Was Christ Forsaken by His Father?

AV1611 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-04-2008, 06:29 AM

Was Christ Forsaken by His Father? « Chaos & Old Night Thoughts?

ReformedSinner · #2 (**permalink**) 05-04-2008, 06:56 AM

The article claims to want to based his answers on exegesis, but as it turns out he is fueled to eisegesis by his theology (how can God forsaken anybody, especially Jesus!) The verse itself, while quoted by Jesus from Psalm 22, and it's good to try to understand it by exegetically get a clear understanding of Psalm 22, but the force is definitely on "forsaken" as the way Jesus used it on the cross. Jesus did not quote Psalm 22 in a footnote way as if to say: "study the whole exegetical historical background of Psalm 22 to get how I really feel on the cross", but rather He quoted Psalm 22 to highlight a realistic, actual, event that happened to Him on the cross: that He's forsaken by God. This forsaken is real, it's actual, and it must be maintain for it signifies that God has pronounced real judgment against Sin, and not just sugarcoated Sin away simply because Jesus bared its burden.

Now, the problem, I believe, is in how we understand the term "forsaken." People typically interpreted as God "turns His face away" and therefore as if God severed any connection or ties against Jesus, which of course brings up a Trinitarian problem (and also a Ontological problem.) Now, for one the Hebrew phrase "God turns His face away from you" does not mean God has severe all ties from you, but rather that the grace of God is no longer present with you and you will only experience God's wrath and judgment, and I believe that's what happened with Jesus on the cross, as He truly bored God's wrath and judgment and no longer God's love and grace which prompted Jesus to cried out "my God my God why have you forsaken me." We can imagine the agony of Jesus - the divinity of Jesus is eternally enjoying God's trinitarian love and perfect relationship, but because it bored the sins of humanity, God has "forsaken" it again not in severing all ties as if God somehow temporary is no longer omnipresent, but rather at that moment Jesus only experiences the wrath and judgment of God.