“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46.

THE SUFFERINGS OF THE SAVIOUR, Pt 2.

The sufferings of the Saviour were strikingly stated by C H Spurgeon in the phrase that ‘He drank hell dry for us’! In truth, the fires of damnation burned themselves out on Him. He is pictured for us, to some degree, in the casting of the three Hebrew Children into the furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 3:24-25.

1. However, suffering as He was, His faith did not waver.

He owned His Father as His God.

* He had said: “And I knew that thou hearest me always,” John 11:42. Now He prays: “O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not,” Psalm 22:2.

* He had said: “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him,” John 8:29. Now, He is forsaken.

2. He is still praying though forsaken. It is a cry to His Father not one against Him! We must learn likewise to trust and pray in the darkest hour. Note His fervency — “My God, my God”.

3. He gained the victory by faith. Hebs 5:7 tells us that. The darkness lifted, the rocks breaking, the raising of the dead saints, the rending of the veil, the reaction of the soldiers — all testify to victory of Christ.

One day light will flood this earth (Isa 11:9). The rocks will break (Hebs 12:26). The dead in Christ will rise (1 Thess 4:16). There will be an unveiling of Christ (Matt 24:30). The confessing of the nations that Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11).