By Steven Norris
In one of the darkest moments in the Bible, as Jesus hangs on the cross, he appears to be abandoned by God. Matthew’s Gospel records it this way: “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 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?’)” (Matthew 27:45-47).
Growing up, I heard folks say that God had to turn away from Jesus in this moment. This was because God is holy and cannot look on sin. As I’ve learned more about the scripture, I find this interpretation problematic.
In Habakkuk 1:13, we do find this, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil…” Isn’t this saying that God cannot look on evil? Well, not exactly. To understand Hebrew poetry, we need to look at the way parallelism is used — instead of rhyming, the poet would state essentially the same idea in different ways through two lines. The rest of that verse says, “…you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.”
God is omnipresent and omniscient. God knows when sin is committed, and God is present when sin happens. It grieves God when humans choose rebellion over obedience. The point is not that God is incapable of looking on sin, but that God does not turn a blind eye to sin or minimize it. God takes sin very seriously.
So, what was Jesus trying to communicate? I find it much more likely that he was quoting Psalm 22. In ancient Hebrew tradition, the psalms were not numbered as we number them today. There were no titles or headings like many of our modern Bibles contain. Therefore, a person would often quote the first verse of a psalm as a shorthand for referencing the entire composition.
When you read Psalm 22, you will find that there is a progression from the feeling of abandonment to hope. The author of Psalm 22 recognizes his current predicament, places that within the context of God’s ongoing care, and comes to a definite conclusion: “I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you…For [God] 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” (Psalm 22:22, 24).
If Jesus is quoting Psalm 22, then he is not crying out in abandonment. Instead, he is affirming exactly the opposite — that God has not abandoned us in our sin. Rather, God has seen us and come close in order to redeem and reconcile us. That is why the Apostle Paul depicts all of Jesus’ ministry as one of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:18).
Scripture persistently declares that God has come close to us, even in our sin. It stubbornly insists that God loves us and is always working for our good. God does not push us away or turn God’s back; rather, God invites us into a better way of life.
That, my friends, is the Gospel! That is truly good news!