Solitary Confinement

 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:45

There are more than 80,000 prisoners that are housed in solitary confinement in the United States. That is more than any other democratic nation. When in solitary, prisoners are confined to a 6 x 12 cell, 23 hours a day, with nothing but a small sink and toilet to look at. This is an American invention, first used in the early 19^th Century in a Philadelphia state penitentiary. Prisoners were put in solitary confinement so they could contemplate their crimes and perhaps become repentant.

Imagine 23 hours a day, in a bathroom-sized cell, under florescent lights that never go off, under 24-hour video surveillance, not really speaking or hearing from anyone. All that time for you to just think about your mistakes and missed opportunities…the people you’ve hurt and time you’ve wasted. Maybe that is why prisoners in isolation account for just 5 % of the total prison population, yet nearly half of its suicides. No one wants that much time alone.

On the cross, Jesus took solitary confinement to a whole new level. Jesus’ death took about six hours. His hands and feet were nailed to wooden beams at 9:00 a.m. The next six hours were excruciating for Him. As darkness descended in the middle of the day, the Son of God screamed, “Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?” In a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic, Jesus cried out the most bone-chilling words in human history, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

It is the most unique and mysterious statement that Jesus ever made. He spoke to His Father in a way He never had before, and never will again. Because of this statement, we know that Jesus was at the peak of His agony. Throughout His beatings, the crown of thorns, and even the nails piercing His body He had never said a word. But when He felt the separation from God that sin brings – as the sins of the world were piled upon Him – it was more than He could take. In all of His humanity, all He could do was scream, “Why?”

What a breathtakingly beautiful and, at the same time, horrifically awful picture of our Savior! In His questioning, His brokenness, we see ourselves…because we have all asked that question, “Why, God?” The mother who lost a newborn child. The father who has to watch his 10-year-old die of cancer. The single mom trying to raise four children on minimum wage whose husband abandoned her for another woman. A faithful employee of 25 years who gets a pink slip without warning. There are so many whys. There is so much hurt.

But Christ’s punishment brought our peace…His loneliness ensures our fellowship with God forever. Because of the cross, we don’t have to live in the solitary confinement of regret, hurt, or even sin. We never have to worry about God forsaking us. Jesus’ death and resurrection put an end to mankind’s solitary confinement for all time. Through faith, we can be united with Christ forever…fully accepted, never alone, and always loved.

God, thank You for the promise that in Christ, You will never leave me or forsake me. I pray that I would find comfort in that truth every day, but especially when I feel alone. In Jesus’ name, amen.