33At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 34Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mark 15:33-34 NLT)
The time for Jesus to fulfill His purpose had come. He understood completely the point and purpose of His life, ministry, and sacrifice. He was fully aware that He was to be tortured and crucified. He was prepared to give His life – but was He prepared to experience the abandonment that He experienced on the cross. “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” – My God, My God, WHY HAVE YOU ABANDONED ME? I do not believe that the God, as the Christ, was prepared for this feeling. He couldn’t have been prepared for this feeling or His crying out would have all just been for show. Here’s the power – God knows your deepest and worst feelings of abandonment and betrayal. When we are at rock bottom, we actually can be comforted in the fact that our God was at rock bottom. He gets us. Now think back to your ‘on the cross” moment and give thanks.