A little less than a week ago, I was re-watching a video from Rob Smith's "UpwardThought" YouTube channel and was deeply impressed by the following:
"The point is if you find things in your life that aren't the best, just let them go. And, uh, get yourself what is the best. And how will you know? That's...that's its own long topic, but it's a process; it's a process where you're going to learn to better appraise the value of things. But if it's not doing what it's supposed to do–it's not performing as advertised–odds are it needs to go, or you need to shift your understanding of what its purpose is." (Rise Up, O Men of God, Part I, 00:44:18)
Together with recent scripture study sessions and life experiences, this quote led me to recall and ponder the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion.
In their anticipation of the Messiah, were the Jews expecting the best? Well, they certainly thought they were. Some few may have been looking for someone who would reform the religious system that they knew was corrupt, but most were desperately searching for someone to bring centuries of political oppression to an end, and Jesus increasingly looked like he was the one to do it. Sadly, and because of this, the many words of wisdom he shared and the many miracles he performed were not enough to convince the masses that he was the Messiah, but the raising of Lazarus from the dead was pivotal. A man who could raise the dead could surely conquer the enemies of the Jews, and a celebration of Jesus' entrance into the city of Jerusalem seemed quite fitting to the throngs of people who were there in preparation for the Passover.
How their feelings would change as that last week of Jesus' life came to a close! How the hopes of the people must have been dashed as they saw Jesus appear to be completely powerless before both the Sanhedrin and the Romans! Had they been duped by yet another false Messiah? Why wasn't he doing what he was supposed to do? Why wasn't he living up to their expectations? Perhaps he wasn't the best, and not only did they let him go, they called for his death, many of them believing that, in being crucified, he would get exactly what he deserved for the deception purportedly perpetrated against them.
To the Jews, Jesus was one of those things mentioned in the above quote that didn’t "[perform] as advertised." He wasn't doing what they thought he was supposed to do, and everything about the quality of his life in the hours leading up to his death seemed to prove that their collective assessment of him was correct.
In reality, however, Jesus was the best. He was doing exactly what he was supposed to do. The people simply failed to do what they could have done, which was to look past what was unappealing to them and shift their understanding of what "the best" was and why. Not only was this what they could have done, it was precisely what Jesus was inviting them to do by quoting the first verse of Psalm 22.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Psalm 22:1)
Everything Jesus did during his life was full of meaning and intention, and this question he asks while hanging on the cross is no exception. It is absolutely brilliant and genius!
That first verse of Psalm 22 can easily catch anyone unfamiliar with the chapter in their ignorance of what they would find if they read and understood what lies beyond it. Just the first few verses might seem a little depressing, or even defeatist, to some:
1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. (Psalm 22)
However, what David messianically unfolds is the trust that both he and Christ have in God. Though David enumerates the details of the difficult circumstances in which Jesus would find himself, David declares that the God mentioned in verses 3-4–the God in whom their fathers trusted–is the same God in whom Christ trusted from his youth and the same God in whom he will continue to trust.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. (Psalm 22)
The remainder of the chapter beautifully expresses true faith in God, who will bring about all righteousness and judgment, in spite of any difficulty in circumstance.
22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s: and he is the governor among the nations.
29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. (Psalm 22)
Psalm 22:1 is an incredibly apt metaphor for Jesus himself in the moment he quoted it. Far from being a lament, Jesus’ recitation of the verse was an invitation to dig deeper—to look past what, at first, seemed depressing and discouraging, to see purpose and meaning, even victory and the glorification of God.
I will admit here that shifting your understanding is a far more difficult process than just letting go of some new putative truth. Shifting your understanding requires you to search beyond your present awareness of what is good to find something that is better, and you probably won't know what that is. Consequently, shifting your understanding will require you to let go of what you presently believe to be good, to make space for the belief in, the desire for, and the appropriate response to something better, and that can feel extremely uncomfortable in a number of ways.
However, I will also say that finding something better never disappoints! Finding something better always results in knowing Christ to a greater degree. Never rob yourself of an opportunity to look past what you presently see as bitter to consider, and maybe even discover, something better. And, very importantly, never be like those at Jesus' crucifixion who found satisfaction in what they considered to be his lesser circumstances.
22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. (Psalm 22)