Pastor's Corner

for Sunday April 12th
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This is the cry of Jesus as He hung on the cross. This was a cry (scream) of greatest anguish and pain. I don't want to minimize the pain that Jesus suffered physically during this ordeal. He underwent a grueling interrogation, He was spat on, people stuck Him with their fists, He was ridiculed. All this between the hours of midnight and sunrise. And then when Jesus was exhausted and in the early stages of dehydration He is tried by Pilot and Herod culminating in Pilot having Him scourged and then crucified. We can only imagine the pain and suffering He bore that day, but the deepest suffering that transcended even this physical suffering is the pain and anguish expressed in this scream of Jesus. Until now Jesus had been silent before His accusers and tormentors but now He can be silent no more. Until now He could say, "I am not alone, my Father is with me." But now He is truly alone and here in this cry we hear the pain as the full force of God's wrath against sin is poured out on Jesus. THIS was the "cup" that Jesus was afraid of in His Gethsemane struggle. Though His physical pain was intense beyond our imagination it was nothing compared to the pain of becoming sin for us and being punished to the full extent of God's holy law for the sins that were placed upon Him. This is what John means when He says for "God SO loved the world". Not God loved the world so much but God's love is demonstrated in this way, i.e. that He would bear the agony of God's righteous holy wrath for sinners like you and me! God's love is shown in that He would bear such horror and anguish to reconcile us to God. There is no greater love than this. So this Easter Sunday worship the one who took your place on the cross at great personal suffering. Salvation is free for you but not for Him.
Pastor Don.