Tag: Jesus

Seeing Sychar: Seeing Spiritual Realities in a Physical World (Part 2)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.  (John 4:1-6, ESV)

Between Jerusalem and Galilee was a territory known as Samaria.  Samaria was filled with a people who could trace their ancestry back to Jewish peasants who intermarried with the foreign people brought into the area when Israel was away in Babylon.  The Jews hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated the Jews.  Most devoutly religious Jews avoided the whole area like the plague.  When they had to travel between Galilee and Samaria they would opt to go a longer route and cross the Jordan river and head  north that way.  The fact that Jesus is traveling through Samaria shows that he is not taking his time getting back to Galilee and perhaps God has some big plans for Samaria.

We learn just a few verses later that Jesus’ disciples go into town to get food, leaving them at the well alone.  As he is sitting their tired from their long and hasty journey a woman comes to draw water from the well.  Now as she approaches the well, let’s look at things through her eyes.  Who does she see when she sees Jesus?

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:7-14, ESV)

Does she see Jesus, savior of the world or does she see a Jewish man?  She just sees a Jewish man.  A strange Jewish man, because men don’t talk to women in public and Jews don’t talk to Samaritans, so for a Jewish man to talk to a Samaritan woman, he must be strange.

Jesus isn’t content with her just thinking that he is a strange, thirsty Jewish man, there is a greater reality to who He is and he is going to help her see that.  He tells her that if she just knew who he was that she’d be asking him for water.  But she doesn’t get it.  Who does this strange Jewish man think He is… he doesn’t even have a pitcher to draw water with, how can he give her water?  Is he greater than their ancestor Jacob?  She asks as much assuming that he is just a strange man, never quite grasping that she is having a conversation with the Messiah.

The irony here is that Jesus is greater than Jacob!  The first readers of this gospel, like us would have understood that right away.  It is obvious that this woman doesn’t know who she is talking to.  So what does Jesus do?  He gently states that he is greater because his water satisfies where as Jacob’s well leaves those who drink from it thirsty again and again.

While she can’t see the reality of who Jesus is, He sees the reality of who she is and he knows that she is thirsty for a real relationship with a holy God and so his next move is to help her see herself.  Look at how she responds and what he says.

Seeing Sychar: Seeing Spiritual Realities in a Physical Wolrd (Part 1)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST

When I first saw that video I immediately was convicted.  Too often I’m the guy in the first part of the video.  I get frustrated at things like traffic and long lines at the coffee shop.  I don’t ever pause to wonder or think that someone’s mourning the loss of their best friend when they pull in the parking spot ahead of me… I just think that they’re a jerk.  And when I get in the parking space ahead of someone else, I just think that their a loser.  (Just kidding!)

I do wonder what life would be like though if we really saw everything that was going on?  What would it be like if there were an eye-wear service that would let you know more than what meets the eye?  More than just someone’s emotional state, but who they really were?

Often when Jesus spoke with people he was pushing them to see past just what met the eye and see a deeper underlying spiritual issue.  In John chapter two he drives the money changers out of the temple and people ask him by what authority he does this… and he answers, “Destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up.”  They thought he was talking about a building.  They thought worship centered on a place.  Jesus was talking about his body, worship centers on the person and work of Jesus.  They thought worship was making animal sacrifices, Jesus was saying, “I am the sacrifice.” They thought death defined their world.  Later they thought they could kill him and it would be the end.  They didn’t know that Jesus was on mission to beat death, deliver us from hell, and that his death was just the beginning.

Later in John chapter 3 Jesus speaks with a man named Nicodemus. Jesus tell Nic that if he wants to see the kingdom of God that he must be born again.  Nic doesn’t get it.  Nic thinks that it’s impossible for old life to have new life.  Jesus wasn’t talking about the physical, he was talking about the spiritual.  Nic didn’t understand that you don’t enter heaven because of who your parents are, you enter heaven because of who God is.  You don’t enter as a master teacher trying to offer God your services, you enter as a helpless babe completely dependent on God for everything.

