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Matthew 27:46: Difference between revisions
→What the Bible teaches
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=What the Bible teaches= | =What the Bible teaches= | ||
As can be seen from the scriptures above, the Bible contains nothing that could be interpreted as Jesus screaming for help or crying for mercy while He was on the cross. | |||
==''My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?''== | |||
The words "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" are taken directly from the opening of Psalm 22; a psalm which expresses the spiritual desolation of a man who continues to trust and to appeal to God in spite of the fact that his ungodly opponents mock and persecute him with impunity. In the end, the psalm turns to joyful thanksgiving for deliverance. | |||
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus reveals His remarkable ability to say in very few words incredible wisdom. This is one of these cases. | |||
Jesus is dying on the cross and is surrounded by soldiers, onlookers as well as some people who are very close to him (including his mother, Mary and John the beloved). When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", he was not questioning God. No! But then what does this phrase mean? | |||
In our view, He was very clearly stating to those at the foot of the cross something very profound. He was telling them, ''"If you want to understand what is really going on here, go and read Psalm 22. I told you that I would have to die but this is not the end! Victory is approaching! Read Psalm 22 and you will see what is coming next! Triumph!"'' | |||
It is the latter part of the Psalm 22 that Jesus has in mind as well as its traumatic beginning, so that this is in effect a shout of defiant trust in the God whom He knows will rescue him. | |||
Why is it that throughout the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus frequently refers to God as his Father but never as “my God”? Why does he always in prayer use “Father” to address God (Matt 6:9; 11:25, 26; 26:39, 42). Even though the cross was in view in Gethsemane, Jesus could still address and trust God as his “Father.”<ref>R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co., 2007), 1075–1076; and Barclay Moon Newman and Philip C. Stine, A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1992), 863.</ref> | |||
The simple explanation is that Jesus was clearly referring to Psalm 22 and that is the only reason that He did not refer to His Father. We was clearly telling the disciples to look at Psalm 22 in order to understand what was going on. | |||
===Psalm 22=== | |||
==Psalm 22== | |||
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? | My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? | ||
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17 I can count all my bones — they stare and gloat over me; | 17 I can count all my bones — they stare and gloat over me; | ||
18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. | |||
19 But you, O LORD, ndo not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! | |||
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! | |||
21 Save me from fthe mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! | |||
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: | |||
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! | |||
24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and '''he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.''' | |||
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. | |||
26 The afflicted shall seat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! | |||
27 '''All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.''' | |||
28 For '''kingship belongs to the LORD''', and he rules over the nations. | |||
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, '''even the one who could not keep himself alive'''. | |||
30 Posterity shall serve him; '''it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation'''; | |||
31 '''they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn''', that '''he has done it'''. | |||
31 | |||
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 22:1–31.<ref>Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ps 22:1–31.</ref> | The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 22:1–31.<ref>Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ps 22:1–31.</ref> | ||
==Did God "abandon" Jesus?"== | |||
As the Logos, Jesus was never abandoned by God. Jesus, who was God, suffered no damage to his divine nature on the cross. Christ was abandoned by God neither with regard to the union of the two natures nor with regard to divine grace. It is true that he went through the experience of suffering. However, the ancient church was in agreement that Christ’s cry was not to be understood as an expression of deepest despair but was to be interpreted in terms of the victory to which his death on the cross leads.<ref>Ulrich Luz, Matthew 21–28: a Commentary, ed. Helmut Koester, Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2005), 545.</Ref> | |||
=Quotes= | =Quotes= | ||