Matthew 27:45-49

While Jesus hung from the cross, the sky turned dark. From twelve noon to about three in the afternoon, it was completely dark. Then Jesus cried out loudly, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Why would God forsake his own Son? The answer lies in my heart and in yours. Look within your heart honestly, and you will find sin. I find it in my heart. I want to excuse it. I want to minimize it. I want to think that my sin is not as bad as someone else’s. But I am a sinner. So are you. Our sins separate us from God. He is holy and perfect and demands that we also be holy and perfect. But we are not. Our anger, our pride, our selfishness, and our greed all make us enemies of God. He should turn his back on us and forsake us because of our sin. He should abandon us to what we deserve—eternal punishment.

Why then did God abandon his own Son? He abandoned his own Son because Jesus took our place. He endured what we deserve. He was our substitute. God forsook his Son because he loves us. All our sins are there on Jesus. He suffered for them. That means God turned away in judgment because Jesus carried our sins. Yes, we should be forsaken by God because of our sins. But God forsook his own Son instead.
 
A soldier gave him vinegar to drink.   Its bitter taste, undoubtedly mixed with his own blood as it streamed down his face from the thorny crown he wore, was the last experience he had on this earth, except for one. One last time, the people mocked him and utterly rejected him. "Leave him alone," they sneered. The end had come. Their words spilled out like his final drops of living blood. "Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."
 
Those last words Jesus heard still ring out for us: "to save him." But it wasn't Elijah coming to save Jesus. It was Jesus dying to save Elijah, and me, and you.