Why end the year and our time of holiday celebrating on such a somber note? This sorrowful scene is the climax of our December reflections. Jesus, strung on the cross between earth and sky, heaven and hell, utters a phrase that doesn’t simply mean, “I’m dying now, folks!” He is saying, “It is accomplished! It is fulfilled!”
To seal this act of redemption, Jesus undergoes the worst in-between in the history of the universe: the Son of God forsaken by God, and the Son of Man forsaken by man. Remember back to December 8, to the sealing of the covenant promise? God Himself walked through the animal pieces declaring His willingness to endure the fate of the covenant breaker.
Jesus, on the cross, keeps God’s part of the agreement for you and me. His death and resurrection forever secure our redemption and future. The intrusion of eternal life into this fallen world ends our in-betweens! With Paul we can say, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).