Victory for you...

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?" that is, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "This man is calling Elijah." And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" There were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him; among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre. - Matthew 27:45-61

The Lord is not a God who can handle sin. He is one who wishes to banish it from His sight. So much so that before our first parents ushered in the world of sin and brokenness, God already had a remedy in mind. "The seed of the woman." Jesus Christ.

Upon taking up the cross, Christ began to soak up every sin and shame the world had to offer. As this happened the assumption begins that God forsook His own Son because He had become sin for us. Jesus had taken upon Himself every punishment God can deliver for sin so as to redeem the whole creation. It is no wonder then that He would cry out to God in despair, wondering where the Lord had gone.

Before He dies, He again cries out with a loud voice. Matthew does not record what He says, but Luke does. "It is finished!" Imagine the silence of some of the witnesses and the derision of the others as this Man hangs before them. He has just cried out in despair searching for God. Speaking in Aramaic in such a manner that people are confused thinking He is calling for Elijah to save Him. Then, as though they expect something else, they hear Him raise up His voice as loud as possible: "IT...IS...FINISHED!!!!"

Thus ends the war. The battle for souls has only begun, but the war against sin is finished. Every sin you have ever, and will ever, commit has gone with Him. The thoughts you had last night? Forgiven. The words you spoke in anger this morning? No more. They were taken willingly by the One who willingly gave up His life for us.

There is no barrier to keep us from God any longer. Nothing is given partiality as holy anymore. His shout of victory tore the curtain that kept people from the presence of God. It shook the heavens and the earth as it made them new. It opened the tombs of those long dead. There could not have been another way. Only with such a voice, such an act, can He proclaim to the depths of hell the victory won by the blood of the cross.

It took such an action to prove to eyewitnesses His position as the Son of God. Only once the victory was won and the world shaken, did even a pagan announce the reality of this Man as the Son of God. Only through the impact of such a sacrifice for you and for me can we confess such a reality. Only once we know our sins and what they did can we then know for certain what was done for us.

TW