Viking Resident Historian Challenge: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Prehistoric Monument at Brodgar by Dr Bryan Babcock

Each cruise I give the passengers a challenge to identify some important location. For the British Isles Cruse I challenged the guests to find the 5,000 year old standing stones at Brodgar (older than the Great Pyramids or Stonehenge). Several people did a wonderful job and submitted pictures. However, Patty B was first with a selfie and Sue and Ralph H submitted the most creative pics – well done!

Nestled amidst the breathtaking landscapes of Orkney, Scotland, lies the enigmatic monument of Brodgar. This Neolithic site, older than the pyramids of Egypt, has captivated archaeologists, historians, and visitors alike for centuries. The importance of Brodgar cannot be overstated; it not only sheds light on our ancient past but also holds valuable insights into the rituals, social structures, and technological achievements of a bygone era.

Unraveling the Past:

Brodgar, a sprawling ceremonial complex comprising standing stones, henges, and a burial mound, dates back over 4,500 years. Its construction involved the precise alignment of colossal sandstone megaliths, meticulously placed to create a sacred space. The sheer scale and precision of the site’s layout suggest a highly organized and skilled society capable of remarkable feats of engineering. The exact purpose of Brodgar remains a subject of debate among experts, but it is widely believed to have had significant religious and ceremonial importance.

A Window into Ancient Beliefs and Rituals:

Brodgar serves as a window into the spiritual and religious practices of the Neolithic people who inhabited Orkney. The circular layout, astronomical alignments, and presence of carved symbols hint at a deep connection to the celestial realms. Researchers speculate that Brodgar played a role in celestial observations, marking solstices, equinoxes, and lunar cycles. The proximity of the nearby Ness of Brodgar archaeological site, with its temples and extensive artifacts, further suggests the importance of Brodgar as a religious center.

Architectural Marvel and Social Organization:

The construction of Brodgar required a remarkable level of architectural planning and labor. The transportation and placement of the massive stones, some weighing several tons, was an awe-inspiring achievement. The collaborative effort involved in such a grand endeavor implies a tightly knit and organized society, driven by communal goals and shared beliefs. Brodgar stands as a testament to the social complexity and cooperation of the Neolithic communities, highlighting their abilities to undertake monumental tasks with limited technology.

Preserving Heritage and Inspiring Exploration:

Dr Bryan Babcock, Viking Resident Historian

Preservation efforts have played a vital role in safeguarding Brodgar and ensuring its accessibility for future generations. The monument has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, highlighting its global significance. Visitors to Brodgar are offered a rare opportunity to step back in time, connect with the distant past, and appreciate the ingenuity and creativity of our ancestors. Brodgar’s mystique continues to inspire archaeologists and researchers, who tirelessly work to unravel the secrets it holds, allowing us to better understand our own cultural roots and the evolution of human civilization.

Conclusion:

Brodgar, with its timeless allure and mysterious origins, stands as a testament to human ingenuity and imagination. It invites us to contemplate the complexities of our past and marvel at the achievements of ancient societies. As we continue to unearth the secrets of this Neolithic masterpiece, Brodgar serves as a reminder that our shared heritage is a source of inspiration, knowledge, and unity—an invaluable link between our modern world and the dawn of human civilization.

June 6, 2023 1

Viking Resident Historian Challenge – Find the Petra “Treasury”

VRH – Hall of Fame

Viking Neptune April 11, 2023

Viking World Cruise – Petra, Jordan

Winner: Mike and Patty Bee

Petra may be best known as the site where Indiana Jones finds the Holy Grail in the movie India Jones and the Lost Ark. However, the beauty of this location and it’s tombs are a definite bucket list location and many travelers.

Each cruise I give the passengers a challenge to identify some important location. This cruise the Viking Resident Historian challenge was to find the Treasure at Petra and take a picture including the Treasury and a Camel. Several teams were up to the challenge and submitted pictures. However, Mike and Patty Bee were the first to send a picture – well done!

