The Darkness at the Cross
We begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday and march with Christ steadily to the cross. Please use this week to dwell on the terror and the beauty of Jesus' atoning sacrifice. Reflecting on the darkness that covered the sky at the moment Jesus died, the writers of Pierced for Our Transgressions note this:
The meaning of the darkness at the cross seems unambiguous. God was angry. But angry with whom? One possibility is that his wrath was directed against those crucifying his Son. There may be some truth in this, but the juxtaposition of the darkness with Jesus' cry of abandonment suggests that another meaning is primary: God's judgment was falling on his Son as he died as a substitute, bearing the sins of his people. p.72 [emphasis mine]
Father, you poured your wrath and fierce anger on your own willing Son, displaying your justice on my sin and your mercy toward me. Thank you.
The meaning of the darkness at the cross seems unambiguous. God was angry. But angry with whom? One possibility is that his wrath was directed against those crucifying his Son. There may be some truth in this, but the juxtaposition of the darkness with Jesus' cry of abandonment suggests that another meaning is primary: God's judgment was falling on his Son as he died as a substitute, bearing the sins of his people. p.72 [emphasis mine]
Father, you poured your wrath and fierce anger on your own willing Son, displaying your justice on my sin and your mercy toward me. Thank you.
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