Never Forsaken

"My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" Such is the cry from Yeshua recorded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. It is one phrase recorded for us in two of the Gospel accounts concerning the crucifixion of Messiah. It is a quote from Psalm 22:1. Springing from this verse is an amazing theology telling us that there was a separation between the Father and the Son when Jesus, Yeshua, was on the cross. Most any commentary will explain that this separation was when God the Father placed our sin upon God the Son and turned away from him. That God could not look upon the sin of the world that the Son now carried. The agony came from a separation that had never been experienced from eons before the creation of the world. Check out Matthew Henry, David Guzik, Calvin and a plethora of others to see their take on the separation of the Father and the Son. William Hendriksen tells us "His God and Father would not have abandoned him to his tormentors if it had not been necessary. But it was necessary, in order that he might fully undergo the punishment due to his people's sins" (Hendriksen Commentary on Matthew pg 972).

The questions in my mind surround how and why this has been the accepted conclusion for so many years. I'm not suggesting that I am smarter or have received some special revelation, however, I do question this interpretation. Several commentators acknowledge that Psalm 22 is actually a Psalm of victory in the end. They equate this to Christ's eventual victory after His separation from the Father. Let's just look at the text and ask a few questions. Was David actually forsaken or did he just feel this way, and then upon a little reflection, know that God would never forsake him? If this is true, then the Psalm doesn't really support an actual separation in Matthew or Mark. According to Hendriksen, and many others, it was necessary for the Son to undergo the punishment for sin. Now God does and will punish sin, but the Lamb for sin was spotless, unblemished, and offered up its blood for sin,as was Yeshua. The lamb was not punished. Punishment is not required to remove sin. It is a consequence of sin and may require restitution, but punishment does not bring either atonement or victory over death. So it seems the punishment for sin idea is imported to the event from how we see sin, rather than what was being accomplished at the cross.

Perhaps the most confusing thing to me in the "separation" theology is the context of the events of both the crucifixion and the quote from Psalm 22. The cultural and historic contexts are simply disregarded. As stated above, David was never forsaken. God was never far from him. David realizes this and proclaims praise in the midst of the assemblies; David says, "God has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted Nor has He hidden His face from me" (vs 24). Commentators who take the whole Psalm into account do not see things as David did. According to them, the praise and victory come after a real separation between the Father and the Son. This approach simply violates the clear reading of the Psalm. David ends up singing his praises and his victory in the midst of the time of his feeling of oppression. Theological assumptions have to be read into the text to find an actual separation or a segregated timeline. 

In the context of Mathew 27 and Mark 15, Yeshua is in agony upon the cross. Among those who surround Him are the Chief Priests, Scribes and Pharisees. They taunt him and dare Him to come down from the cross. I believe it was extremely difficult to speak while undergoing a crucifixion. Messiah does not give a discourse from the cross. His answers are terse and brief. "I thirst", "Woman behold your son", "Behold your mother", "It is finished". It is not "Mother I want John to take care of you for I will be gone and My brother James will be occupied with matters of the assembly of believers in Jerusalem............" Jesus is struggling for words. He is when He quotes Psalm 22:1 as well. They are words that, I believe, answer the taunts of the Priests, Scribe, and Pharisees.

As you read these words, "For God so loved the world that" or "In the beginning God created the", or perhaps, "The lord is my" something will happen. If you are familiar with the Scriptures your brain is likely to have added "that He gave...." or "heavens and the earth" or "shepherd". That is due to the fact that you are familiar with the passages. I would dare say that the Scribes, Priests, and Pharisees were far more committed to Scripture memorization than we are. They were intimately acquainted with the Psalms and with Psalm 22. They would have continued the Psalm just as we would John 3:16. They never would have come to the conclusion that Yeshua was suggesting that God the Father was turning His back on Him, or that He was initiating a new theological premise. The conclusion would be the opposite. It would have been hard for them to not see Jesus referring to them as "dogs [who]have surrounded Me the congregation of the wicked [who] have pierced my hands and feet" (vs 16). The Psalm is a rebuke to those who taunt Him and who placed Him on the cross. The Psalm tells the Scribes, Priests, and Pharisees that Yeshua, Jesus, has won. Even in death "A posterity shall serve Him, it will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation" (vs 30). 

In the context of the passages in Matthew and Mark and in the context of Psalm 22 the whole idea of separation between the Father and the Son must be manufactured from what we thought we knew. The events of the cross show the great love God has for us. It depicts the agonizing death of our Lord and then His glorious resurrection. The events are about victory over death, not punishment for sin. The people surrounding the cross would have heard the cry as one of hope and deliverance. Even for those who misunderstood the Aramaic for Hebrew and looked for Elijah caught the deliverance possibility. (Who knows, maybe it was in response to muttered comments by the Priests and Pharisees about this Psalm of deliverance).

