Seeds for 3/12/2024 - Matthew 27:46
Scripture: 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?”).
Observation: This is one one of the weightiest moments in scripture because it carries a sense of nearness and distance at the same time. A moment of of intimacy and abandonment seemingly touch one another.
What does Jesus cry out? The quotation is from Psalm 22:1, and it is a remarkable reference at that. Let’s put it this way: If the Christian story is made up, it is a brilliant storyteller who draws on this centuries old worship text for this moment that gathers so many threads of Jesus awful passion into one literarily tidy bundle. If it is not a fiction—and of course I believe it is theologically true because it is historically true—then it testifies to a truly wonderful Storyteller indeed.
When an Old Testament text is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament, the invitation is not only to note that quotation alone, but to go back and see the context as well. When we do that with Psalm 22, we find more than only a feeling of abandonment expressed in verse 1.
Psalm 22 relays the story of a man who experiences scorn, mockery, and insults, as well as physical suffering at the hands of his enemies. He begins with an expression of abandonment but by the end an affirmation of confidence and hope in the faithfulness of God. And we know this leads into the gentle strength of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”
Read the whole thing. Here are some samples of Psalm 22, which Matthew is practically begging us to read in light of everything that has happened in his Gospel:
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
It turns out that the whole story of the suffering and triumph of Christ is found in Psalm 22, and the ultimate hope that belongs to those who know the Lord.
Application:
When have you been awed or thrilled at a story (book, movie, TV series) that had a brilliantly constructed conclusion?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, no matter what I experience and endure in life, keep me anchored in the hope you promise and provide. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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