Q: I have a question raised by you comment in Sunday's sermon that God abandoned Jesus on the cross so that we would not be abandoned. I understand the point you made but I was wondering if there is a specific scripture that supports this doctrine or if it is it based on several scriptures that when considered together support the doctrine.. We discussed this point in my Sunday School class Sunday following the sermon.
Is Jesus comment on the cross quoted by Matthew and Mark, "My God, My God,why have you forsaken me?", the scriptural support for your comment? I know that Jesus was quoting Psalms 22 where David posed the same question. The Jews present would have been familiar with this scripture but also would have known that God did not in reality abandon David it was just David who thought he had been abandoned.
A discussion of this point was a segue into a discussion of 1 Peter 3:18-20 concerning where Jesus' spirit was during the three days His body was in the tomb. The Apostles creed indicates He descending into Hell to preach to those who "formerly did not obey". We were wondering what your take is on this verse.
Our lesson for the day was from Deuteronomy 27 to 30 but mostly we discussed the points posed above. your thoughts will be appreciated.
My reply:
Interesting discussion!
The abandonment of the Sin-Bearer is a separate issue from the 1 Peter 3 question. So, as to the second part of your email: The Apostles’ Creed only says he “descended into Hades” and does not describe what he did there. And to say he “descended into Hades” is just another way of saying he really did die: Not a swoon or a play-act. I know there have been imaginative ways of answering the question of what Jesus did between his death and his resurrection, and 1 Peter 3:18-22 has been cited as support of those views. I’ve attached a sermon I preached from 1 Peter 3:18-22. As you can see from the sermon notes, the text is best understood not as a 3-day preaching tour through hell, but as a proclamation to the demons in the act of resurrection: “I’m alive and I’m coming for you! There’s no plant or planet you can hide behind!” Or, as one of our songs puts it: “Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes!” (Blog Note: The full sermon, "Why He Died; Why He Was Raised" can be found below, or click here.)
As for the first question, though, it’s utterly vital that we kneel awestruck upon hearing that Jesus, the Second Person of the Godhead, experienced the abandonment of His Father—and on our behalf. Anything short of that falls short of the awful (and awe-full) truth of substitutionary atonement. He really did take our place, and he really did bear what we deserve (the abandonment of God). Golgotha was not the stage of an elegant Passion Play where Old Testament lines were delivered on cue; it was instead Ground Zero of the Suffering Servant’s darkest hour. Of course, Psalm 22 originated with David, but ultimately was not about David. There’s really nothing in the psalm that terminates in any experience David ever had. This, like Isaiah 53, points to One beyond the horizon of the writer’s ability to see. Jesus quoted Psalm 22 because it best fit his actual experience (piercing of hands and feet; dividing of garments; thirst; and, yes, divine abandonment). Anything short of God actually abandoning the Sin-Bearer unravels the whole presentation of gracious atonement in the Scriptures. I’ve attached my Good Friday sermon from a couple of years back that covers this (Blog Note: The full sermon, "What Wondrous Love Is This," can be read below, or click here.).
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WhyHeDied Sermon
What Wondrous Love is This
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