Punished for Me

Freedom!
~ William Wallace in Braveheart, as his innards were being removed publicly just moments before his decapitation.

Father, please!
~ Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi, pleading to his father as he was being electrocuted by theEmperor.

If I were being tortured, I imagine the only thing I would scream would be, “Stop it!” What else would I even bother communicating to anyone at that painful moment?

Yet, I suppose, my response would to some extent depend on the context. What led up to this point? Who is causing me this agony and why? Is my pain justified?

Jesus said seven final statements while hanging on the. The 4 th statement, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?,” is arguably the most perplexing.

What is the meaning behind this? Was it like Wallace’s passionate cry as his fight for national freedom brought him to that point of torture? Or was it more like Skywalker’s plea for his father to turn from the dark side and save him, thereby reconciling their relationship?

These words of Christ were cried out toward the end of a miracle that took place while He was on the cross. Luke provides a bit more context for us. During this time, the sun’s light literally failed (Luke 23:45), which also means the moon wasn’t reflecting that light. The whole earth was enveloped in darkness for three hours.

We are not given any other details of what happened during these three hours. It’s almost as if it would have been inappropriate for anyone to sense anything when Jesus, who is the Light of the world (John 1:9, 8:12), was enduring something completely different than what he suffered the previous three hours. But we know that supernatural darkness is symbolic of God’s judgment on man’s sin (Exodus 10:21-23; Zephaniah 1:15).

I appreciate how Stephen Charnock explains the relationship between sin and punishment:

Sin transgresses the law.
The law, being violated, solicits justice.
Justice, being urged, pleads for punishment.

Punishment says, “Since you made me suffer, you have to suffer.” Only then is justice satisfied, the balance back to even. The greater the loss of the victim, the greater the punishment, which means greater pain for the offender. Now, we didn’t make God suffer. But we did violate His law. And that requires punishment, which results in pain for us. But in this case, the pain fell on Christ. Because at the sixth hour of the cross, the holy God came in darkness as He poured out his wrath for our sins on his only Son.

There are two moments in my life where I experienced intense physical pain. One time, both of my hamstrings cramped up simultaneously. It was brief, but excruciating. I was paralyzed and could only focus on doing breathing exercises. The other was when I experienced a migraine, and all I wanted to do was lie down in a fetal position on a cold floor with zero light and noise to minimize the anguish swirling in my head.

Of course, there are far more painful experiences people have endured. I’ve heard of innocent people being tortured to the point of not only confessing to crimes they didn’t commit, but believing they actually committed them. I cannot imagine what that agony would be like.

But for Jesus on the cross, it’s not even close. The greatest of all earthly sufferings is still a giant chasm away from what Jesus suffered in the darkness. It is infinitely more harrowing. As John MacArthur puts it, “For three hours God brought hell to earth.” Only in hell would it be possible to truly know what Jesus suffered in the darkness.

So, I’ll never know.

The greatest punishment a person could experience (and one day it will be real for many) will never happen to me. What I know instead is God’s wonderful mercy.

Jesus’ words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” is ironic. On one level, he repeats the words, “My God,” indicating an intimate relationship in calling out to his Father, yet it’s followed by, “forsaken me.”

To add to the enigma, this phrase is a direct quote the first line of Psalm 22. So, in faith, Jesus cries out a line from a worship song to his righteous Father as he’s receiving punishment for our unrighteousness.

These words reveal the profound mystery of the gospel – how God can save sinners from destruction while not compromising his holiness.

The paradox was resolved on the cross. Jesus cries out a paradox to reveal it.

This is perhaps the most beautiful statement made by Jesus! What sweet mercy it is to be able to say these words without receiving the punishment I deserve.