From Agony to Ecstasy

Monday, May 27, 2013               Matthew 27:46; Luke 23:46

From Agony to Ecstasy

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me” (Mark 14:36). After that prayer he was arrested and then like a ping pong ball, he was bounced from the High Priest to Pilate to Herod and back to Pilate. Then he was crucified. I have long been intrigued by what Jesus experienced between his fourth and sixth words from the cross: (4) “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and (6) “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Matthew 27:46; Luke 23:46 NRSV).

Something happened. From the agony of his prayer in the garden, to the brutality and humiliation heaped upon him, to the sheer weight of all the sin of humankind he took upon himself, he sunk into the depths of despair that we can hardly imagine: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Yet somehow from the bottomless pit of despair, he rose in ecstasy to proclaim his undying trust in his Abba: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” What happened?

Biblical scholar Pierre Benoit believes Jesus, in the midst of his brokenness and despair, heard the voice of his Abba calling to him: “Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come . . .” (The Song of Songs 2:10-13 NJB). I’m convinced Benoit’s insight is correct. If Jesus didn’t hear God calling to him from that particular scripture text, surely he heard something very similar.

When Brennan Manning lived in Louisiana, he often made pastoral care visits to a leper colony near Baton Rouge. On one visit he was summoned to pray with Yolanda who was close to death. Yolanda, who was just thirty-seven, had once been a stunningly beautiful woman. The disease had ravaged her and contorted her face. The fingers on both hands had been amputated. Her family had forsaken her and she was dying alone. Manning anointed her and prayed. After his prayer he was stunned by the radiance of Yolanda’s countenance.

“Yolanda, you appear to be very happy.”

“Oh Father, I am so happy” she responded.

“Will you tell me why you’re so happy” Manning asked. 

She said, “Yes, the Abba of Jesus just told me that He would take me home today.” 

Manning took several moments to compose himself, and then asked her just what the Abba of Jesus told her.

Yolanda said, “'Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come. For see, winter is past . . .” 

She actually quoted the entire passage, The Song of Songs 2:10-13.

Several hours later Yolanda was received into the loving arms of Jesus.

Manning later learned that Yolanda was illiterate. She had never read the Bible. Even so, the furious longing of God was able to reach her and she heard His sweet voice say, “Come then, my beloved, My lovely one, come.”

Let it be the purpose of our hearts, that no matter how strong the grip of despair may be in our lives, we’ll keep listening until we hear the Abba of Jesus call to us, “Come then, my beloved, My lovely one, come.” Someday, His call will lead us to our heavenly home. Until then His call will be to a greater experience of how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. Then we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.