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I found myself relating pretty hard with @PJ54 's post on Saturday, because we, Deb and I, enter every single day now only one incident away from a crisis, financially-speaking, medically-speaking... well, just about any-speaking, it seems. At the end of every given day, all I can say is that I don't know how we got through it, but for the grace of God... because there is no other explanation. Not that I see things getting any better soon, when I look around at the madness having its holiday in our day and age, and think "How much longer?"
Brother Robert's (@Watchman 's) response to him was equally something I found myself relating to, and I hope @PJ54 saw it and is able to draw encouragement from it.
Well, this weekend I'd been going through the articles and papers I'd written over the last 25+ years, looking for something else entirely— but came across this article from 2008, and given the season of the Memorial and events that soon followed, maybe it's a timely find, so I thought I'd share it here— although it might be controversial for some because of the perspective therein; It's offered for encouragement, not contentiousness.
FORSAKEN (from 2008)
Last night as I was falling asleep, thinking about Deb, about Rach, about Kitty, I couldn't help but think about another person who felt totally, unmistakably cut-off from God.
But I want to note right from the start that some of what follows might be controversial and is not meant to offend anyone. So proceed with that in mind, please.
-=-=-=-=-=-
In the accounts of Matthew and Mark, we are told of the last hours of Jesus' life as a human. To illustrate what I'm going to be talking about, I want to cite those passages now:
When it became the sixth hour a darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus called out with a loud voice: “E'li, E'li, la'ma sa·bach·tha'ni?” which means, when translated: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:33-34, NWT)
The writer of Matthew, drawing on Mark's account, writes similarly:
From the sixth hour on a darkness fell over all the land, until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus called out with a loud voice, saying: “E'li, E'li, la'ma sa·bach·tha'ni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46)
Most Christian groups teach that Jesus was merely fulfilling Bible prophecy when he spoke these words, by reciting Psalm 22:1. In other words, he was going through the paces.
In fact, this is what the Watchtower organization says on the matter:
First, he could have meant it in the qualified sense that Jehovah had taken away protection from his Son so that Jesus’ integrity would be tested to the limit, a painful and shameful death. But God’s releasing of Jesus to the wrath of enemies directed by Satan did not indicate total abandonment...
Connected to the foregoing is a likely second reason for Jesus’ utterance while on the stake, that by using these words he could fulfill a prophetic indication about the Messiah... Hence, when Jesus cried out as he did, he was adding to the record of prophecies that he fulfilled. (w87 6/15 p. 31)
Of course, this is a supposition on the part of the men who decide what Jehovah's Witnesses believe, and what I'm writing will be supposition as well.
But let's take some time to work through this explanation.
First, the notion that "Jehovah had taken away protection from his Son so that Jesus' integrity would be tested to the limit, a painful and shameful death." We can pretty much accept the idea that throughout Jesus' life as a human, God's holy spirit overshadowed him, protecting him as he carried out his role as the Christ who would die in behalf of Adam and Adam's children. So, that part's fine for me.
What about the part about Jehovah taking away protection from Jesus so that Jesus' integrity would be tested to the limit? Well, according to John 10:11, Jehovah didn't have to do that, because Jesus surrendered his soul, willingly. This is confirmed again at John 10:18. When Jesus turned himself over to the men who came to arrest him, he was at that point showing that he wanted any protection Jehovah was giving him to be taken away. So, that protection was removed long before Jesus cried out those words as he hung dying. Of course, some might argue that Jehovah continued protecting Jesus as far as death is concerned, but I disagree, based on the texts just cited from John, Chapter 10. Jesus, at the moment of his arrest, willingly surrendered his soul. From arrest to beatings to scourgings to impalement/crucifixion to death, that was a road Jesus walked without the protection of Jehovah. Up until then, no harm ever came upon him.
So, I disagree with the Watchtower men's attempt at explaining this passage from Matthew/Mark.
What about what they say next, then?
But God’s releasing of Jesus to the wrath of enemies directed by Satan did not indicate total abandonment...
Here, I agree, but for different reasons, I'm sure. Again, it was Jesus' choice to surrender his soul at the time of his arrest. And there's no reason to suggest that Jesus didn't know that God was still with him during this time. In fact, it probably gave him the strength to endure the unbelievable abuse heaped upon him: knowing that God is there, watching and keeping an account, and remembering us in our trevail. When we know, when we're convinced in our heart that God is with us, we're able to overcome adversities that would swallow us up otherwise. It's when we no longer feel the presence of God in our life that we start to falter and inevitable fall into despair.
Which brings me to the next part of the Watchtower men's explanation...
...a likely second reason for Jesus’ utterance while on the stake, that by using these words he could fulfill a prophetic indication about the Messiah... Hence, when Jesus cried out as he did, he was adding to the record of prophecies that he fulfilled...
I'll grant them the provisional statement that toss in there, that this is a "likely," secondary reason. I'll grant them that much.
But that's as much ground as I can give them, because it grossly understates what I can read with my own eyes. In fact, I find it despicable to claim that Jesus was merely going through the motions here, citing a passage from Psalm in order to somehow prove that he was the sacrificial Lamb.
