The Forsaken:
A Theology of Christian Suffering in
Spite of Prosperity
By David Drury
We may wonder about the economy
and ponder the unemployment rate but we all must admit that by any comparison
we today in
What is more we are not content
with our prosperity. A whole theology
and message of prosperity is developing in parts of the church in which the
automatic and faith-earned result of following Christ must mean a prosperous
and trial-free life. Perhaps those
developing this belief and speaking this message don’t really mean that. Perhaps they mean that eventually we will be more
prosperous, or that we can be more prosperous, or that we shouldn’t feel guilt
about being prosperous. I could accept
all that. The problem is that it sounds
as if they are saying we can expect to be prosperous if we follow Jesus Christ.
This is where I must disagree
and feel that belief is outside of the doctrine of Christian history. Instead, I say that if you follow Christ, in
some real way you should expect to suffer.
You should anticipate trials. You
should eventually be persecuted. You
should at some point join the great long lineage of the Disciples of Christ who
have always and almost everywhere experienced opposition and even martyrdom
because of following our Lord. I wonder
if the rest of the Christian world and the rest of Christian history could
speak to our prosperous state and age if they would have one key instruction
for us: do not entangle the following of Jesus Christ with a pursuit of
prosperity, because Jesus did not suffer for you so that you might get a better
car.
In order to develop this thought
I want to remind us that Jesus knew
suffering and accepted it willingly.
Good Friday reminds us that
Jesus did suffer and die. He truly and
historically experienced torture for following the will of the Father. And after he had been beaten, bruised, pierced,
worked, exhausted and nailed he died. And
then they stabbed him to make sure. The
very moment before his death we read that in about the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a
loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,
lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mathew 27:46)
This word “sabachthani” makes my skin
tingle. Forsaken. It’s perhaps the most hopeless and ugly word
in the Bible. It is visceral. It is painful. It is hard to believe. Even as I try to define the word I wonder if
the writer of Ecclesiastes would define it as, “meaningless, meaningless –
another thing meaningless under the son.”
The word brings on connotations of abandonment, of desertion, of being
left helpless, of being alone, of being cast out, of being completely forgotten. What is sabachthani is totally abandoned, utterly forsaken.
But here’s the thing. Jesus was actually quoting a song. At his moment of great torture, when he felt
this sense of total abandonment and utter forsakenness he recalled the great
song to be sung by the tune “Doe of the Dawn” in the Psalms. It was a song he knew well but that we must
learn from him. Here it is:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.” (Psalm
22:1b-2)
This is the beginning of the song. The start of a wailing question to God: why
me? Why now? Why aren’t you helping? But this song he knew so well does not end
there…. It continues…
“Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of
In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.”
(Psalm 22:3-4)
Q: "He gave up his life because he willed it, when he
willed it, and as he willed it" – Augustine (Relates to the purpose of his death, timing
of his death, manner of his death).
ACTS
2:25-33 NLT
25 King David said this about
him: 'I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right
beside me. 26 No
wonder my heart is filled with joy, and my mouth shouts his praises! My body
rests in hope. 27 For
you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the
grave. 28 You have
shown me the way of life, and you will give me wonderful joy in your presence.'
29 "Dear
brothers, think about this! David wasn't referring to himself when he spoke
these words I have quoted, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still
here among us. 30 But
he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David's
own descendants would sit on David's throne as the Messiah. 31 David was looking into the
future and predicting the Messiah's resurrection. He was saying that the
Messiah would not be left among the dead and that his body would not rot in the
grave. 32 "This
prophecy was speaking of Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and we all are
witnesses of this. 33 Now
he sits on the throne of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the
Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just
as you see and hear today
AND there is the promise God made to Joshua:
“I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” – Joshua
1:5b
Isaiah 53:3-5
But he was pierced
for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was
upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
The symbol of the cross: An instrument of torture and violent death
becomes an instrument of hope and eternal life.
The symbol of communion:
When we know suffering we know
Christ more completely
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Colossians 1:24 - Now I rejoice in what was
suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to
Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
1 Peter 2:20b-21 But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To
this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power
of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming
like him in his death.
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever
you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything.
2 Corinthians 11:23b-31
I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently,
been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five
times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was
beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a
night and a day in the open sea, I have been
constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from
bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger
in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from
false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I
have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold
and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for
all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and
I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show
my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised
forever, knows that I am not lying.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these
surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a
messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take
it away from me. But he said to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I
delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Q: “We think it is both reasonable in itself and
well-pleasing to God to suffer pain for the sake of virtue, to undergo torture
for the sake of piety, and even to suffer death for the sake of holiness.” - Origen
When we know suffering we make
Christ known more broadly
Acts 7:54-60
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their
teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw
the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
"Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing
at the right hand of God."
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the
top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged
him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their
clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out,
"Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he
fell asleep.
Acts 8:2-4
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church
at
Acts 20:22-24
"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to
Acts 21:4-14
After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from
1 Peter 4:12-16
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you
are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice
that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be
overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name
of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If
you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of
criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not
be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
Philippians1:12-14
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to
me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear
throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for
Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been
encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Q: “The more often we are mown down by
you, the more in number we grow. The
blood of Christians is seed. FO who that
contemplates is, is not excited to inquire what is at the bottom of it? Who, after inquiry, does not embrace our
doctrines? And when he has embraced
them, who does not desire to suffer so that he may become a partaker of the
fullness of God’s grace, that he may obtain from it
complete forgiveness, by giving his blood in exchange.” – Tertullian
Q: “Though threatened with death we do not deny His name… It
is evident that no on can terrify or subdue us.
For, throughout all the world, we have believed
in Jesus! It is clear that, although beheaded,
and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts… and fire, and all other kinds of
torture, we do not give up our confession.
But the more such things happen, the more do other persons and in larger
numbers become faithful believers and worshippers of God through the name of
Jesus.” – Justin Martyr
Q: “We have exhibited before our eyes every day abundant
sources of martyrs who are burned, impaled and beheaded.” – Clement of
_________
© 2006 by David Drury
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