Tomorrow as we come John chapter 4 and the story of the woman at the well.  As we read this story, as we examine this truth, I want to ask you to put on your glasses.  Ask God to give us a glimpse of how to see the world as He sees it.  Ask him to help us look past the every day and into the eternal.  Ask him to apply this truth to our lives.  Ask him to help us see people as he sees people

Seeing Sychar: Seeing Spiritual Realities in a Physical World (Intro)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, SermonLeave a comment

When I was in college I used to drive 16 hours to go home and see my parents.  It was quite a drive.  Along the way I passed by countless towns and cities all with their own off ramps complete with signs touting the local eateries, gas stations, and hotels.  Despite the long drive I rarely ever stopped.  In fact, I tried to shave hours off the trip by stopping only to use the restroom, fill up the truck and grab a bite to eat (Usually all in the same location).

Then one day somewhere in southern Illinois I did the unthinkable.  I pulled off the interstate and went to a town about 8 miles off the beaten.   I don’t know what prompted me, but as I drove through that small town I began to ask God to move in that place.  I asked him to reveal himself to the people.  I asked God to give me a heart for those people.

When I got home, I looked up the town on the internet and got all the statistical information that was available for free.  I wasn’t aware of church planting at the time, If I had been I might of been tempted to go plant a church.  The urge to pray for this small town was so great and so profound.  I ended up praying for the people of that town for about a year.  I asked God many times if I was supposed to go, but sensed his call to stay.

I don’t really know what that whole experience was for, other than this… I was never able to pass that spot on the interstate again with out a burden to pray for the people of that town.  It was one of the first times that I was able to see past my own needs to see the needs of others and pray for a town just south of the interstate in southern Illinois.  The adventure of going off the map in Illinois lead to my beginning to see the Gulf Coast and the people around me as a mission field.  God was teaching me to see people with His heart.

A similar story is told in the New Testament.  Jesus and his disciples are traveling from Jerusalem to Galilee.  Their rout takes them right through Samaria and by a town named Sychar.  Weary from travel the disciples leave Jesus by a well outside of town and go into Sychar to buy lunch.  It is obvious that this place is just supposed to be a stopping off point along the way.  But a conversation with a woman at the well changes everything.  The story ends with Jesus telling the disciples to look at the town and see all the people coming to hear about him.  While they were busy buying lunch.  God was already at work in the lives of the people and many professed belief on Christ that week.

I wonder if while we go through our daily routines and habits if like the disciples we miss what God is doing in the lives of people around us.  I bet the disciples started looking at commerce and buying lunch differently after that day.  I bet they saw Sychar differently after witnessing the town flock to believe in Jesus.  I imagine that the disciples began straining to see things the way Jesus did, looking for the needs of people and the opportunity to proclaim the good news of Jesus.  After all, Jesus promised to make them “fishers of men.”  And part of fishing for men is to see them; really see them and their need for a Savior.

Stay tuned for a series of blog posts entitled-  Seeing Sychar: Seeing Spiritual Realities in a Physical World


On This Day in Christian History (A Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, MinistryLeave a comment

I like history.  I really like Christian History.  Just take one glance around my office and you will notice that most of the books on my shelves were written by dead guys (actually they wrote the books and then they died).  You might also notice a long shelve filled with biographies and still another shelf filled with volumes of Church history.  You will also notice a magazine stack of Christian History Magazines.  I’m a history guy.  I’m a Christian history guy.

So when On This Day in Christian History: 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs and Heroes came up for review, I jumped at the chance to review it.  And it didn’t disappoint.  There are so many things that I like about this book and  it is hard to summarize in just a few words, so let me say this… it’s the perfect gift for a guy like me.  I can also see it being a great read for someone who is interested in getting a glimps at the people and events of Christian history.

