A Lenten Devotion for Wednesday, April 2
- ontrakk
- Apr 2
- 1 min read
Matthew 27:45
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.
Until very recently, I had never understood this part of Jesus’ journey. It was my friend Kenda who shared with me the concept of Jesus being separated from God during those final hours of his life. Sin separates us from God, and Jesus had taken on all of our sins. What must that have felt like? Because of Jesus, I will never need to feel anything like that loneliness and pain. Certainly life is not pain free, but I have God with me, no matter what.
Holy Lord, How can I show my gratitude and love for Jesus? I do not deserve all you have already done for me- help me to share your love with others. Amen
Becky, transforming
Matthew 27:45
The title of this chapter that Lucado chose made me pause…”Abandoned by God”. I do not believe God abandoned Jesus. Maybe He called out because of the tremendous suffering and these were last thoughts in His mortal mind. I have to think that, although Jesus had to suffer for our sins, it also made God suffer as well, to see his Son fulfill His destiny but knowing there was no other path.
Dear God, Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to wash away my sins through His suffering. My gratefulness is profound but my feeling is that I am so undeserving. Please help me to always and forever keep my heart in the right place…with Your So…
Matthew 27:45
Could bearing the sins of the world be anything other than a descent into Hell? The Apostle’s Creed explicitly states: “Suffered under Pontus Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again and ascended to the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.” Some faith traditions (including United Methodist if you look at #881 in our hymnal) omit this statement. In the hymnal there is an asterisk in this place and a footnote that reads, “Traditioanl use of this creed includes these words, ‘He descended into hell.’” I suppose there was some scholarly theological justification of this omission, but it is not included in the footnote. Like avoiding or skipping…