"About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?' - which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'"
Matt alters Mk's Aramaic eloi to Hebrew eli (see NIV text and mg.) for closer
conformity to the original of Ps 22:1, and for a closer approach to the name of
Elijah, Elias (v. 47).
1. The Cross and Gethsemane. This utterance is not merely the sequel to
the agony in Gethsemane; it is the explanation for that agony. We can now
understand why Jesus shrank from the Cross. Cf. earlier discussion on the causes
of Jesus' agony - including horror over abandonment by the Father which was to
be the inevitable consequence of the Son's "becoming sin." We must reject the
view that Jesus thought he was forsaken by the Father, but in reality was not. He
is really abandoned, and he knows that he is abandoned. And having been
deserted by the Father, there is no hope of rescue by Elijah (49) or anyone else.
2. The mystery. There is no recorded answer to Jesus' question, "Why
have you abandoned me?" The subject is so profound and so holy that for God to
have provided an answer for us would have been (as it were) to cast pearls before
swine, or (at best) to say something that we could not comprehend nor fathom.
3. The knowledge. Because Jesus clearly perceived the nature of his
mission, in one sense he knew why God had abandoned him. He early submitted
to a baptism for sinners (3:15). His ministry is typically one of the most intimate
socializing with "tax collectors and 'sinners'" (9:10-13). Here at the Cross he
identifies in the closest way with human sin. Identified at his baptism as the
appointed Servant of Yahweh (3:15-17), he is the one in whom the prophecy of Isa
53:4-10 comes to realization. As the direct consequence of having borne "the
iniquity of all" his people (1:21), he suffers the wrath of God, and abandonment by
God (cf. Leon Morris, The Cross in the New Testament, 42-49).
4. The anguish. We must do more than speak of Jesus' knowledge of
what is happening. Indeed, it is just that knowledge that gives rise to the anguish.
To quote John White: "If I were coldly logical I could point out that Jesus knew
the answer to his own agonized cry. He knew why. He had known during his
earthly ministry. He had known with awful clarity in the Mount of Olives. His
question is not a plea for intellectual understanding but an expression of agony that
overwhelmed understanding" (Daring to Draw Near, 153). For the One with
whom he had enjoyed the closest communion (even in Gethsemane, where he
calls God "Abba"), has now abandoned him utterly.
5. The faith. We should not overlook the language of faith within the cry
of dereliction itself. Not only does Jesus speak of "my God." He also cries, "Why
have you forsaken me?" (not "Why has God forsaken me?"). In face of
abandonment by God (or imagined such abandonment), "where could I go but to
the Lord?" Cf. Job's fierce determination to maintain contact with the God who,
he thinks, has abandoned him. "It is far better to cry 'Why?' than not to cry at all.
It is better to protest in dismay than to curse God and die.... Our very agitation is a
product of faith.... Once we lose all hope that there is an ear to hear or a heart that
is concerned, despair becomes absolute" (White, Daring, 154).
6. The meditation. I believe Jesus' quoting of Ps 22:1 indicates that he
meditated on the whole psalm, and that he thus moved from despair to victory:
"For [the LORD] has not despised or disdained the suffering of his afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help" (22:24).
This helps explain the confidence and peace reflected in his remaining Words from
the cross. This is the one Word Mt records. But note also 26:50, "And when
Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit." A comparison
with Jn strongly suggests that 26:50 refers to the cry, "It is finished" (Jn 19:30).
Note also the final word, Lk 23:46, "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit.'" As in Gethsemane, Jesus' striving with God
brings peace with God
Resource:
http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/kno_chamblin/NT.Chamblin.Matt.27.27-50.pdfLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=35790.0
