Chapter 2: Jesus Wept
Lament in the New Testament? There is, and it starts with Jesus.
Jesus Cries for the Suffering of a City He Loves. Two kinds of laments.
- The Dirge. Dirges are funeral songs or poems, not exactly lament.
- Prophetic Lament: Intercession. One example is Abraham pleading with God to consider sparing Sodom. Another is Moses pleading with GOD after the first two commandments are broken. Jesus weeping over Jerusalem is another.
JESUS FACES HIS OWN DEATH. The night before his death, Jesus prays a lament about the orderal to come.
JESUS LAMENTS AS HE DIES.
- Psalm 22.
- Psalm 31. In spite of seeming to be calm and accepting, what Jesus says is a quote for psalm 31, a Lament psalm.
- Jesus thirsts. (Psalm 42, Psalm 69). Thirst is a common metaphor in the scripture, especially in laments.
- It is Finished (Psalm 22?). “It is finished” is a faint echo of the last line of psalm 22, “[God] has done it!”
EMBODIED LAMENTS: JESUS HEARS AND HEALS. Jesus is object of laments when people plead with him have mercy on them. And, he always does.
WEAK ENOUGH TO HEAR, STRONG ENOUGH TO SAVE. Jesus was resurected in his body. When he ascended into heaven it was in this body. <Astounding statement and a new one to me.>