What I think happened here is that for the first time in his life--whether strictly as a human, or, in the countless eons of pre-Time that he existed, that moment finally came when Jesus finally felt what it is that we humans have felt since Eden. He felt, for the first time, at the moment he most needed otherwise, that feeling of separation from God, that feeling of being forsaken. It wasn't enough that he willingly laid down his life for the "Sheep." He had to, in the hour of his direst need, know personally and without any mistaking it, what it feels like to experience God's silence.
Maybe he sensed it coming. After all, the account reads that a darkness fell over the land, and for three hours' span it was there all around him as he hung there, completely naked and exposed (I know, portrayals of the event have his privates hidden/covered, but let's face it: the Son of God was completely naked to further his humiliation) savagely beaten, bleeding... dying.
For those final three hours, he must've prayed... prayed for strength to endure, prayed for the forgiveness of his persecutors and those sentencing him to die... prayed for more things than we can probably imagine. But when that realization hit him, that sense of God's presence as His holy spirit bears witness with our spirit, assuring us that we are not alone in our existence... when he began to realize the silence of God, he knew for the first time what it meant to be human. All his sympathy that he had shown during his life, during his ministry, all the compassion he shared as he healed the sick and raised the dead... even that could not prepare him for the moment when he finally felt... human.
And in that moment, that surely shook him to his core being, when this Man who had been approved by God, allowed to preach about a loving Father who had prepared a Kingdom, allowed him to be the instrument of that God as the holy spirit outworked miracles, Jesus found himself uttering the very same words that fall from our lips every single day that we continue to struggle on in our present state: "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me!"
It's how we feel, and worse yet... it's how those whom we love and cherish feel...
But if there's any hope to be had, it's in the fact that Jesus now knows how that feels. In fact, it was his final qualification to serve as our High Priest, for who better to serve in that role than someone who can relate on an intimate, personal level with the feelings that we keep buried deep inside, so scared of the idea that if anyone really knew how desperate we were in our state of being forsaken, they'd fall apart--even as we are falling apart inside. The darkness that surrounds us hasn't been there for three hours... it's been there for as long as we can remember. We grope for God in that darkness, and it feels as though He isn't there.
But how can we explain that to anyone unless they've been there? We can't. It's impossible for us to put words to it, and it's impossible for the other person to understand, try as they might.
But based on what I read there in Matthew/Mark's account, it looks to me like Jesus understands it, because he was there. So, to the Rach's out there, to the Kitty's... to anyone who reads this and can relate, this is what I offer you by way of fellow feeling and encouragement... to tell you to keep fighting, to keep struggling, to not give up... and when my wife gets home tonight, I'm going to share this with her, too.
And together, we'll get through this. Together.
In Christian love,
Timothy
[February 14, 2008]
Brother Robert's (@Watchman 's) response to him was equally something I found myself relating to, and I hope @PJ54 saw it and is able to draw encouragement from it.
Well, this weekend I'd been going through the articles and papers I'd written over the last 25+ years, looking for something else entirely— but came across this article from 2008, and given the season of the Memorial and events that soon followed, maybe it's a timely find, so I thought I'd share it here— although it might be controversial for some because of the perspective therein; It's offered for encouragement, not contentiousness.
FORSAKEN (from 2008)
Last night as I was falling asleep, thinking about Deb, about Rach, about Kitty, I couldn't help but think about another person who felt totally, unmistakably cut-off from God.
But I want to note right from the start that some of what follows might be controversial and is not meant to offend anyone. So proceed with that in mind, please.
-=-=-=-=-=-
In the accounts of Matthew and Mark, we are told of the last hours of Jesus' life as a human. To illustrate what I'm going to be talking about, I want to cite those passages now:
When it became the sixth hour a darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus called out with a loud voice: “E'li, E'li, la'ma sa·bach·tha'ni?” which means, when translated: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:33-34, NWT)
The writer of Matthew, drawing on Mark's account, writes similarly:
From the sixth hour on a darkness fell over all the land, until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus called out with a loud voice, saying: “E'li, E'li, la'ma sa·bach·tha'ni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46)
Most Christian groups teach that Jesus was merely fulfilling Bible prophecy when he spoke these words, by reciting Psalm 22:1. In other words, he was going through the paces.
In fact, this is what the Watchtower organization says on the matter:
First, he could have meant it in the qualified sense that Jehovah had taken away protection from his Son so that Jesus’ integrity would be tested to the limit, a painful and shameful death. But God’s releasing of Jesus to the wrath of enemies directed by Satan did not indicate total abandonment...
Connected to the foregoing is a likely second reason for Jesus’ utterance while on the stake, that by using these words he could fulfill a prophetic indication about the Messiah... Hence, when Jesus cried out as he did, he was adding to the record of prophecies that he fulfilled. (w87 6/15 p. 31)
Of course, this is a supposition on the part of the men who decide what Jehovah's Witnesses believe, and what I'm writing will be supposition as well.
But let's take some time to work through this explanation.
