A Broken Heart

Jesus' heart was broken when He was on the cross. Despite all of the physical trauma His body experienced, the anguish and suffering of His heart was much greater.

Look at how the psalmist David eludes to the agony within Jesus' heart:

"my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." Psalm 22:14

Just consider all the sin Jesus was bearing on the cross. The sins of an entire world, even future sins. No other person has experienced the burden of sin that Jesus bore. The emotional and spiritual distress Jesus experienced was unlike anything in this world. The following verses are from each of the gospel accounts and describe the moment of Jesus' death.

"Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost." Matthew 27:50

"And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost." Mark 15:37

"And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." Luke 23:46

"he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." John 19:30

Read this excerpt from a book that analyzes the connection between the 22nd Psalm and the New Testament account of Jesus' crucifixion:

"Jesus died of a broken heart. He bore the reproach and shame for others. Bearing our sins hid Him from His Father's face; this is what broke His heart. Death by a broken heart is very rare. It is caused by intense agony of suffering" (Mears, 1999).

Each of these verses makes reference to the fact that Jesus "gave up" or "yielded" the ghost. Jesus knew that He would have to suffer the punishment for sin so that we could be forgiven. His heart was broken because of how the sins of the world separated Him from God. And let's never forget that out of all the sins Jesus bore, not a single sin was His own. Jesus was sinless, blameless, spotless - but He became the sacrifice.

We rejoice because that was not the end of the story! Oh no, Jesus defeated sin and gave us the promise of eternal salvation and forgiveness through His resurrection. He paid the price and all we have to do is accept the gift.