The stories are generally inspiring.  There is a scripture verse at the bottom of the page that brings relevance and meaning to the previously read story.  There is a fascinating topic index in the back of the book allowing readers to look up stories according to topic. Over all it does a great job at achieving its purpose (a bite sized reading of what happened in Christian history on a particular day) in a way that encourages readers to stay engaged in the book.  I dare you to just read one day’s history when you get the book.

I  highly recommend On This Day in Christian History to anyone interested in Christian history.  To beginners its an easy read, small commitment book that will give you a broad spectrum view of Christian History.  To well educated history nerds like myself it will allow you to pull out of a narrowed genre of Church history (I find myself often in the Reformation and the Puritan Eras)  to appreciate a broader scope of history in a way that doesn’t take a lot of time.  Plus, everyone wants to know what happened in Christian history on your birthday.   The retail price is $12.99 (paperback), and is available around the web in places like Amazon.com for $9.35. I really like this book and at under $10 it makes a great dirty Santa gift when you are getting together with history nerds… unfortunately, we are a rare breed.  I gave it five stars.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

    Remarkable True Stories of God’s Miraculous Work in the Muslim World

    On By pastorjonathanIn books, Kingdom of God, MissionsLeave a comment

    Which None Can Shut: Remarkable True Stories of Gods Miraculous Work in the Muslim World is an incredible book of stories from the life of “Reema Goode” (her name changed for security).  “Reema” is a Christian wife and mother living in a Muslim (Arab) community seeking to share the gospel with the women in her region.  She shares heartfelt and compelling stories of how God has opened the door for the gospel to reach a people group.

    “Reema” writes with transparency and simplicity that is both forthright and engaging.  I was deeply blessed and encouraged to hear over and over again of God’s faithfulness to use her and her family to reach their Muslim neighbors.  Many times while reading this book I was moved to prayer and tears for my neighbors in the Muslim world.

    The book is written in a story format, easy to read, engaging, and a great encouragement to those who have been praying for the Arab world.  It provides great insight into how Western missionary women engage women with the gospel in a deeply Muslim culture.  I appreciate the honest portrait that “Reema” paints of Muslim culture.

    Some folks will assume that “Reema” writes from a charismatic background because she shares a few stories of casting out demons and dreams.  I’m not Charismatic (I’m Southern Baptist), and I’ll go on record as saying that many of the things that “Reema” and her family came across are things that I have come across in Mobile and Pensacola.  The truth is that while there aren’t demons around every corner, they are real and a majority of cultures around the world (not to mention both the Old and New Testament) recognize that. God does choose to reveal himself in dreams to some people (I can testify that of at least 2 other American friends besides myself that were driven to the scriptures because of a dream and ended up trusting in Christ). “Reema” may be charismatic, but what she shares in this book appears to be standard fare for anyone heavily involved in ministry or missions.

    If you are looking at going to the mission field, praying for Muslim people groups, or are just looking for some encouragement on how God still moves among people today…  This book is for you. The retail price of Which None Can Shut is $13.99 (paperback), and is available around the web in places like Amazon.com for $11.89. I gave it five stars.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their Tyndale Blog Network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

    My Story (Part 4): Waking up From a Dream

    5 Things I’d Tell my Teenage Daugher after listening to “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry

    On By pastorjonathanIn dating, Family, parenting, student ministry, Womanhood2 Comments

    Ok before I start its only fair to say that my daughter isn’t a teenager (she’s 4) and I’m really not a fan of Katy Perry at all.  In fact I highly recommend NOT owning a single MP3, CD or whatever. But because Katy is a really talented singer who gets a lot of air time on the radio  and I work with teenagers (and I can imagine my daughter being a teenager one day), I thought I would provide a little dad like perspective.

    Here are five things I’d tell my daughter after hearing “Teenage Dream” on the radio…

    1. You are beautiful just the way you are and I hope you find a man who accepts you for you… “without your make up on.”

    You need to know that you are beautiful.  Anybody can see that you don’t really need make-up… but I can understand you wearing it to make the other girls feel more confident about themselves.  You are beautiful not only in appearance but in ways that really matter beyond how you fix your hair.