First, the notion that "Jehovah had taken away protection from his Son so that Jesus' integrity would be tested to the limit, a painful and shameful death." We can pretty much accept the idea that throughout Jesus' life as a human, God's holy spirit overshadowed him, protecting him as he carried out his role as the Christ who would die in behalf of Adam and Adam's children. So, that part's fine for me.
What about the part about Jehovah taking away protection from Jesus so that Jesus' integrity would be tested to the limit? Well, according to John 10:11, Jehovah didn't have to do that, because Jesus surrendered his soul, willingly. This is confirmed again at John 10:18. When Jesus turned himself over to the men who came to arrest him, he was at that point showing that he wanted any protection Jehovah was giving him to be taken away. So, that protection was removed long before Jesus cried out those words as he hung dying. Of course, some might argue that Jehovah continued protecting Jesus as far as death is concerned, but I disagree, based on the texts just cited from John, Chapter 10. Jesus, at the moment of his arrest, willingly surrendered his soul. From arrest to beatings to scourgings to impalement/crucifixion to death, that was a road Jesus walked without the protection of Jehovah. Up until then, no harm ever came upon him.
So, I disagree with the Watchtower men's attempt at explaining this passage from Matthew/Mark.
What about what they say next, then?
But God’s releasing of Jesus to the wrath of enemies directed by Satan did not indicate total abandonment...
Here, I agree, but for different reasons, I'm sure. Again, it was Jesus' choice to surrender his soul at the time of his arrest. And there's no reason to suggest that Jesus didn't know that God was still with him during this time. In fact, it probably gave him the strength to endure the unbelievable abuse heaped upon him: knowing that God is there, watching and keeping an account, and remembering us in our trevail. When we know, when we're convinced in our heart that God is with us, we're able to overcome adversities that would swallow us up otherwise. It's when we no longer feel the presence of God in our life that we start to falter and inevitable fall into despair.
Which brings me to the next part of the Watchtower men's explanation...
...a likely second reason for Jesus’ utterance while on the stake, that by using these words he could fulfill a prophetic indication about the Messiah... Hence, when Jesus cried out as he did, he was adding to the record of prophecies that he fulfilled...
I'll grant them the provisional statement that toss in there, that this is a "likely," secondary reason. I'll grant them that much.
But that's as much ground as I can give them, because it grossly understates what I can read with my own eyes. In fact, I find it despicable to claim that Jesus was merely going through the motions here, citing a passage from Psalm in order to somehow prove that he was the sacrificial Lamb.
What I think happened here is that for the first time in his life--whether strictly as a human, or, in the countless eons of pre-Time that he existed, that moment finally came when Jesus finally felt what it is that we humans have felt since Eden. He felt, for the first time, at the moment he most needed otherwise, that feeling of separation from God, that feeling of being forsaken. It wasn't enough that he willingly laid down his life for the "Sheep." He had to, in the hour of his direst need, know personally and without any mistaking it, what it feels like to experience God's silence.
Maybe he sensed it coming. After all, the account reads that a darkness fell over the land, and for three hours' span it was there all around him as he hung there, completely naked and exposed (I know, portrayals of the event have his privates hidden/covered, but let's face it: the Son of God was completely naked to further his humiliation) savagely beaten, bleeding... dying.
For those final three hours, he must've prayed... prayed for strength to endure, prayed for the forgiveness of his persecutors and those sentencing him to die... prayed for more things than we can probably imagine. But when that realization hit him, that sense of God's presence as His holy spirit bears witness with our spirit, assuring us that we are not alone in our existence... when he began to realize the silence of God, he knew for the first time what it meant to be human. All his sympathy that he had shown during his life, during his ministry, all the compassion he shared as he healed the sick and raised the dead... even that could not prepare him for the moment when he finally felt... human.
And in that moment, that surely shook him to his core being, when this Man who had been approved by God, allowed to preach about a loving Father who had prepared a Kingdom, allowed him to be the instrument of that God as the holy spirit outworked miracles, Jesus found himself uttering the very same words that fall from our lips every single day that we continue to struggle on in our present state: "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me!"
It's how we feel, and worse yet... it's how those whom we love and cherish feel...
But if there's any hope to be had, it's in the fact that Jesus now knows how that feels. In fact, it was his final qualification to serve as our High Priest, for who better to serve in that role than someone who can relate on an intimate, personal level with the feelings that we keep buried deep inside, so scared of the idea that if anyone really knew how desperate we were in our state of being forsaken, they'd fall apart--even as we are falling apart inside. The darkness that surrounds us hasn't been there for three hours... it's been there for as long as we can remember. We grope for God in that darkness, and it feels as though He isn't there.
But how can we explain that to anyone unless they've been there? We can't. It's impossible for us to put words to it, and it's impossible for the other person to understand, try as they might.
But based on what I read there in Matthew/Mark's account, it looks to me like Jesus understands it, because he was there. So, to the Rach's out there, to the Kitty's... to anyone who reads this and can relate, this is what I offer you by way of fellow feeling and encouragement... to tell you to keep fighting, to keep struggling, to not give up... and when my wife gets home tonight, I'm going to share this with her, too.
And together, we'll get through this. Together.
In Christian love,
Timothy
[February 14, 2008]
