1. When Jesus took on the sin of the world, God turned away because He cannot look upon sin. This means that Jesus was left by Himself to suffer. (Although this explanation is discredited by Deut 4:31, 2 Chronicles 15:2, and Psalm 37:25,28, all which show that "God does not forsake the righteous.")
2. When Jesus made the call, He wanted the people to recognize that He was referring to all of Psalm 22, not just the first verse. The people would recognize the quote and later would read all the psalm. Then, they would know that what had just happened had been prophesied long before.
3. In the introduction to his translation of the Bible, George Lamsa criticizes the various versions in their rendering of Matthew 27: 46. He points out that what they say is in contradiction to the King James Version of John 16: 32 and several instances of the Old Testament (which he does not state). His translation includes:
Psalm 22: 1
My God, my God, why hast thou let me to live? and yet thou hast delayed my salvation from me, because of the words of my folly.
Matthew 27: 46
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, Eli, Eli, lemana shabakthani! My God, my God, for this was I spared!
Footnote: This was my destiny.
Mark 15: 34
And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lemana shabakthani! which means, My God, my God, for this was I spared.
Footnote: "which means" used by Mark to explain translation from one Aramaic dialect to another.
Luke 23: 46
Then Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, O my Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. He said this and it was finished.
John 19: 30
When Jesus drank the vinegar, he said, It is fulfilled; and he bowed his head and gave up the spirit.
I keep reflecting onto why we use phrases such as "why have you abandoned me" and the times that I have accused God of exactly that, even though my spirit knows that it is not possible. We know that Jesus was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15) even though He didn't need to wash away any sins, but was fulfilling Scripture the only purpose for his cry?
I wonder if Jesus was really in despair. I wonder if Jesus was expressing an accusation to describe his frustration. I wonder if Jesus doubted God for a split second of his decision to sacrifice his Son. I wonder if Jesus was angry at God. I wonder all these things because all these things I feel toward God- despair, frustration, doubt, and anger- and yet, my Spirit knows that God is in control. Does Jesus truly understand this battle within? And can this battle be attributed to humanness (which Jesus would have endured) or just lack of faith (which Jesus would not have endured...or would he)? And is this kind of "little faith" a sin?
1 comment:
Webster's describes dispair as "Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency". Hmmmmm, I'd say no. Distress? Absolutely!
A large dose of despondence? Yes.
Horrendous passion? Undoubtedly.
Unearthly pain? Only as the sinless could endure.
You might know that I come solidly down on the Psalm 22 route here. Those in the execution audience that day would not have to go home to look up the rest of that "passage" (unless you're talking about passing gentiles or the Roman guards). Every Jew in the crowd would know song by heart from start to finish. (Doubtless, all of us know dozens or even hundreds of songs by heart. No projection nor songbook needed.) And such would have been the ultimate prophecy, not even in the sense of past words coming to pass, but in the pronouncement of a divine revelation for the present. This is how the God-Man has come to sacrifice, to suffer, to redeem, to save.
And further, I'd say to cry out to the Father in such a way is not only *not* sin, but to fail to do so would at least be considered extremely strange. Solders in the trenches, in foxholes, call out to God for help...even those of devout atheistic profession. Why would Jesus himself hold this cry back? No, in His suffering Christ shows us His passion. This cry to a loving, holy, all powerful Father is met with a measure of silence. This strikes me in the face daily. And Jesus knew what that day held, and still faced it as the Father ordained, since it was His will. It reminds me that my cry is no less important. And that it need not (maybe even *must not*) be done apart from the stage that we are thrust upon.
As for George Lamsa, I'll ask around a bit about the "Mortimer-McCawley manuscript" and the "Codex Ambrosianus". The way the link reads smacks of presumption and seems a bit gnostic to me.
Grace and peace.
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