The point I present, which you can chew on, disregard, think I am nuts or bordering on heresy, is that we should be cautious when it comes to building an entire theological tradition and interpretation based on one verse. One verse taken out of its historic and cultural context. One verse that was quoted and not returned to its proper context. One verse that collects additional theological baggage that is not supported by Scripture but sounds reasonable. We are to be students of the Word not blind followers of what has been taught before. In the weeks to come there are a few other "One Verse Theologies" I would like us to consider. I hope you come along on the journey and are compelled to think a little. Your thoughts are always welcome.   

 

My Trampoline Died

It is sad but true, our trampoline has come to the end of its life. It has served our family for something like 12 years. It has been bounced on by myself, my children and my grandchildren, not to mention more of my children's friends than I could list. It has served as a launching pad to get on the shed and a landing platform when doing flips off of the shed. It has provided a place to sleep on and even to hold a pop up tent so my campers didn't have to deal with the hard ground. But its time has passed. The tabs holding the springs are tearing and the fabric is deteriorating. So it will soon find its way to the land fill and the metal will someday be a Kia. 

It is like the rest of the world we live in. Tainted by death and deterioration. It is hard to avoid the reminders that come our way. Death is a strange thing to me. I do not understand it or really know what to do with it. We were not created to die. When God made us He made us to live. "God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being" (Gen. 2:7). But Sin entered and now death touches everything. There is an odd tension concerning death in the Scriptures. Paul points out, "to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). Yet he knows that living is a good thing for those around him. John tells us in his Revelation of Messiah that "Death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:14). Death will be removed. Like Satan, death is our enemy. We do not need to fear it, but it is not our friend. It is an affront to all God began. Even our Lord, when contemplating the pain and agony, wished that it would not be so, but cried "Not My will but Thy will be done" (Mt. 28). By the way, this really baffles me. The Divine dying? Conquering death makes sense to me as He is life and gives life and began life, but the dying part............??? 

I understand that there are times when the suffering ends and going to be with the Lord is a great release. I have been to memorials that are a celebration of the life of the one past. But death is still so wrong to me. The aging process that is unavoidable. The "putting down" of my faithful trampoline because the enemy called death takes his toll on everything. But this is the reality we face.

Paul tells the Corinthians that death has lost its sting and the grave has lost its victory. I will have a new body that will not suffer the deterioration this one is undergoing. To be "absent with the body is to be present with the Lord" is true, however all this seems to be pretty clouded to me. Now don't misunderstand. I do not fear death. (A bit apprehensive about aging and not being able to provide for my beloved wife. The no Social security, no retirement, no real savings thing haunts me a little, but not death) Fear of dying is not the issue, fear of missing life is.

Life is a gift. My daughter is expecting. I was asked if I hoped it was a boy this time. Sorry, no expectations or wishes here. Just amazement that the God who created the universe is forming and knitting together this tiny being in my daughters womb. Awestruck at the thought. Every day, every breath is a gift. Each day is filled with new mercies from God ( Lam. 3:22-23). Our enemy, death, wants to rob us of that reality. I woke up yesterday early and captured a moment as I watched Debbie sleep peacefully beside me. This remarkable being, this creation of God, resting comfortably in the gift of sleep that is also a gift and God's design. Thoughts wandered to how blessed I am. In His divine mercy this woman loves me, and has been my soul mate and my greatest earthly treasure for over 37 years. Life is a gift. I would have liked the moment to last. It reminded me of other moments when one of the little lives given to my stewardship would rest comfortably nestled in my arms. Well, yes, that has been a few years but now granddaughters occasionally fill the gap. Life. 

In the harried pace we live, do we miss the daily mercies? Do we take time to just savor the reality of breathing, knowing that it was God's very breath that gave us life to begin with? Take ten minutes, a few times a day and soak in the reality of the God who loves you. Revel in His creation. Be aware that death wants to take life from you long before your final breath. Take it away little by little, moment by moment, day by day. 

We have responsibilities, work, all the things we have to do and many are not really optional. But we do have the option to pause. To stop for a moment and hold life. Treasure the moment. Bask in His mercy. He gave it to you fresh this morning so don't miss it. Don't let the day go by and allow death to win. Death surrounds us. It tries to immerse us in its gray mist of activity and deadlines. Hmmmmmm dead lines. Perhaps right now you need a life line and He is there who gave you life. He said something about abundant life, not living in the shadow of death every day. Take time to live, to enjoy the gift. Don't let the enemy win today. Celebrate life and then you can say goodbye to the trampoline.