1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian PATIENCE | Page 7

Jesus, however, was a different story. When He cried out, “My God My God, why have you
forsaken me?” He was not acting upon a feeling, but He was defining a fact. God, His Father,
had forsaken Him. The scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 5 v 21 that Jesus, as He hung upon the
cross as God’s perfect Lamb of God, did not just die for our sins, but He became sin for us.
God, the Father, is a Holy God and cannot look upon sin and when God, the Son, became sin
for us, God, the Father, had to turn His eyes away. The drama of this moment cannot be over
amplified, it is huge. The fact that Jesus would become sin on our behalf is nothing short of
amazing.
In the Old Testament,Leviticus 16, we have a picture here of that which took place on the
cross that day. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, two goats would be brought to the
priest. They would draw lots for a goat and the goat upon which the lot fell would be
sacrificed and his blood would be shed. The second goat would have the hands of priests laid
upon him and then the priest would, with a loud voice, proclaim all the sins of the nation of
Israel. That goat was then led into the desert and was forsaken there, left to wander there
until it died. This forsaken goat is a picture of God’s forsaking of Christ when He, like that goat,
took upon Himself the sin of the people.
As far as an application goes for us this cry of Christ was a statement of reality. We too when
we go through our dark times must recognise them for what they are. We must not run from
them, we must not sweep them under the carpet and hope they goaway, we must
acknowledge them from what they are: they are a “dark time”. This acknowledgement of
reality is the beginning point of your journey through the valley of darkness.
Prayer Thought: I think today would be a good day for us to get on our knees and to thank
Christ for His remarkable sacrifice on our behalf. Thank Him if you will for the fact of sins
forgiven and for the fact that He is the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world. This is no light thought and when we contemplate it we are indeed walking on Holy
Ground. Let’s tread lightly.