5.8.26
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Did God turn His face away from Jesus while He was suffering on the cross? Did the Father abandon His Son in the moment of His greatest need? One of the lines of “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” declares so –
How great the pain of searing loss / The Father turns His face away / As wounds which mar the Chosen One /Bring many sons to glory…
The Father turns His face away…Yikes!! Here’s our message: “Come to Christ, and in the moment of your greatest failure, God will turn His back on you, too.”
The theology of the Father turning His face away from His Son in the time of His greatest need comes from patching a few Bible passages together.
#1 “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor. Habakkuk 1:13
#2 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf…” 2 Corinthians 5:21
#3 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Psalm 22:1.
The thought of the Father turning His face away from His Son while suffering on the cross arises from misunderstanding these passages. Sin is to miss the mark – to be out of the will of God. But Jesus was always in the center of the will of God – whether He was preaching or eating with pimps and prostitutes or healing a paralytic or suffering on the cross. Yes, Jesus was made to be sin – but He was never a sinner. Even though the sacrificial lamb was offered up on behalf of the sinner – the lamb itself had never sinned. Jesus was made the sacrifice for sin though He Himself had never sinned. It was obedience to the Father that brought Him to the cross.
Here’s a fuller look at Psalm 22. “For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him….” 22:24
Did you catch that? The very Psalm alleging that the Father turned His face away from His Son, has the Son saying that the Father did not hide His face from Him. Hallelujah! In the time of His greatest need, the Son had His greatest Champion! Jesus could not be sinning while at the same time accomplishing the will of God. In the moment of His deepest sorrow and suffering, Jesus could still commit His Spirit into the hands of His Father.
The Father says to us, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. The Father will not turn His face from you. Selah. (Worship would be appropriate at this time.)
I don’t want to be the Grinch who Stole Worship. I don’t think we need to ban “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” – it’s a beautifully written song that is ideal for congregational singing. But I do think that maybe we should reword that one line. Maybe: “How great the pain of searing loss / The Father gives His Son for sin…” Any suggestions?
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
Leave a Reply