{"id":4620,"date":"2018-08-29T08:57:41","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T12:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldsandals.net\/?p=4620"},"modified":"2018-08-29T08:59:07","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T12:59:07","slug":"is-the-wrath-of-god-really-satisfying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oldsandals.net\/?p=4620","title":{"rendered":"Is the Wrath of God Really Satisfying?"},"content":{"rendered":"

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\u201d These words come from the lips of Jesus as he hangs on the cross (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). They are powerful and haunting, and they are surely very important. But what do they mean\u2014how are we to understand them?<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is one line of thinking that has recently become very popular in some circles. According to C. J. Mahaney, this cry from the lips of Jesus is the \u201cscream of the damned.<\/em>\u201d He takes this line from R. C. Sproul who exclaims that when Jesus is crucified it is \u201cas if a voice from heaven said, \u2018Damn you, Jesus.\u2019\u201d This is because Jesus becomes the \u201cvirtual incarnation of evil\u201d and even \u201cthe very embodiment of all that sin is.\u201d Thus God abandons Jesus, turns his back on him, \u201ccurses him to the pit of hell\u201d and \u201cdamns\u201d him.<\/p>\n

For many who hold this view, the Trinity is somehow \u201cbroken\u201d as the communion between the Father and the Son is ruptured in the darkness of that Friday afternoon. And this is said to be good news and the heart of the gospel because Jesus absorbs the wrath of God in taking the exact punishment we deserve. God is changed from wrath to mercy and can no longer justly punish those for whom Christ died.<\/p>\n

Such preaching is very powerful. But is it\u00a0right<\/em>? We should, of course, want to proclaim all that the Bible says about the work of Christ (at least as much as we are able), and we should be committed to affirming all that this teaching implies (what older theologians called \u201cgood and necessary\u201d consequences). But we should also be very cautious about going beyond what is explicitly taught or implied\u2014 especially where the Christian tradition warns us. And we should strive to avoid anything that goes\u00a0against\u00a0<\/em>biblical teaching and theological orthodoxy. So what are we to make of such teaching?<\/p>\n

We should be faithful to proclaim all that Scripture teaches, but we should be cautious about going\u00a0beyond<\/em>\u00a0it. And here we must be blunt: Scripture nowhere says that Jesus’ cry of dereliction is \u201cthe scream of the damned.\u201d Sproul says that \u201cit is\u00a0as if<\/em>\u201d there is a voice from heaven that says \u201cDamn you, Jesus,\u201d but in fact, there\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0no such voice. Jesus Christ is nowhere said in Scripture to be the \u201cvirtual incarnation of evil\u201d or \u201cthe very embodiment of all that sin is.\u201d To the contrary, he is the incarnation\u00a0of goodness<\/em>\u2014he is holiness incarnate as truly human.<\/p>\n

There is no biblical evidence that the Father-Son communion was somehow ruptured on that day. Nowhere is it written that the Father was angry with the Son. Nowhere can we read that God \u201ccurses him to the pit of hell.\u201d Nowhere is it written that Jesus absorbs the wrath of God by taking the exact punishment that we deserve. In no passage is there any indication that God\u2019s wrath is \u201cinfinitely intense\u201d as it is poured out on Jesus. Such statements may pack a lot of rhetorical punch, but they go far beyond what Scripture teaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, not all \u201cgoing beyond\u201d is going\u00a0against,\u00a0<\/em>but sometimes the tradition warns us that \u201cbeyond\u201d has become \u201cagainst.\u201d…John Calvin says that \u201cwe do not admit that God was ever hostile to him, or angry (iratum<\/em>) with him. For how could he be angry with his beloved Son, \u2018in whom his soul delighted?\u2019\u201d Similarly, Charles Hodge denies that the atoning work of Christ \u201cconsist[s] in an exact\u00a0quid pro quo,\u00a0<\/em>so much for so much,\u201d and he says that Christ \u201cdid not suffer either in kind or degree what sinners would have suffered.\u201d It is tough to argue against Hodge here, for if sin deserves eternal separation from God and eternal conscious punishment (as traditional Reformed and much evangelical theology insists), then clearly this\u00a0is not<\/em>\u00a0what Jesus receives.<\/p>\n

