

Mark 15:³⁴ “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (NKJV)

Jesus’ first Words on the cross were, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”. The second Words on the cross were, “I say to you, you will be with me in paradise”. The third Words on the cross were, “woman behold your son”. The fourth Words of Jesus on the cross of Calvary were, My God, My God why have You forsaken me? If you look at the dynamics of what was going on here, the scriptures tell us that this was the ninth hour already, that is, three o’clock. The crucifixion journey started at about noon. So, Jesus had had three hours of excruciating pain. And at this point, Jesus had taken upon Himself the sin of humanity – the past sin, the present sin, and the future sin –placed upon Jesus. Spiritually the weight was excruciating.

Jesus was carrying what God could not deal with and He felt that God had abandoned Him. God looked away because His eyes cannot behold iniquity. Even though Jesus knew that God looking away was a for a season, still He felt the pain. If anything happens to you as a child of God, you should be able to handle it. You should be able to handle whether your friends like you or not. You should be able to handle it when people walk out of your life. You should be able to handle it and it should not destroy you. Losing things should not destroy you. Being placed in isolation should not disturb you. If people are losing their jobs, it may disturb you, but it should not destroy you. The only thing that you cannot afford to lose is the presence of God.

You cannot afford to lose the presence of God. Jesus felt God distancing Himself, and He cried out, “My God, My God why have You forsaken me?” Jesus was forsaken, He was abandoned, He was rejected so that you and I can be accepted. No wonder God says, “I will never leave you or forsake you” [Heb.13:5]. This is God’s promise that the Holy Spirit will come and be with you forever. So that what Jesus felt on the cross, you will never have to feel the emotional pain of being abandoned by your Maker, your Father, your God. John 14:^{16-18, & 20} “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth… No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. …I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (emphasis added).

John 19:²⁸ “Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfil Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” This was Jesus’ fifth Words on the cross and again this is huge. Jesus was present, in the moment. Jesus went through everything that He needed to go through. Jesus paid the price. There were no shortcuts with Jesus. The problem with us is sometimes we are going through something and we are looking for a shortcut. Jesus went through it even though it was tough. Jesus went to Gethsemane, so we know the cross was not easy. But He went through it all just for you!

Prayer [song]: He paid the debt at Calvary. He cleansed my soul He set me free. I’m glad that Jesus did all my sins erase. I now can sing a brand-new song, “Amazing grace”. Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay. Amen!