At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema
sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34
NRSV)
On the day we call Good Friday, Jesus was hung on a criminal's cross. Before the day was over,
Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!" And then he breathed his last
and he died. Why did Jesus die? Well, first he died because the religious leaders of his day felt
Jesus was a threat to their authority. They simply wanted to get rid of him. But that happened
some two thousand years ago, and that situation has little to do with us today in 1998. The reason
that Jesus' death does matter to us today is because he died for each one of us. Jesus paid the
price for our sins, so that we will never be separated from God's love.
I hope everything we look at the cross we will be reminded that Jesus died for each one of us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me. May I live my life in a way that says,
"Thank you!" Amen.
Written by: Ronald Newhouse, Texas, USA
Friday, April 10, 1998