    By the way there is nothing wrong with being beautiful.  Your mom is the most beautiful woman I know. But just like your mom, your beauty goes beyond your appearance.  Your real beauty shines when you are selfless and giving to others (I Timothy 2:9-10, I Peter 3:4).

    Something you should know about guys your age is that some of them can talk a good game. Sometimes guys will say something like “your beautiful,” but they don’t always mean beautiful like a flower (that should be protected and put on display)… they mean beautiful like a good cut of meat (that should be cooked and eaten).  My prayer is that God brings you a man who will appreciate your true beauty.

    2. Sex is good and you will want to “go all the way.”  But just because he seems like the right guy now, doesn’t mean that he is the right guy or that it is the right time.  Wait for marriage.

    God made men and women sexual beings. Adam said of Eve (before the fall), “A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Being a woman is part of who you are and as a young woman it is only natural that you would have sexual desires. The key is not to ignore this fact, but to manage these new desires in a way that glorifies God. As a young woman who most likely won’t be married for several more years it is important to guard your purity and have control of your body.

    Many guys are living life in transition and are mistaken in their feelings or they carry sinister motives and are trying to manipulate you. A young man worth your time will guard his words and will not lead you on.  The woman pursued by Solomon in Song of Songs offers some wise advice here.  She says, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (Song of Songs 2:7).  Real love is patient and is evident in a young man’s actions long before it appears in his words.

    3. Sex is not love.  Inside of marriage it is an expression of love, but outside of marriage its an expression of impatience.

    Adam speaks so gently about Eve his wife when he meets here for the first time. The first poem we have recorded is when Adam speaks to Eve and says, “She is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23).
    Marriage is the right place to enjoy the pleasures of sex to the glory of God and without shame. Sex in marriage can fuel intimacy, but sex outside of marriage will fuel frustration.  At this point, after Adam says man shall leave his parents house for his “wife,” the Bible records, “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25).

    4. Every Sexual sin is a sin against your body and you will carry scars for you your whole life.

    Paul writes in the New Testament to, “Flee Sexual Immorality. Every other sin a person commits outside the body, but the sexual immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). We can do lots of things that will damage our body, but nothing is as personal as sex. When we engage in sexual acts outside of marriage they have a way of robbing us. Even if they are asexual acts (sexual acts that don’t involve physical contact with another person like viewing pornography, masturbation, etc…). We are to flee from even the temptation of these things. Sex was created as a means of intimacy inside of marriage, outside of marriage it tends to destroy. What was fun for a season causes people to become bitter, calloused, and hurt.

    5. If you have ever crossed lines sexually (by or against your own will) please know that I love you and you can always come home.

    When you were little I used to protect you from things that would hurt you.  Sometimes I even had to make you angry in order to protect you from things you thought you could handle.  Like when you 3 and  wanted to use the meat cleaver to cut vegetables… You totally thought I didn’t get you or appreciate that you were just wanting to help.  I knew you had the best of intentions, but I also knew that you were not ready… yet.

    I knew that there would come a day when you would be fully able to chop vegetables on your own.  My long term goal wasn’t to keep you from chopping vegetables, but to prepare you for it. If you had defied me and chosen to cut vegetables with a sharp knife you most likely would have cut yourself.  If you had cut yourself I would have run to your rescue, held you tight in my arms and done my best to stop the damage.

    In many ways as your dad I have set out to protect you.  I have given you really unpopular rules not to keep you from an awesome relationship with a guy, but to prepare you for one.  If you find that you have stepped beyond the rules or were forced beyond, and find yourself hurt… please know that as your dad my response will be to run to your rescue, hold you tight in my arms and to do my best to stop the damage.

