1. Psalm 22 and the death on the Cross

From the beginning of this July we are reading Psalm and today¡Çs lecturing passage is chapter 22. The poem must be very familiar to Christians because it contains the words which Jesus cried out on the brink of death. Mark reported them in Hebrew whereas Matthew¡Ç record is in Aramaic ; - At three o’clock Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?¡É(Mark 15:24) And ; - About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?¡É(Matthew27:46)

It seems obvious that both of two came from Psalm 22:1 ; - ¡ÈMy God, my God, why have you abandoned me?¡É
The Apostles were following Jesus by believing him to be the Messiah. However they had some doubt because of those last words. They must wonder whether it was possible for the Messiah to die in despair. They were so upset that they read attentively the similar expression written in Psalm 22. They tried to understand in that way why Jesus lost the hope at that crucial moment. If he was the very Messiah it should be absurd. They wanted to grasp a meaning concealed behind Psalm 22. It should reveal the authentic identity of Jesus, they thought. And they found out that Jesus¡Ç death on the Cross was the act of redemption of humans¡Ç sin.

We will see the structure of the chapter. The whole poem consists of two parts. The first one is from verse 1 to 21, which contains cries of a desperate man. The man was exposed to harsh contempts and offenses. He was calling for God¡Çs help under extreme exhaustion. The beginning of the chapter describes the sorrow caused by the silence of God ; - My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? You seem far from saving me, far away from my groans. My God, I call to you during the day, but you do not answer. I call at night; I am not silent. (Psalm 22:1-2)

The poet was dying from physical and mental fatigue due to enemies¡Ç hostility. But the most painful matter for him was the silence of God. He felt tortured by extreme fear of being abandoned by God.

Nonetheless, he recalled the history of his people to encourage himself. He knew that God had always saved the Jewish people from disasters ; - You sit as the Holy One. The praises of Israel are your throne. Our ancestors trusted you; they trusted, and you saved them.They called to you for help and were rescued. They trusted you and were not disappointed. ¡ÊPsalm 22:3-5¡Ë

The words ¡È trusted you¡É are repeated three times in that short passage. He knew that God was never disloyal to that trust. For that reason, he was sure that the rescue would be found in ancestors¡Ç spiritual legacy.

The majority of Japanese should fall in religious nihilism under similar circumstances. In contrast, the poet continued crying for God, despite hopeless conditions. Because he was a member of the Jewish people. He believed that God was always with him, even though watching his miserable state.

Therefore he complained to God ; - But I am like a worm instead of a man. People make fun of me and hate me. Those who look at me laugh. They stick out their tongues and shake their heads.They say, “Turn to the Lord for help. Maybe he will save you. If he likes you, maybe he will rescue you.” (Psalm 22:6-8¡Ë

We find the expression ¡Èlike a worm¡É several times in Isaiah from chapter 40. *1 Israelites in Babylonia felt like worms due to their social status. They were under captivity and must be ranked most inferior of the society. Babylonians might mocked them by saying, ¡È You were defeated because Yahweh was powerless.¡É Many modern scholars think that Psalm 22 is based on the experience of the Babylonian captivity.

But the poet expresses his trust in God regardless of contempts of hostile people ; - You had my mother give birth to me. You made me trust you while I was just a baby. I have leaned on you since the day I was born; you have been my God since my mother gave me birth. So don’t be far away from me. Now trouble is near, and there is no one to help.(Psalm 22¡§9-11)

He felt totally vulnerable to enemies ; - People have surrounded me like angry bulls. Like the strong bulls of Bashan, they are on every side. Like hungry, roaring lions they open their mouths at me. My strength is gone, like water poured out onto the ground, and my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it has melted inside me. My strength has dried up like a clay pot, and my tongue sticks to the top of my mouth. You laid me in the dust of death.¡ÊPsalm 22:12-15¡Ë

The verses above portray a man who was whipped then put on a cross. He must appear almost dead. Many persons draw a comparison between the passage and the description of ¡ÈThe Lord’s Suffering Servant¡É in Isaiah 53 ; - He was beaten down and punished, but he didn’t say a word. He was like a lamb being led to be killed. He was quiet, as a sheep is quiet while its wool is being cut; he never opened his mouth. Men took him away roughly and unfairly. He died without children to continue his family. He was put to death; he was punished for the sins of my people.(Isaiah 53:7-8)

The servant indicates a man who encouraged the people under captivity to get free and set off back to Israel. It seems that he was accused and executed by the authority for that reason. The disciples of Jesus projected the image of their master on the Cross to that servant.

The poet was rejected and mocked by the crowd, like Jesus. He looked for only God¡Çs protection but found the silence. Despite, he showed yet his sincere faith in God through cries ; - But, Lord, don’t be far away. You are my strength; hurry to help me. Save me from the sword; save my life from the dogs.(Psalm 22:19-20.)

