The execution commenced at 9 o'clock in the morning. By mid-day, when the sun should have been burning down, the sky went dark. An eerie silence settled over the cross as the light refused to shine. The ridicule had stopped and the onlookers had exhausted their arrogant insults. It was the lone voice of Jesus which pierced the gloom with the chilling question to His Father.
 
For the first time in all eternity, God the Father and God the Son were separated. Jesus had accepted responsibility for the sin of the world: He was being punished for our rebellion. The only person who had never sinned became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Father God cannot tolerate sin nor sinners in His presence (Habakkuk 1:13), unless their sin is atoned for. So He had to break fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
During those dark and lonely hours, the physical pain was not the only agony. Worse was the sense of abandonment prophesied in Psalm 22:1, which Jesus quoted. Although the Lord could not call Him 'Father', He was still God to whom He submitted His life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). His sacrifice was total, because the punishment was massive, because the weight of the world's sin was so offensive to Father God. And He did it for sinners like you.
 
Because of Christ's atonement, there is no reason why anybody should stay in the dark loneliness of their own sin any longer: they can be freely forgiven. Every time a sinner admits their sinfulness to God, and recognises that Jesus has already been punished for that rebellion – forgiveness will bring new light and new fellowship. Then the dark loneliness is sent away by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 8:9). That is the gospel message which every sin-weary soul needs to hear (www.crosscheck.org.uk). You can tell people that when they have come to an end of themselves, the grace of Christ is freely available to them despite whatever they have done (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).