Did God Forsake Jesus?

Biblegems #298

Pixabay: Public Domain

Question: In Matthew 27:46 Jesus is quoted as saying from the cross, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" If Jesus is God, how can God forsake himself?

Even though the question itself is rhetorical, the fact remains that this quote from Jesus is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted verses in Scripture.

Matthew 27:26 reads:

“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema  sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).”

Jesus was only minutes—perhaps seconds—away from death (v.50), yet He had the presence of mind to quote Psalm 22:1 in His native tongue of Aramaic. Why this Psalm? Why this verse?

Psalm 22 was written as a song by king David for already existing music (Ps. 22:0). In this song David describes his own feeling of rejection by God (vv.1-5), as well as rejection and ridicule by his own people (vv. 6-8). He had been raised from birth to trust God (vv. 9-10). To suddenly be deserted by God, and by God’s people, left him so emotionally and spiritually drained that he felt as if his heart was being drained from his body like melting wax. His mouth got so dry he could barely speak (vv. 14-17). All the while, his enemies gloated over him:

         Ps. 22:17-18  “…All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”

David’s agonizing experience foreshadowed what Jesus would experience centuries later on far greater scale upon the cross. Yet even in the midst of his feeling of abandonment David did not give up calling upon God to rescue him (vv. 19-21). In fact, he fully expected to be delivered by God; and he fully expected one day to personally and publically praise God for his deliverance (vv.22-25). David knew, even in the midst of personal agony and feeling forsaken by God that God would one day work out all things for good (vv. 29-31).

For Jesus’ followers and family at the foot of the cross to hear “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me…” coming from Jesus’ parched, dying lips, the words would have sounded very familiar—much the same as “Jesus loves me, this I know…” would sound to us today, bringing to mind the entire song and its reminder of God’s faithfulness and promised salvation.

Jesus, who never sinned, needed to experience separation from God that sin caused—the greatest depth of human weakness—on a personal level:

         Heb. 4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

It is ironic that Jesus, who was fully human, yet “being in very nature God” (Phil 2:6), demonstrated His Divine nature by not taking advantage of it. Instead, taking the sin of the human race and the separation from God it caused, Jesus willingly “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8b)!

Hallelujah! What a savior!

Identifying “the Spirits in Prison”

Biblegems #267

Question: Who are the “spirits in prison” mentioned in 1 Peter 3:18-19, and what was “preached” to them?

Here is the passage in both the KJV and the NIV (2011), with the most pertinent section underlined:

         1Pet. 3:18-19   For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison (KJV).      

1Pet. 3:18-19 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits (NIV).

Interpretations of this passage have historically fallen into three general categories:

Interpretation #1       Between his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus went to the realm of the dead in spiritual form and preached to Noah’s contemporaries. Some in this group believe Jesus offered salvation to the spirits of those who died in the Flood. Others in this group believe Jesus’ proclamation was to officially condemn the unbelievers of Noah’s time. A third view within this group is that Jesus preached good news to those of Noah’s day who had already been saved.

         Interpretation #2       Jesus, in His pre-existent, spiritual state, came from heaven to the sinful generation of Noah’s day and preached repentance, which they ignored.

         Interpretation #3       After His death on the cross and burial, Jesus went in the Spirit (either Holy Spirit, or in the spiritual realm) to the disobedient spirits (fallen angels) of Noah’s day, described in Genesis 6:1-4, and proclaimed his victory over sin and death.

The word “spirits” in Scripture can refer to humans, angels, God, or the demonic. Context generally determines what kind of spirit is in view. The context of 1Pet. 3:20 makes it clear that Jesus made His proclamation to spirits “who were disobedient long ago in the days of Noah….” Jude also refers to this same group of imprisoned spirits as “angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day” (Jude 6).

The New Testament, then, points to a specific group of angels who are imprisoned by God until the Day of Judgment for their disobedience in the days of Noah. These spirits are not in hell (Gk. gehenna), which is currently empty (Rev. 20:10ff.), but in a special prison called Tartarus:

         2Pet. 2:4   For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell (Gk. tartarus), putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment…

The only such distinct group described in Scripture in Noah’s day would appear to be “the sons of God who went to the daughters of humans and had children by them” (Gen. 6:4). Following His crucifixion, Jesus was made alive in the Spirit and went to these imprisoned angels, proclaiming His victory over sin, Satan and death!

When Was Jesus Crucified?

Biblegems #178

Question: When Was Jesus Crucified? The Gospel of Mark says it was the third hour, but John seems to suggest it was the sixth hour.

Mark 15:25 reads: It was the third hour when they crucified him.

John 19:14-16 reads: It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

Most likely, John's Gospel best reflects the actual timing of the crucifixion. Here are the three possible answers to this apparent contradiction that have been suggested over the years. Sound principles of biblical interpretation help reveal which, if any, of these solutions is correct.

Possibility #1

Some speculate that Mark used Hebrew reckoning of time, while John used the Roman system. In that case, John’s “sixth hour” would be 6 AM, not twelve noon, and the three hours between 6 AM and Mark’s 9 AM would be taken up with the beating, whipping and preparations for the crucifixion. While this is not unreasonable in itself, there is absolutely no evidence in John’s Gospel to suggest he, as a Jew, was thinking in terms of Roman time.

Possibility #2

Others suggest that verse 25 was not in Mark’s original Gospel but was added later when the document was being copied for circulation throughout the early Christian church. Occurrences of this type of error in copying are known as a “gloss.” This happens when a scribe or copyist makes a side note on the margin of the document being copied, and a later copyist mistakes the side note as part of the original text. This is certainly possible, especially considering the fact that Mark is the earliest of the Gospels, and Matthew and Luke seem to draw on Mark’s time-line for the passion and crucifixion events, yet neither mention the “third hour” of Mark 15:25.

Possibility #3

This solution also looks to copyist error as the likely culprit. In this case, the Greek letter gamma was originally in its lower case form and doubled (gamma gamma), which indicates the number “6.” An early copyist mistakenly replaced the lower case with an upper case gamma, which indicates the number “3.” This would be a very easy mistake to make when copying by hand, and examples of this kind of error can be found in ancient manuscripts.

The last two solutions point to an “error of transmission”—an error that was not part of Mark’s original manuscript. This is human error in copying, not a mistake in the Word of God as Mark first wrote it down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Bible translators today have available to them a vast number of ancient manuscripts, where one can be compared against others with relative ease. This process is of immense help in recognizing copy errors that do occasionally arise. While errors in copying do take place from time to time, such “errors of transmission” never affect doctrine. God’s Word is trustworthy and true!

For more on the origins and authority of the Bible, please check out Bible Gems #172, 165, 149, 110, 105, 83, 64, 60, 59, 53, 31, 6.