The key to understanding the cry of Jesus from the cross is found in Paul's letter to the Galatians: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13, NIV).
To be cursed is to be removed from the presence of God, to be set outside the camp, to be cut off from His benefits. On the cross, Jesus was cursed. That is, He represented the Jewish nation of covenant breakers who were exposed to the curse and took the full measure of the curse on Himself. As the Lamb of God, the Sin Bearer, He was cut off from the presence of God.
On the cross, Jesus entered into the experience of forsakenness on our behalf. God turned His back on Jesus and cut Him off from all blessing, from all keeping, from all grace, and from all peace.God is too holy to even look at iniquity. God the Father turned His back on the Son, cursing Him to the pit of hell while He hung on the cross. Here was the Son’s “descent into hell.” Here the fury of God raged against Him. His scream was the scream of the damned. For us.
Reflect on what Jesus did for you on Calvary. Give thanks for the Lamb of God who bore your sin.
Taken from “Treasuring Redemption’s Price” by Ligonier Ministries
About Dr. R.C. Sproul
Dr. R.C. Sproul was born in 1939 in Pittsburgh ,Pennsylvania. He is chancellor of the Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies and the founder and president of the ministry that began in 1971 as the Ligonier Valley Study Center in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. In an effort to respond more effectively to the growing demand for Dr. Sproul's teachings and the ministry's other educational resources, the general offices were moved to Orlando, Florida, in 1984, and the ministry was renamed "Ligonier Ministries."
Ligonier Ministries is an international multimedia ministry located near Orlando, Florida. Dr. Sproul's teaching can be heard on the programRenewing Your Mind with Dr. R. C. Sproul, which is broadcast on hundreds of radio outlets in the United States and in more than 40 countries worldwide. He is executive editor of Tabletalk magazine and general editor of The Reformation Study Bible, also known as The New Geneva Study Bible. Dr. Sproul currently serves as the director of Serve International and senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's in Sanford, FL. He is ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.
He is the author of more than seventy books and scores of articles for national evangelical publications. Dr. Sproul has produced more than 300 lecture series and has recorded more than 80 video series on subjects such as the history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, and Christian living. He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which affirms the traditional view of biblical inerrancy, and he wrote a commentary on that document titled Explaining Inerrancy.
Dr. Sproul holds degrees from Westminster College, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and the Free University of Amsterdam, and he has had a distinguished academic teaching career at various colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, and Jackson, Mississippi.
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