Matthew 27 – Forsaken But Not Forgotten, Part 1

"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour."  Matthew 27:45

Imagine the day that Christ was crucified.  People were everywhere; the city was full because there were many pilgrims there for the Passover.  People knew Jesus was being berated, so they came out to see what the commotion was about.

For the Romans, they would look for the longest path to parade a convicted criminal all the way to the place of the skull called Golgotha, where they would crucify their victims.  They wanted as many people as possible to watch the people Rome had condemned.

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All the people were watching Christ carry His cross; they also watched Simon of Cyrene carry Christ’s cross.  When they came to the place of the skull, the people watched Christ crucified for our sins – though they may not have understood what was happening.  Suddenly, at the sixth to ninth hour, the Scriptures say, “there was darkness over all the land”.  (Matthew 26:45)  The darkness was not caused because the sun stop shining; instead, it was caused because the sins of the world were being placed upon the sinless One, the Son of God, the One who had never experienced sin’s aches, pains, despair, or hurt.

He went to the cross for you and for me.  The sinless Lamb of God atoned for our sins by taking upon Himself the punishment we deserved.  Part of that punishment was being totally abandoned by God.

Being abandoned by God did not mean He was forgotten.  Can you ever be abandoned by the Father as a Christian?  What happens if you feel abandoned?  Learn more about Christ and His work on the cross in the complete sermon below.