A Word of Absolute Anguish

Absolute anguish is hard to describe for people.  Part of the problem is that there isn’t much suffering the world today.  Oh, to be sure, some people are homeless or without food, but in America we don’t have whole cities of people pick up their meager belongings and start walking, hoping for something better.

When Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, My God…” he wasn’t addressing a loving Father in heaven.  He didn’t say, “Oh, my Father,” as just hour earlier he had cried in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Jesus was completely separated from his Father.  As this happened he was in the least desirable place on the planet – a cross.  This torture device was a masterful invention that spared the life of the victim just long enough so the he would suffer possibly days before death ended his misery.

We could go into more detail about the pain and the process, but I want you to consider something different.  You see because Jesus faced the wrath of God, you never will.  What does that mean for your life?  The Apostle Paul said it succinctly in the eighth chapter of his letter to the Christians in Rome.  “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  Let’s apply it, right now.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about COVID-19.  Is this bug a scourge from God sent to punish our nation for our sins?  No.  That’s impossible, God punished Jesus in our place.  There is no punishment left for sin.  This doesn’t mean God will spare you from coming down with this new disease, but it does mean you can go forward in life confident of your place in God’s family.  No virus or debt or guilt can touch your soul.  God’s guarantee was signed in Jesus’ blood.  Because Jesus endured absolute anguish you never will.

Want to hear more?  Watch this week’s sermon, the fourth in our Lenten series Seven Words He Spoke.  He Spoke a Word of Absolute Anguish taken from Mark 15.