Just as we must be cautious not to go beyond what Scripture says, so also we should not proclaim anything that goes\u00a0against\u00a0<\/em>biblical teaching (or its \u201cgood and necessary\u201d entailments)….While it is clear that the Father abandoned the Son to death on the cross, there is no good reason to think that this causes a rupture\u2014 or even a \u201cstrain\u201d or \u201ctension\u201d\u2014within the Triune life.<\/p>\n

Not only is there no biblical text that says that the Father \u201cturns his face away\u201d from the Son, the passage that most plausibly speaks to the matter actually says that God did\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>do so. For if we take Psalm 22 to be important for our understanding of the cry of dereliction (as both Mark and Matthew clearly do), then we find these words: \u201che has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help\u201d (Ps. 22:24). And the steady drumbeat of the apostolic preaching of the gospel has this consistent refrain:\u00a0You killed him<\/em>, but\u00a0God raised him<\/em>\u00a0from the dead.<\/p>\n

Finally, the \u201cbroken Trinity\u201d and \u201cGod against God\u201d views run aground on the doctrines of divine impassibility and simplicity as well as the doctrine of the Trinity. According to Christian orthodoxy, it not even a possibility that the Trinity was broken. If we know anything about the Trinity, we know that God is\u00a0one God\u00a0<\/em>in three persons, and we know that God\u2019s life is necessarily the life of holy love shared in the eternal communion of the Father, Son, and Spirit. To say that the Trinity is broken\u2014even \u201ctemporarily\u201d\u2014is to imply that God does not exist.<\/p>\n

We must not go beyond or against Scripture, but we should do our best to affirm all that Scripture says. So then, what can we say of the cry of dereliction? First, we should see that the biblical depiction of the human condition makes it clear\u2014painfully and depressingly clear\u2014that we are sinners. We are\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0sinners (Rom. 3:23), and we are helpless to rescue or repair or somehow save ourselves. We have the problem of what we\u2019ve done and the wreckage we\u2019ve caused; our sin and guilt and shame are undeniable and unshakable. But this isn\u2019t all, for we have the further problem of who we are, what we\u2019ve become, and what we will continue to do if we are not radically transformed. To use the language of older theology, we are both polluted and guilty.<\/p>\n

Death is the consequence of sin (Rom. 6:23). And because of our sin, the wrath of God is being revealed (Rom. 1:18). Our days \u201cpass away\u201d under God\u2019s wrath (Ps. 90:9). God\u2019s wrath comes on those who are disobedient (Eph. 5:6; Col. 3:5\u20136). Indeed, we are \u201cchildren of wrath\u201d (Eph. 2:3, ESV).<\/p>\n

Second, we should understand the work of Christ on our behalf within the storyline of Scripture: \u201cChrist died for our sins according to the Scriptures\u201d (1 Cor. 15:3). His work addresses our condition\u2014 both the guilt and the pollution. Jesus Christ reverses the disobedience and unfaithfulness of Adam and Israel. Drawing on an ancient theological insight, we can say that in becoming human the divine Son of God \u201crecapitulates\u201d (or \u201cre-heads\u201d) humanity. The incarnation is itself redemptive, and it is his entire life, death, and resurrection (as well as his ascension and session\u2014Jesus being seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven) that brings salvation to us.<\/p>\n

In becoming fully human as Jesus Christ, the Son enters our brokenness and takes upon himself the \u201ccurse\u201d caused by humanity\u2019s sin. Thus the incarnate Christ unites himself to those under the wrath of God and suffers death. Christ\u2019s work on our behalf is thus grounded in his incarnate person; it includes his teaching and example (1 Pet. 2:21) and culminates in his glorious defeat of sin and death (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:54\u201357; Heb. 2:14).<\/p>\n

