Commentary by M.L. Wilson

A Biblical Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew 27:46

By M. L. Wilson

Continued from Page 6.

The Psalm continues to point out how Jesus will rule over the earth and generally has good news for Him—and us—all around. So why would Jesus reference this Psalm as he was dying on the cross? The answer to that becomes obvious when the parties witnessing His execution are identified. All of the Pharisees who were milling about on the periphery while Christ was being executed knew exactly what the Psalm in which Christ referenced had to say; Jesus only needed to cite the incipit. It is of some curiosity to know whether these Pharisees experienced a chill down their collective spines as they recalled from memory the content of that Psalm and saw how accurate it was—down to the Roman guards casting lots for Christ’s clothing. Despite his present situation; nailed to a cross after having been scourged and beaten so severely that his face was an unrecognizable mass of bloody flesh, Jesus got his message across to not only the Pharisees, but to those in the Spiritual realm who were also watching the events anxiously. Psalm 22 outlined the fact that Christ was not dying a broken man; He was merely fulfilling prophesy and was on His way to fulfill yet another one.

What Christ did as He spoke the Incipit of Psalm 22 on the cross should be a source of reassurance to anyone, but especially a Christian. Instead, orthodoxy perverts this passage so as to use it as a club, pummeling hapless Christians in an attempt to keep them “in line”. This perversion of the scriptures first began in earnest with the Nicene Councils, but there are many who can assume their share of the blame from the early Gnostics to the latter day Prosperity Gospel preachers whose desire for money far outstrips their desire for a right relationship with Christ or the legalistic Christians whose refusal to acknowledge the fulfillment of the covenant by Christ results only in nailing Him back on the cross. Still that does not excuse those in positions of leadership, teaching in seminaries or churches today who are shown this error, but because of tradition or ego—or perhaps both, ignore it and return to the warmth and familiarity of their perverse doctrine.

It has been no end of curiosity to me as to why those who are shown the truth of scriptural interpretations such as Matthew 27:46 persist in their error. The implications of the God they worship are horrific for humanity, yet they continue. I am well aware that this has come about as a result of the teaching which they have received, but at some point in one’s walk, a decision has to be made as to who God is in one’s life. A god whose heart is so far removed from compassion that his feelings and sense of moral decorum are regarded as more important than the very life of his creation, is really no god at all. Such was the situation which drove an early Greek philosopher named Epicurus to pen his famous riddle:

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He is not omnipotent. Is He able, but not willing? Then He is malevolent. Is He both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is He neither able nor willing? Then why call Him God?”

Orthodoxy was molded into another version of the truth long ago to fulfill the needs of political leaders, miscreants and other power seekers who held God in little regard. Epicurus lived nearly three hundred years before Christ and did not have the benefit of seeing these prophecies fulfilled, yet his trilemma is legitimate. Orthodoxy will stumble to answer such a seemingly vexing question which will utilize much rationalization, but still not provide the answer sufficiently. Orthodoxy, under present design, cannot answer the Epicurean riddle. If teachers of the Gospel were to step away from orthodoxy long enough to assess it critically, they would see the corruption which has infected the truth. Something as simple as this passage in Hebrews would have nullified the perversion of the orthodox interpretation of Matthew 27:46:

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
- Hebrews 4:13.

To further exacerbate the perversion, theologians rationalize that God looked away from Christ because while Christ took on the sins of the world; He literally died Spiritually. Anyone understanding the nature of Christ would know that that is an impossibility. If Christ died Spiritually, then God is dead Spiritually—they are one and the same. Again, orthodoxy maintains that such is possible because through it all, Christ is not really God, but a mere subset of God. Therefore God can allow Him to die and then simply bring Him back to life again. This rationalization goes to the nature of a concept called the Trinity or the Triune Godhead. I will leave that to a future commentary. This rationalization of a Christ subset shows a stunning dearth of Spiritual discernment, but it allows the errors of orthodoxy to flourish.

In Hebrews 9:14, Christ is called an eternal Spirit. It says that, “... he offered himself unblemished to God”. Such a statement flies in the face of the theology which insists that Christ became sin and was so repulsive to God that God had to look away. An additional point to consider in this orthodox rationalization: As an eternal Spirit, if Christ were to die Spiritually for even a nano-second, He isn’t actually eternal unless you are willing to redefine the meaning of eternal. If Christ is not eternal, then his resurrection is a lie and his entire ministry is a cruel hoax.

Just to be clear, to “become sin” or as some translations say that “sin was imputed upon Him” is merely a misunderstanding of the translation. 2nd Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin (or be a sin offering) for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This is from the Random House Unabridged Dictionary:Impute. (Theology). To attribute (righteousness, guilt, etc.) to a person or persons vicariously; ascribe as derived from another.

In short, Christ took our place. There was no mechanism which altered the bio-chemical construct of Christ whereupon he was suddenly imbued with all of the sins (read transgressions) of everyone who ever lived or who would be born. There was no like Spiritual alteration either. To be made a sin offering simply meant that rather than our being put to death to satisfy those wages, Christ allowed Himself to be put to death physically in our stead. It is instructive to point out that one should not read into the scriptures what isn’t there. More importantly, however, is to learn who God is, learn his character. He showed us what he is like in Christ, thus if you can’t imagine Christ doing something, then don’t imagine God would do it either. They’re one and the same.

One last thought. We may be the last generation before Christ returns or it may be several more generations; there is no way to know for certain and that is not supposed to be our focus in any event. Attempting to pin down a time when Christ returns to this earth is not part of the great commission He gave to us. We are to be watching the signs, but not get so bogged down in them that all else falls by the wayside. There is one truth that is immutable: For each one of us alive today, this is the last generation. At some point we will draw our last breath and we will go to Christ, or we’ll remain alive to see Him return. Either way, our time here is precious—and so very short.

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