    This isn’t a get out of jail free card or an excuse to try somethings out.  This is an honest plea from your dad to know that this conversation is not about sex, its about you.  Katy Perry has an awesome voice, but the lyrics of her songs promise more than they can afford.  When it comes to relationship advice, please listen to the old man who taught you how to read, tie your shoes, took you out for pancakes every Friday of your life and is still married to your mother… not Katy Perry.

    What Is the Bible basically about?

    On By pastorjonathanIn discipleship, Ministry, student ministry, VideoLeave a comment

    Thought Provoking…

    Dads, Daughters and Date Days

    On By pastorjonathanIn About Jonathan, dating, Family, Manhood, parenting, WomanhoodLeave a comment

    Right around 5-years ago I became a dad.  The nurse handed me this precious little baby girl and I knew that it would all be different from that day forward.  My life had changed and all the sudden I felt the pressure to not to drop the ball.

    Now She is almost 5-years-old and smarter than I ever imagined a 5-year-old being.  She knows me well.  To be honest, sometimes its uncomfortable.  She doesn’t come with a filter.  In fact that’s what a lot of parenting is… introducing a filter.

    Just being gut level honest… It’s not easy to introduce a filter and help your kids process life.  Most of the time the easy thing to do is to go cut the grass (because its over due and you wonder what your neighbors are thinking about your un-kept yard), or read a book (because you need some quiet time after they have tugged on our arm and said, “Dad” a million times in a row just to get you to look at their newest drawing and act like its the best thing since Michael Angelo), or Watch TV while your kid takes an hour long bath and shrivels up like a prune (because you’ve had a long day dealing with other peoples problems… not to mention your own).  Its actually quite easy to just show up, give out a hug, maybe play a token game or two with your kid, talk to your wife, go to bed and do it all over again tomorrow without ever really parenting.

    To be completely honest.  I don’t always succeed at taking advantage of all the “dad” moments that I could.  But I know I need to.  I know that I love my kids (no matter how many times they say “dad” in a row while I’m trying to figure out the algebra problems I’ve created  in the check book). I know that they need me.  I know that I don’t want to wake up 20 years from now living with regrets on how I wasted these formable years because someone else said, “that’s normal” or “that really never messed up my kid.” (After all they aren’t accountable for how I raise my kids).

    So we have set some things in place in my family in order to capitalize on these younger years with my daughter.  I tuck her in bed most nights and read 1 or 2 stories to her from her Jesus Story Book Bible .  We also pray together.

    On some Sunday afternoons we are more intentional.  We have this 105 picture set of pictures describing events in the Bible.  She picks out several pictures and I walk her through the story and how it relates to Jesus and obedience to God.  She looks forward to our time on Sundays and its often in this context that we process how the stories tell us about who God is and how we can relate to Him through our decisions.

    My favorite part of the week is taking her out for breakfast once a week before school, we call it a Father-Daughter date.  The regular scheduled time gives me a solid hour of quality time with her.  We do everything from eating pancakes, talking about our her week, sharing ideas on how to color a picture, reading books, to picking up a small gift or surprise for my wife and her mom.  Its often in the context of this date that I get opportunities to share about Jesus with folks we meet there.

    Its the date days that I really think my daughter gets to see the fullest picture of her dad.  There is no topic off limits and she often brings up some great questions.  We process life together and I intentionally help unmask the world around her through the lens of scripture. Sometimes we talk to people, sometimes we pray with people, and sometimes we just enjoy pancakes and a good story.

    You see, here is what I know.  My daughter reads my actions better than my intentions. So it makes sense that I would be intentional about my actions.  I say that church is a family event, yet when we get there I am pulled a million different places (as I should be) because I’m on staff at the church.  So we arrive together and leave together on purpose (even though it would be more convenient not to).  I say I love her, so I am intentional about spending quality and quantity one-on-one time despite having a hectic and busy schedule.  I say I love Jesus, so I intentionally help her process her world through the lens of scripture.

    I want her to know me.  I want her to know that I love her.  I want her to know that I am proud of her.  I want her to know that as a father I will do what is best for her.  Its really not about my good intentions, its about intentionally being a dad. I hope one day she looks back on her childhood and treasures the times we talked over pancakes as much as I do.

