For believers this is a night of grief. Jesus’ cries of anguish have been silenced by death. But by faith we still hear His voice cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)
I have wondered whether on this night 2,000 years ago the disciples might have asked God similar questions: “Why have you forsaken us? Why did you send your Son into the world to die in the world?” They had been so certain that Jesus was the Christ, who would reign as king of Israel. Instead, their Messiah had died on a Roman cross.
These men and women longed to hear Christ’s voice one last time. They yearned for a parable or teaching from Jesus. Like all who grieve, they wanted more time, one last moment together. They regretted words left unspoken. They mourned His absence. And perhaps they even wondered how they could have been so wrong about Jesus. They questioned, as Christ did, if they were forsaken by God.
In their grief and pain of loss what else could they think? Christ left them. And if He was gone, then God must also be gone.
Tonight is the closest we will ever come to imagining the world without God. Christ had come into the world to reveal God, and now with His death, any revelations of God would cease with Him. Think long and hard about these disciples’ feelings and thoughts as they contemplated an absent God.
The world is cloaked in a holy silence tonight. Jesus is dead.
Photo by Steve Halama
Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.
Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108
Follow Denise Larson Cooper on Social Media!
https://www.facebook.com/OrdinaryDaysDevotionals
https://www.instagram.com/deniselarsoncooper
https://twitter.com/ordinarydaysdev
Check Out Denise’s Books!
Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD
Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASB
Life Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2