T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) writes to a childhood friend in February 1914 … “Petra, is the most wonderful place in the world, not for the sake of the ruins, which are quite a secondary affair, but for the color of its rocks, all red and black and gray with streaks of green and blue, in little wriggly lines….and for the shape of its cliffs and crags and pinnacles, and for the wonderful gorge it has, always running deep with spring water, full of oleanders, and ivy and ferns, and only just wide enough for a camel at a time, and a couple miles long. But I have read hosts of the most beautiful accounts of it, and they give one no idea of it at all…so you will never know what Petra is like, unless you come out here…Only be assured that til you have seen it you have not had the glimmering of an idea how beautiful a place can be.”

Our Viking Neptune visited Petra and we were able to spend the day exploring this site rich with history and beauty. One of the highlights is to visit the “Treasury.” The building is not a palace, but is actually a burial tomb for the Nabatean King Aretas IV in the 1st century AD.

The nickname the Treasure is because early bedouin thought the urn at the top of the façade held vast riches. One legend is that the Egyptian Pharaoh and some of his armies escaped the closing of the Red Sea by Moses and created the Khazneh by magic as a safe place for his treasury, and continued in his pursuit of Moses. This led to the name Khazneh el-Far’oun, “Treasury of the Pharaoh.” The decorations on the front of the tomb are full of various figures from mythology and the afterlife. On top are figures of four eagles that would carry away the souls. The figures on the upper level are dancing Amazons with double-axes and Isis. The entrance is flanked by statues of the twins Castor and Pollux who lived partly on Olympus and partly in the underworld. In contrast to the elaborate facade, the interior comprises a plain main chamber and three antechambers.

April 13, 2023 0

Dr Bryan Babcock Brings History to Life:

Viking Resident Historian Challenge – Find Princess Grace of Monaco

Viking Sea August 14, 2022

Mediterranean Odyssey – Monte Carlo, Monaco

Winner: James Steinmeier

This cruise the Viking Resident Historian challenge was to find the location of a statue or picture of Princess Grace of Monaco somewhere in Monte Carlo Monaco. Several teams were up to the challenge and submitted pictures. However, James Steinmeier was the first to send a picture – well done James!

Princess Grace of Monaco

Grace Patricia Kelly (Nov. 12, 1929 – Sept. 14, 1982) was an Oscar-winning American film icon who became Princess of Monaco after marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.

Kelly was born into a well-known Catholic family of Irish and German origin in the U.S. city of Philadelphia. After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1949, Kelly began appearing in New York City theatrical productions and over 40 live drama productions broadcast in early 1950s Golden Age of Television. She gained stardom from her performance in John Ford’s adventure-romance Mogambo (1953), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the drama The Country Girl (1954). Other notable works include the western High Noon (1952), the romantic comedy High Society (1956), and three consecutive Alfred Hitchcock suspense thrillers: Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). Kelly worked with some of the most prominent leading men of the era, including Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Ray Milland, James Stewart, Bing Crosby, William Holden, Cary Grant, Alec Guinness, and Frank Sinatra.

Princess Grace appeared on the cover of the January 1955 issue of Time Magazine. The magazine hailed her the top movie star who brought about “a startling change from the run of smoky film sirens and bumptious cuties”. She was described as the “Girl in White Gloves” because she wore “prim and noticeable white gloves”, and journalists often called her the “lady” or “Miss Kelly” for this reason as well. In 1954, she appeared on the Best Dressed list, and in 1955, the Custom Tailored Guild of America listed her as the “Best-Tailored Woman”

Kelly retired from acting at age 26 to marry Rainier, and began her duties as Princess of Monaco. Hitchcock hoped that Princess Grace would appear in more of his films that required an “icy blonde” lead actress, but he was unable to coax her out of retirement.

Grace and Rainier had three children: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, and Princess Stéphanie. Her charity work focused on young children and the arts, establishing the Princess Grace Foundation to support local artisans in 1964. Her organization for children’s rights, AMADE Mondiale, gained consultive status within UNICEF and UNESCO. Her final film contribution was in 1977 to the documentary The Children of Theatre Street directed by Robert Dornhelm, where she served as the narrator. The documentary was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Princess Grace died at the age of 52 at Monaco Hospital on September 14, 1982, from injuries sustained in a car crash the previous day. She is listed 13th among the American Film Institute’s 25 Greatest Female Stars of Classical Hollywood Cinema. Her son, Prince Albert, helped establish the Princess Grace Awards in 1984 to recognize emerging performers in film, theatre, and dance.

