“Indeed this was the Son of God.” And all the multitude of them that were come together to that sight [1] returned to Jerusalem striking their breasts[2].
COMMENTARY.
The vicarious Sacrifice and Death of Jesus. The great work entrusted by the Eternal Father to His Son is consummated! That which the types foreshadowed, which the just longed for, and the prophets foretold, is accomplished! Jesus Christ was born in poverty and humility, lived a life of toil and hardship, poverty and persecution for thirty-three years, and at the end of it died a painful and disgraceful death. Those Eyes which beamed with gentleness and kindness are shut; that Mouth which spoke comfort to the afflicted and peace to all men is closed; those Hands which bestowed benefits all around are powerless; those Feet which left traces of blessings wherever they went are stiff; that Heart which beat with love for all men is cold and dead! The Good Shepherd has given His life for His sheep; the true Paschal Lamb has been slain, and has delivered us from the slavery of sin and of Satan, and opened to us the way into the Promised Land of heaven. He gave Himself over to a violent death in the very prime of His Manhood and in the height of health and strength, to redeem us from sin and eternal death, and to win for us grace and eternal life. The guiltless died for the guilty; and the Most Holy for the sinner. We have indeed been “bought with a great price” (1 Con. 6, 20).
The Divinity of our Lord was made manifest at His Death by His words and His deeds, a) Jesus, when dying, addressed God as His Father, and thus, with His last words, testified to His Divinity, b) Inanimate nature bore witness that the most terrible of crimes, even the murder of God, had taken place on Calvary. The sun hid itself so as not to witness the death agony of the “Sun of justice”; the earth heaved and the rocks rent themselves asunder, for He who laid the foundations of the earth and built the mountains was dying! Even the kingdom of the dead (by the opening of the graves) testified that the Lord of life had conquered death by His Death.
The abandonment by God was suffered by our Lord in satisfaction for our sins, whereby we have forsaken God and deserved to be eternally