To say that Christ \u201cdied in accordance with the Scriptures\u201d is to see his work within the broad biblical storyline that begins with Adam and focuses on Israel. More precisely, this includes seeing it in light of the Old Testament witness to both the wrath of God and the sacrifices offered for sin. The New Testament draws these connections, and it presents Jesus as the one who is both priest and sacrifice, both representative and substitute.<\/p>\n

Jesus has come to ransom others (e.g., Mark 10:45). His suffering is not merely physical (Matt. 26:38), as his intimate union with humanity makes him deeply aware of their sin and its consequences. His death was \u201cthe righteous for the unrighteous\u201d (1 Pet. 3:18). He came \u201cin the likeness of sinful flesh\u201d to be a \u201csin offering\u201d and to \u201ccondemn sin in the flesh\u201d (Rom. 8:3). He redeemed us from the curse of the law by \u201cbecoming a curse for us\u201d in his death (Gal. 3:13). We are \u201csaved from God\u2019s wrath\u201d by Christ (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10). The one who was sinless (e.g., Heb. 4:15) and who \u201chad no sin\u201d became \u201ca sin offering\u201d (not a sinner) on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, \u201c\u2018bore our sins\u2019 in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness\u201d (1 Pet. 2:24; compare Isa. 53:5\u20136).<\/p>\n

Note carefully the statement \u201cso that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.\u201d We cannot afford to miss the\u00a0union\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0participation<\/em>\u00a0here\u2014Christ lived with and for us and died for our sins so that we might die to our sins and live with and for him. Nor can we afford to miss the intention; it is so that\u00a0we\u00a0<\/em>might be transformed, so that\u00a0we\u00a0<\/em>might be truly righteous.<\/p>\n

Christ was a sacrifice for us so that we might live as people who are holy (e.g., Eph. 5:2\u201321). His sacrifice was to \u201cdo away with sin\u201d (Heb. 9:26). It was to\u00a0cleanse us\u00a0<\/em>from sin\u2014the \u201cacts that lead to death\u201d (Heb. 9:14; 10:10). Christ was a \u201csin offering\u201d precisely so that we will \u201cnot live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit\u201d (Rom. 8:4)\u2014so that \u201cwe might become the righteousness of God\u201d (2 Cor. 5:21). As a result of Christ\u2019s work, we can be \u201cfreed from our sins\u201d by the one who loves us (Rev. 1:5).<\/p>\n

We should be committed to proclaiming all that Scripture says about what Christ did for us. So we should not shrink from clarity about sin and its awful and horrific consequences. Indeed, we should be faithful to point out that \u201cwrath remains\u201d on all who reject the Son (John 3:36). At the same time, however, we are not at liberty to restrict our understanding of the intents, purposes, and breadth of Christ\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Narrowing Christ\u2019s work to the limited sense of taking the punishment for our sins can cause us to miss (much of) the point. Yes, Christ came to get us out of hell, but he also came to get hell out of us and to make us holy as we walk in communion with the Triune God. We should be faithful to proclaim that while Christ\u2019s sacrificial work saves us from the wrath of God, it does so precisely as it radically transforms and changes\u00a0us.<\/em><\/p>\n

To say or imply that the Trinity is broken is to say or imply that God does not exist. This is exactly what we should seek to avoid saying on Good Friday and every other day. To the contrary, the holy love of the Triune life is the ground and wellspring of salvation: God \u201cdemonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us\u201d (Rom 5:8). \u201cGod is love,\u201d and \u201cthis is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world … as an atoning sacrifice for our sins\u201d (1 John 4:8\u201310).\u00a0 This\u00a0<\/em>we joyfully proclaim.<\/p>\n

Thomas H. McCall
\nChristianity Today
\nMarch 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\u201d These words come from the lips of Jesus as he hangs on the cross (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). They are powerful and haunting, and they are surely very important. But what do they mean\u2014how are we to understand them? Here is one line of thinking that … <\/p>\n

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