August 14, 2022 0

Winged Lion of St. Mark in Kotor, Montenegro

Viking Sea August 1, 2022

Empires of The Mediterranean – Kotor, Montenegro

Winners: Crystal and Josael Gomez!

This cruise the Viking Resident Historian challenge was to find the location of a Venetian winged lion of St. Mark somewhere in the medieval walled city of Kotor Montenegro. Several teams were up to the challenge and submitted pictures. However, Crystal and Josael were the first to send a picture – well done!

As you approach the Sea Gate, Kotor’s main arched entry that was built in 1555, look to your right to see this carved panel of the Winged Lion of Mark on the Valier Bastion. It represents Saint Mark the Evangelist and the open book is St. Mark’s Gospel. This image was the symbol for the Republic of Venice when they ruled over Kotor from 1420 until 1797. The San Marco Lion remains an iconic image in Venice, Italy.

The Venetian lion appears in two distinct forms. One is as a winged animal resting on water, to symbolize dominance over the seas, holding St. Mark’s Gospel under a paw. These animals can be seen all around the Mediterranean, usually on top of a classical stone column.

The Latin words engraved on the book are Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus, which means Peace unto you, Mark, my Evangelist. If the book is open then the city was at peace with Venice. If the book is closed then the city was in rebellion with Venice at the time the sculpture was created. Other elements often included in depictions of the lion include a halo over his head, a book, or a sword in its paws.

August 1, 2022 0

VRH Hall of Fame Winners!

Viking Sea July 24, 2022

Empires of The Mediterranean – Olympia, Greece

Winners: Brabec and Guzman Family!

This cruise the Viking Resident Historian challenge was to find the location where Hera’s Priestesses create fire every four years and take a picture reenacting the event. The Brabec and Guzan family rose to the challenge and were first to submit their picture — WELL DONE!

Brabec and Guzman Family – Hall of Fame Winners – Viking Sea July 24, 2022

The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greek ceremonies where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia. Sacred fires were present at many ancient Greek sanctuaries, including those at Olympia. Every four years, when Zeus was honored at the Olympic Games, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, Hera. The modern Olympic flame is ignited every two years in front of the ruins of the temple of Hera.

When the tradition of an Olympic fire was reintroduced during the 1928 Summer Olympics, an employee of the Electric Utility of Amsterdam lit the first modern Olympic flame in the Marathon Tower of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The Olympic flame has been part of the Summer Olympics ever since. The Olympic torch relay was first introduced to the Summer Olympics at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

July 24, 2022 0

How Handsome Brook Farm conquered America

Originally Published by Chad Dick for The Challenger Project

In 2008, Betsy and husband Bryan Babcock were selling their pasture-raised backyard eggs at local farmers markets near their home in Upstate New York. Today their produce is sold in over 4000 locations in 48 states across America. We talk to co-founder Betsy via a Google Hangout to hear how Handsome Brook Farm have utilised an often overlooked community to scale their operation across America, becoming one of the fastest growing food companies in the US in 2016.

So do you think of yourselves as a challenger and, if so, what does being a challenger mean to you in the context of your business?

We’ve really caused a significant amount of disruption in the egg industry through how we produce eggs and how we care for our chickens. We’ve taken what was a sleepy egg category and transformed it now into something where people are passionate about eggs, where they are becoming more and more aware of the differences in egg types and demanding improved quality in animal welfare.

We’re also scrappy, we’re not a big business. We came in and started at grassroots level and said we want to do the right thing, we started small and have expanded from that point.

The prevailing notion is you can’t make any money as a small scale farmer, so what have you done differently to make Handsome Brook Farm a commercially viable business?

What we have done is created a new segment in the industry that didn’t exist before. Our eggs are pasture raised, as opposed to cage free, free range or even organic. Our typical farm has 5,000 hens in a barn and it has 12 and a half acres per barn. So that comes out to a 108.9 square feet per hen, a number based on the European metric system, which is why it comes out to this really weird number.

That is in comparison to a cage free barn that will have a million chickens in a barn or a free range barn that will have 100,000 chickens in a barn. So in terms of scale we require more farms for the same production of eggs.

“Our production rates are higher per chicken than the commercial, because they’re less stressed.”

But we have tremendous efficiencies. Our mortality rate is lower than the commercial egg farms are. And our production rates are higher per chicken than the commercial, because they’re less stressed. And because they’re in a more healthy environment we have better living conditions and thus better production.