    What about you?  What are some of the things that you are intentional about with your children?

     

    Missions: go to people, not places (Mark 16)

    On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, Kingdom of GodLeave a comment

    Mark 16 closes out the book of Mark with a brief account of the resurrection and a somewhat controversial last 11 verses. Controversy aside, what stuck out to me was the great commission like statement found in Mark 16:15. The idea is found in all the gospels, Acts… Well really the whole Bible.

    God has made the way to rescue sinners from His wrath through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ who was crucified, buried and risen from the dead. This is indeed good news and the world should hear!

    Believers are called to be ambassadors of Christ! We are to take the good news everywhere, including to people who may not count the gospel as good news. We are to go!

    It’s the PEOPLE not the PLACE!

    But where are we to go? If we are not careful we will become mistaken and think we are to go places (indeed that may be part, but it is not the whole), but the command to go and make disciples is not about geography as much as it is about people. People who at this very moment stand outside the kingdom of God. People who may have never even heard the gospel. The command is to go to the people, not the place. Sometimes we have to go places to get to the people, but please make no mistake we go to share the good news with people.

    The implications of this are huge! Tonight as I write this there are people in my city who will lay their head on their pillow to go to sleep and they have never heard the good news. My city has an abundance of churches, and yet there are people who have not heard.  The condition of those who have not heard in Pensacola is the same as those who have not heard in another city or country with less churches. Again the command isn’t to go to places, but to go to people! Darkness is darkness wherever it exists. We can no longer use the fact that there are more people without the gospel in another region of the world as an excuse to just give our money and not search out those who are without Christ on our own neighborhood. (We should give and give generously to reach people across cultural divides, but not in replace of sharing the good news in our own culture).

    Mark 15: When God is far away, yet so near

    On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

    There is so much in Mark 15 to get into, what jumped out at me was when Jesus called out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (mark 15:34)? It appears like God (the father) is forsaking or abandoning God (the son). My question was… Is that possible? Can God forsake God?

    To get the answer I did a little searching. I always like to begin with the context. Remember Jesus is being crucified.

    Sometime between 9am and noon some of the religious leaders come through and are mocking Jesus. They say that if he comes down (supernaturally removes Himself from the cross) they will believe Him… This taunt is familiar. Satan tempted Jesus to fling Himself from the temple and angels would hold him up. The problem is that if Jesus comes off the cross He is no longer in perfect obedience to God and He is no longer making a perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Plus he will give them a greater sign by rising 3 days later. It is in this context that Jesus utters, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

    My next step is to see if these words have been uttered before in scripture. A quick phrase search now available via modern technology reveals Psalm 22. I dare you to read Mark 15 and then Psalm 22. Psalm 22 was written well before the events of Mark 15, before Rome occupied Israel, before crucifixion was the accepted means of execution, yet it describes Mark 15 perfectly… Including the taunting. It also reveals that the end result of bringing people to worship God.

    It appears that Jesus is quoting the scripture in this moment of extreme anguish to point those who are there to the real reason He is on the cross. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that God made him who knew no sin, to become sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. There is no doubt that Jesus pleased the Father. He was walking perfectly in God’s will, yet God’s will required Him to bear the sins of the world and for a time to experience the weight of sin and satisfy the wrath of God on our behalf.

    So did God abandon God? Not ultimately. Jesus was fulfilling the plan of God, bringing Glory to God, and would be raised from the dead to be seated at the right hand of God the Father.

    Did God abandon God briefly then? Possibly, though it was the plan from before the foundation if the world. Jesus bore our sin debt alone and in this (in my mind) there was a sense of abandonment.

    The application for us: Don’t miss the big picture behind the question. God went to great lengths to insure that sinners could be made right and enjoy Him forever. Salvation is free, not because it is cheap, but because it is costly and we could never afford it.