Sunday, March 27, 2005

What is going on?

OK, I have to admit this season has me thinking.
I had only heard one side of the story for years. You know, when Jesus said from the cross, "My God, My God why has thou forsaken me." And then I would hear about how bad sin was and how connected Jesus was with the father and then how God turned his back on Jesus, at his lowest most painful time in his life, and how Jesus "knew" this and then said..."My God..."
It was all I was ever taught. I could not find in the Bible that exact interpretation of what was going on but I figured it must be right.
Until Calvin Crest 1983.
I heard a man talk about how the Jews had the Psalms memorized and how they would quote a small section, one sentence and then they would all chime in and repeat the Psalms together. He then said that when Jesus was saying, "My God..." he was simply quoting from the Psalms as a way of informing people there what was really happening. WHAT? What about God turning his back etc.
I then heard another person say the same thing here in Fresno.
Well, sure enough, I heard my pastor three years ago say that God was turning his back etc. I went into his study between services and told him what I really thought was going on. He told me that that is what all of his commentaries said and that I was wrong. For me, that was not good enough.
I went home and did some more research of my own. I called a group of Christian Jews in town and they told me the same thing the Calvin Crest speaker did. Jesus was simply repeating the first line of Psalm 22. He was making sure that the Jews knew exactly what was going on. Here are a few of the verses in Psalm 22:
Verse 1: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Verse 14: I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.
Verse 15: My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. Verse 16: For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
Verse 17-18: I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
There Jesus goes again, making sure everyone knows what is going on so that there will be no mistake about it. Could you imagine for a moment what it must have been like if in fact the Jews did start saying this psalm together. Did they stop for a moment when they said that His hands and feet were pierced! Did they also say, "Wait a minute, didn't those guys over there cast lots for his garments?"
Anyway, I really don't buy the idea that God had to turn his head and break fellowship with His son at his lowest point, highest need. It doesn't sound to loving to me. But I do like Calvin Crest, pinecones, clean air, good speakers and fresh ideas, like the one I heard back in 1983.
HE IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED!

1 Comments:

At 1:19 PM, Blogger Dakota House said...

Yes. I knew it. Thank you George--for this has always felt wrong... it did not seem like our God to me.
I say next Easter we have a service at Dakota House. You preach. Mel plays keyboard. We worship together. Sweeeet.

 

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