Today's Daily Bread

“MY GOD, MY GOD…”

Date : Saturday, April 04, 2026
Passage : Mark 15:33~47
Keyverse : 33  
33
At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
34
And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").
35
When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he’s calling Elijah."
36
Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.
37
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
39
And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
40
Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome.
41
In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
42
It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached,
43
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
44
Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.
45
When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
46
So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
47
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
On the cross Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was fully human and fully divine. In His humanity, He experienced real physical pain, emotional distress, and the genuine feeling of being abandoned in His darkest hour. This cry demonstrated His full solidarity with human suffering and despair. Some of us may be going through unbearable pain of sickness or emotional distress. No one may fully understand what we are going through; but Jesus does because He also went through such an ordeal.

Jesus experienced the penalty for our sin—estrangement from God—which was a pain far worse than the physical crucifixion itself. Betrayal and disloyalty of loved ones is painful; but it is no comparison to God’s abandonment. Humankind would do well to fear it more than anything.

Jesus went to the depth of suffering and agony but trusted that He would end in victory through His resurrection (cf. Psalm 22:24). We may go through suffering and agony on earth but it will not be forever if we believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross (cf. John 19:30). We are delivered from eternal damnation when we put our trust in Him.

Prayer: Father, thank you for teaching me what to fear most—separation from You. Amen.
One Word: Christ was forsaken that I may be saved