* Reference http://www.preachingpeace.org/documents/2ndIsaiah(41.1-29).pdf

2. Sorrow turns to praiseing

The poem turns the tone of desolation at the verse 21 in the second part. Though ambiguity of translation of Hebrew language generated variants, the change is seen very clearly in New King James version. It has an extended phrase in the verse 21, ¡ÈYou have answered Me.¡É *1

The phrase opens obviously a new direction of tonality, from expression of sorrow to act of worship. In the second half of the poem, the poet was openly praising God who had listened to and responded to the prayer.

Feeling of ¡Èbeing listened to the prayer¡É pushed the poet to utter the voice of admiration and he gave thanks to God. ; - He does not ignore those in trouble. He doesn’t hide from them but listens when they call out to him.Lord, I praise you in the great meeting of your people; these worshipers will see me do what I promised.Poor people will eat until they are full; those who look to the Lord will praise him. (Psalm 22:24-26)

And the praising emotion went beyond his personal experience and was shared in the public space with the community of believers.; - Then I will tell my brothers and sisters about you; I will praise you in the public meeting. Praise the Lord, all you who respect him. All you descendants of Jacob, honor him; fear him, all you Israelites. (Psalm 22:22-23)

All attendents sang the hymn to worship God who must rule allover the universe.; - People everywhere will remember and will turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will worship him because the Lord is King, and he rules the nations. (Psalm 22:27-28)

Moreover, they believed that the admiration must be timelessly shared with past ancestors and future offsprings.; - All the powerful people on earth will eat and worship. Everyone will bow down to him, all who will one day die. The people in the future will serve him; they will always be told about the Lord.They will tell that he does what is right. People who are not yet born will hear what God has done.(Psalm 22:29-31)

We conclude here that Psalm 22 begins with sorrowful cries and ended in praising hymn to God.

*1 Psalm 22 in New king James version : http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm22&version=NKJV

3. Psalm 22 and Jesus¡Ç feeling on the Cross

Mr. Hiroishi Nozomu, a Japanese pastor, guesses that Jesus didn¡Çt yet find the decisive signification of his death on the Cross at the time of death :
— We cannot know surely in which way Jesus consented to his own death. We understand that he accepted to lay down his life in order to redeem humans¡Ç sin. That understanding is based on the christian faith conceived by the early church. However, as a matter of fact, we cannot be sure the belief reflects the depth of Jesus¡Ç mind at that crucial moment. Therefore we see different interpretations about the issue. Personally, it seems to me that Jesus didn¡Çt not grasp clearly the ultimate aim of God who led him to the Cross to die. (from the sermon on the 16th March 2008 in Toyogi Uehara church)–

To reflect further on today¡Çs lecture, we chose 2 Corinthians 7:10 as today¡Çs invocation verse ; - The kind of sorrow God wants makes people change their hearts and lives. This leads to salvation, and you cannot be sorry for that. But the kind of sorrow the world has brings death.

I agree with Pastor Hiroishi and think that Jesus died in despair. His last words ¡ÈMy God, my God, why have you abandoned me? ¡É seems to me revealing the case. Jesus was the son of God but at the same time he was a human. I think that his heart remained still human when he died on the Cross. Consequently, he hadn¡Çt known what would happen precisely after his death. God alone knew the result, the Resurrection of His Son. And our hope exists on that point.

Peter wrote ; - Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And you are healed because of his wounds.(1 Peter2:24)

Peter found the divine love inside the Messiah who underwent the horrible death by refusing human rescues. Jesus died despairingly. He cried for God ¡ÈMy God, my God, why have you abandoned me?¡É at the last moment. And God responded to the cry and resurrected him.

We also cannot rejoice the salvation without undergoing the pain of the Cross. We must know that. Therefore we accept sufferings and difficulties as God¡Çs gifts. Thus ¡Èthe kind of sorrow the world has¡É changes into ¡Èthe kind of sorrow God wants.¡É

We, ordinary humans, cannot understand the meaning of whole things. We sometimes experience miseries which seem absurd or meaningless.

Dietrich Bonhöffer*1 was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was also a participant in the German Resistance movement against Nazism. His involvement in plans to assassinate Adolf Hitler resulted in his arrest in April 1943 and his subsequent execution by hanging in April 1945, shortly before the war’s end. Just before the execution he sent a message to George Bell via one of his inmates. George Bell was an Anglican theologian and Bishop of Chichester. *2

The message said that Bonhöffer knew his imminent death but would take it as another beginning. It should be the beginning of the new world in which christian belief prevails all conflicts of interests among different countries. He believed in the victory of the followers of Jesus.

Bonhöffer had never lost the belief in God who looked at him, regardless of any harsh environments. The writer of Psalm 22 cried from the bottom of desolation, ¡ÈMy God, my God.¡É Jesus prayed like the poet and was resurrected. Bonhöffer also prayed a similar prayer.

Apparently their lives ended in despair due to earthy defeat. Nonetheless they remained still faithful to God who must open the future beyond the death for them. That belief was so strong that it changed the sorrow of the world to the sorrow God wants. Even though God had seemed silent, the poet recognized after all that his prayer was responded. Thus Psalm 22 teaches us that those who won¡Çt lose the faith can be full of hope under any circumstances.

*1 Dietrich Bonhöffer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhöffer
*2 George Bell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bell_(bishop)