The Seperation: Matthew 27:45-46
“45) Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46) About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:45-46
The darkness fell upon the land between 12:00 noon and 3:00 PM. It was most unexpected. It was not an eclipse. It more resembled the plague of darkness in Egypt mentioned in Exodus 10:21-29, only this lasted only three hours. Why darkness? The Light of the World was being crucified. (See John 8:12)
It is at this point that Psalm 22:1 was fulfilled. Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said; “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew is unique because this is the only saying he quotes Jesus uttering from the cross. Matthew is also the only gospel writer who records this saying.
The separation that took place between the Father and the Son when Jesus became sin was incomprehensible to Matthew. 1 John 1:5 says; “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness all.” The context is talking about fellowship with God. For the first and only time in the history of eternity, fellowship between the Father and Son was broken. Sin always separates from God!
According to Genesis 1:4; “God saw that the lights as good; and God separated the light from the darkness.” From this first act of creation, the two have always been separated.
Jesus loves us so much He not only died on the cross to pay for our sins, He was also forsaken by the Father to redeem humanity. The first Adam blamed Eve for his rebellion against God. The second Adam accepted the full punishment of sin to redeem humanity back to God. In this case, the Son did not turn from the Father, rather the Father turned from the Son. The separation was complete.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
