THE FOURTH WORD FROM THE CROSS (12 OF 19)
Scripture: Matthew 27:45-49
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The Fourth Word from the Cross (12 of 19)
Series: Cross Examination
Wyman Richardson
Matthew 27:45-49
Read Matthew 27:45-49
When the late Richard John Neuhaus pastored in Brooklyn, a 12-year-old inner city kid named Michael commented on Christ's death on the cross by saying, ''I don't say it wasn't real bad, but he did what he wanted to do, didn't he?''
That is a very interesting thing to say, and no doubt the young man who said it did not mean anything particularly sinister by it. However, it could almost be read to mean that while the horrors of the cross were indeed horrific, they were at least lessoned a bit by the fact that Jesus willingly entered into them, that Jesus was presumably still in control, and that Jesus knew that in the end He would emerge victorious in the resurrection. Again, it is very unlikely that Michael was trying to lessen the very real agonies of the cross, but it is a bit of a qualification nonetheless that carries with it some potentially unhelpful notions.
I do not deny that there is a kind of logic to that statement. I would simply point out that it is a logic bound to the finitude of our own understandings. I would further point out that the reality of what was happening on the cross was a deeper reality on a higher plain of understanding than any of us can reach this side of heaven. Thankfully, the scriptures have revealed much about what was happening there, but it is nonetheless the case that human reasoning always stumbles over the cross.
In particular, the fourth word from the cross, ''My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,'' is problematic for our own minds. Stanley Hauerwas, speaking of the fourth word, wrote this:
Our temptation is to try to explain, to protect Jesus from this abject cry of abandonment...We seek to explain these words of dereliction, to save and protect God from making a fool out of being God, but our attempts to protect God reveal how frightening the God of Jesus Christ is. That God ...
Series: Cross Examination
Wyman Richardson
Matthew 27:45-49
Read Matthew 27:45-49
When the late Richard John Neuhaus pastored in Brooklyn, a 12-year-old inner city kid named Michael commented on Christ's death on the cross by saying, ''I don't say it wasn't real bad, but he did what he wanted to do, didn't he?''
That is a very interesting thing to say, and no doubt the young man who said it did not mean anything particularly sinister by it. However, it could almost be read to mean that while the horrors of the cross were indeed horrific, they were at least lessoned a bit by the fact that Jesus willingly entered into them, that Jesus was presumably still in control, and that Jesus knew that in the end He would emerge victorious in the resurrection. Again, it is very unlikely that Michael was trying to lessen the very real agonies of the cross, but it is a bit of a qualification nonetheless that carries with it some potentially unhelpful notions.
I do not deny that there is a kind of logic to that statement. I would simply point out that it is a logic bound to the finitude of our own understandings. I would further point out that the reality of what was happening on the cross was a deeper reality on a higher plain of understanding than any of us can reach this side of heaven. Thankfully, the scriptures have revealed much about what was happening there, but it is nonetheless the case that human reasoning always stumbles over the cross.
In particular, the fourth word from the cross, ''My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,'' is problematic for our own minds. Stanley Hauerwas, speaking of the fourth word, wrote this:
Our temptation is to try to explain, to protect Jesus from this abject cry of abandonment...We seek to explain these words of dereliction, to save and protect God from making a fool out of being God, but our attempts to protect God reveal how frightening the God of Jesus Christ is. That God ...
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