On his blog, “The Exchange,” (go here) Ed Stetzer posted an article by Eric Mason, Pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA. Mason wrote about Jesus’ cry on the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Taking a traditional approach, Mason stated, “In some way, no scholar has satisfactorily explained: God forsook Jesus.” Mason’s position is an interpretation of the words of Jesus. We can understand what Jesus said in another way.
I find the theological implications of saying God forsook Jesus to be profound in the extreme. For instance, what is meant by the phrase “God turned his back” on Jesus. Is the phrase metaphorical? Does God really have a back? If he does, then one must believe God has a physical presence. How, then, can he be omnipresent if he is physical? Obviously, such observations border on the absurd. In order to be omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient, God cannot be limited by physical restraints. So, in truth, to speak of God’s back is to speak metaphorically.
Scripture addresses God’s backside in two other texts: Exodus 33:23, and Isaiah 38:17. In the Exodus passage, God told Moses he would pass by Moses and show his backside, “but my face shall not be seen.” God either took physical form in order for Moses to see him, or, he simply allowed Moses to see his non-physical essence. If that was the case, Moses in truth did not see something physical. Either way, Moses was able to see what no other human being has ever seen, or will see until eternity. (see Ex. 33:11, 20, 23; Num. 12:6-8; Deut. 34:10)
The second text, Isa. 38:17, is the prophet’s confession of the greatness of God’s forgiveness: “for you have cast all my sins behind Your back.” Note, God had not turned his back on Isaiah, but he had cast the prophet’s sin behind his back. What is behind God’s back: a void, nothingness. Such would have been Jesus’ fate if the Father had turned his back on the Son: Jesus would have been relegated to a state of nothingness, to the void, to a place of non-existence. How could he have endured if such had been his state?
What might be a better way, and a less theologically confusing way, to understand the words of Jesus? On the Cross, Jesus took upon himself the full weight of the sins of all mankind. Now, the question is, what does sin do to the sinner? Paul wrote to the Colossians, “because of your evil deeds, you were alienated and hostile in your mind.” (my paraphrase) To be alienated is to be estranged, to be isolated. Our sin isolates or disconnects us from God. But, does our sin alienate God from us? Most assuredly not. If our sin causes God to be isolated or disconnected from us, why would he, indeed how could he have sent his Son to die on our behalf? We are God’s creation; he cares for us, he loves us to the extent he sent his Son to die in our place.
Each of the Synoptic Gospels records the following: “This is/You are My beloved Son, in whom/in You I am well-pleased.” If God forsook Jesus on the Cross, he in essence would have been disowning his Son. What would have made him change his mind about the one in whom he was well-pleased? God the Father sent God the Son to the Cross, and the Son was obedient to the point of death. In his High Priestly prayer, Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify You.” Where were both the Father and the Son to be glorified? On the Cross. Even in Jesus taking our sin upon himself, the Father was glorified, and his grace and love were expressed.
The most telling argument against the “God turned his back on Jesus” position is the absence of such a formulation in Scripture. None of the Gospels say God turned his back on Jesus. All we have are the words of Jesus according to Mark and Matthew. All we can do is interpret Jesus’ words. In interpreting them, we should be guided by the consistent witness of Scripture to the character and work of God. I cannot resolve in my mind the conflicts between what the Bible tells us about God and the idea God turned his back on Jesus, especially in the moment of his greatest need. Does not God, by His Spirit, in the moment of our greatest awareness of our own sin, come to us in his kindness and grace, and offer to us his love, mercy and forgiveness?
Jesus’ cry on the Cross resonates with me, especially when I, as a disobedient child of God, have a sense of alienation and unworthiness. If Jesus knew that sense of alienation and isolation, then, he who “was tempted in that which He has suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” God has never deserted or forsaken any of his children. (Heb. 13:5-6) When I am tempted to believe he has deserted me and withdrawn his love for me, I am reminded of Jesus’ struggle on the Cross. He was not forsaken, and neither will I be.
