Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This moment was foretold in the Psalms by David singing prophetically.

Did God the Father forsake God the Son?

That would be impossible. “He will never leave me nor forsake me.” We have that promise; certainly Jesus did as well.

Jesus had never experienced a moment of separation from His Father because He never sinned. He lived in perfect oneness with the Father.

But when He became sin at the last moment, the holy Father couldn’t remain. He had to turn His face away. It was just a moment and then it was finished. Then the Father acts and Jesus is rescued. Jesus is never abandoned. He is always loved by His Father.

A centurion, a Roman soldier, declares that Jesus truly was the Son of God. He knew something of Jesus. The sign said, “The King of the Jews,” not “Son of God.” He knew the claim. He believed it from just watching Him on the cross. Just like Pilate being amazed at how Jesus didn’t act “normal” and defend Himself, this soldier had probably seen lots of crucifixions. This one was different and he knew it. He didn’t see the veil torn. He saw the sky darkened, but mostly, He saw Jesus.

We don’t have a note about the disciples being at the cross, though we know John was there. We do have a note about women being at the cross and how many women followed Him and ministered to Him.

It took courage to come to the cross. These were women of courage and deep love.

We’re told it took courage for Joseph of Arimathea to go to Pilate and ask for the body. He was a respected member of the council. The chapter began with the “whole council” consulting together about delivering Jesus to Pilate and asking for His crucifixion. He likely was there. In John’s gospel we learn he was a secret follower of Jesus for fear of the Jews. He may have been afraid at the beginning of the ordeal, but by the end, he had taken courage and was doing what he could to put faith in action.