50 Days of Wisdom

God's first comment on the cross of Christ was the miracle of supernatural darkness; it speaks of the fact that Christ was being judged for sin. And since He didn't have any sin of His own for which to be judged, the Bible makes it clear He was judged as if He had committed our sins. He took our place and bore our judgment. God's second comment on the cross was another miracle that tells us the meaning of the cross: sovereign departure. Here is another miracle that has no human explanation and, frankly, no human comprehension—a reality of truth beyond our realm. For six hours, Jesus had been enduring immeasurable agony, not only in the physical dimension but much more so in the spiritual dimension, as He felt the full fury of God's anger over sin placed on Him. Sin bearing is about to finally bring about His death, a merciful ending to the suffering. But as the sin-bearing judgment comes to a climax, He gathers His strength to cry the cry of His heart: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Here He expressed profound separation, too deep for us to ever understand. And what the cry demonstrates is the spiritual separation that Jesus was enduring from God. That's a miracle, folks, in a sense, a reverse miracle, a supernatural separation that is basically impossible. It can't happen because the Trinity cannot be divided. This is because the first and the second members of the Trinity share the same essence. They are unique individuals, and yet they are one, and they can't be separated. And yet Christ experiences what can't happen. We can't know or understand the mystery of the separation. Obviously, Jesus didn't cease to exist. He didn't cease to be God. And He could only exist as God, yet He was cut off from fellowship with the Father, though never ceasing to bear the same nature as the Father. Sin had literally separated Him from the One from whom He couldn't be separated. I suppose a simple illustration would be a sinful child does not cease to be the essence of his own father when he sins, but he certainly loses intimate fellowship. And so we have this incredible departure, and He's left to be mocked and die. The holiness of God is the issue. God has to separate Himself because He's of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look upon iniquity. And so with one hand, God pours out His wrath in judgment, as symbolized by the darkness. And He does it while turning His back to the iniquity that Jesus Christ Himself is bearing. Pouring out judgment on the one hand and protecting His holiness on the other. God had to turn away because Christ, who knew no sin, had been made sin for us. What's the lesson here? What's God teaching us in this? Very simply, this: Guilty sinners are separated from God. God had to forsake—literally to abandon—Jesus, because He was made sin. He was not a sinner. He did not sin. But He was treated as if He did. And all the sins of all who would ever believe were placed upon Him. God did not stop loving Jesus, but fellowship was broken, and a great gulf came between Father and Son. Covered as He was with the sins of others, He was not fit for fellowship with God. And what is God showing us here? That a holy God has to turn away from sin. The cross teaches us that sin will be judged and that God will turn His back on sinners. The first miracle of supernatural darkness shows God's judgment. The second, a sovereign departure, shows how God must turn His back on sin. Repent and believe! GTY.org (90-93) – God's Commentary on the Cross

Today's Wisdom

Day: 982

July 27, 2026

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Now grant, O Lord, that when the souls who read these books cast their eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated and their consciences convinced and awakened, that they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and be converted so that You may heal them. Amen