Comment by Bro. Bromet
I was glad to read the spirited discussion that ensued from my entry “Did God Abandon Jesus” article in The Tidings of November, 2015. We tend to spend our energies on things we truly care about and this topic holds great value in our search for the truth. My reaction to the brothers that have commented on this topic is this:
We Christadelphians hold great value in doctrinal issues in support of our beliefs as we indeed should. The brothers that responded to my letter have expressed some of these doctrinal points. What they’ve neglected to consider is that our Lord Jesus uttered the statement in question in Aramaic. All one has to do is read the English version of the Gospels and find it clearly made in Aramaic: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which carries the meaning of (1)to reserve (2) to keep (3) to spare (4) to forgive. Whether one believes this passage to have been first penned in Aramaic or Greek, it was in Aramaic that Jesus spoke these words, else why was it necessary for the Gospel text to point that out even in our English version. One can argue for one doctrine or against another, but what cannot be argued is the language and the meaning of the words that were uttered. I thoroughly researched these words and indicated the meaning they held. I also pointed out that the root word “sabach” was also uttered by him when he spoke: “Father, forgive [sabach] them, for they do not know what they are doing.” It would be ludicrous to suggest that Jesus meant for God to forsake those for whom he died. Don’t forget that the word “forsaken” in the Psalms uses an entirely different word “azbatani” which unlike “sabachtani” has an exclusive meaning of forsaken.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One