So actually treating them more humanely, giving them the pasture raised translates to happier chickens that lay more eggs.

Exactly.

What are the ambitions you have as a brand, both in commercial terms as well as non-commercial terms, as in the change you want to see in the world?

Our ambition is to be on every single grocery retail shelf in the United States within the next 12 to 24 months. It’s a very aggressive strategy but we feel that consumer awareness around eggs is starting to emerge and this is a real opportunity for us to do the right thing and do it quickly.

From a broader perspective, Europe and the UK are actually ahead of the United States in terms of animal welfare for poultry. Free range in the United States is a meaningless term, whereas in the UK it does mean access to pasture. But here in the US we have a real problem in terms of transparency and in terms of animal welfare for poultry and so we really want to change that.

What was the opportunity that got you into this initially?

My husband and I had semi-retired; we bought a small farm in upstate New York, because we just loved that area. We had a few chickens, a few sheep, few pigs and opened up a bed and breakfast really just so that we had the ability to meet new people.

We really didn’t expect anyone to come, because we’re three and a half hours from New York City and it’s so not an easy drive, but people did come. And what we found was that people would rave continually about our eggs. And that was really the impetus for us to do research in terms of how are our eggs so different than any other egg in the dairy case.

“Chickens going outside is important, both for their welfare and for the quality of the egg.”

And as we looked into that we realised that organic chickens never go outside, free range chickens never go outside, cage free certainly never go outside and that chickens going outside is important, both for their welfare and for the quality of the egg.

So you got into this industry by accident and with little experience, can you talk a little bit about any advantages you see from that inexperience?

We came into this with business knowledge, but not egg industry knowledge. And that was our biggest advantage. Because we just approached it by thinking ‘this is the right thing to do’, not how has it been done before. And that made us think differently, we approached how we work with farms differently.

“The industry thought we were foolish, their opinion was you can’t make money on small scale farming.”

A challenge and an advantage at the same time is our focus is on small-scale farming. So instead of having a million hens in a barn cranking out eggs like a factory, we work with small Amish farms and Mennonite farms that have a sustainable focus, and that is completely different from what the egg industry traditionally does.

The industry thought we were foolish, their opinion was number one, chickens don’t like to go outdoors, which as you and I both know that’s bogus. And number two, you can’t make money on small scale farming, which is also not true. And we made money, because we just did things differently and we came into it without any expectations of the way things should be done.

So what constraints might working with the Amish community impose on a business? How has that given you an advantage versus the big players?

A misconception that I had about the Amish community was that I thought that they didn’t use telephones or any kind of technology at all. They do have access to telephones; it’s a shared phone, a couple of hours in the morning, a couple of hours at night, so they can call us.

But the thing that is so impressive about the Amish communities is their communication; they have a very successful way of communicating with each other by phone or by word of mouth that is just unfathomable, so it’s actually turned out to be really helpful for us.

“When we say we need more farms, they get in touch with their relatives, and all of a sudden we have new Amish communities we’re working with.”

One of the barriers for a lot of companies that would want to do what we’re doing, is being able to recruit farms. And we have a really good reputation within the Amish communities so when we say we need more farms, we’d like some outside of North Carolina, they get in touch with their relatives, and all of a sudden we have new Amish communities in North Carolina that we’re working with.

We can pick up additional farms just by putting the word out that we need them. And they call us, we’re not having to go out and chase down farms.

Do you work exclusively or primarily with Amish farms, how would you characterise it?

Probably 90% of our farms are Amish, the other 10% are Mennonite. That’s not by design, it’s just the way it evolved. It’s not that we would not work with non-Amish farms, but just so far our relationship with the Amish communities has been great.

It’s good for people to learn that not everything happens by plan and by design. You’d mentioned that you had a business background before, were there any perspectives you had from your prior business background that were instrumental in seeing this industry differently?

Both Brian and I have always had an entrepreneurial streak in us, we’ve always had a day job and then had a little business on the side. And our philosophy has always been don’t try to tell the consumer what they should have, but approach it from what is the consumer asking for and what are they appreciating.

Prior to starting the bed and breakfast I had a full time job at Celergo, an international payroll company based out of Chicago. My responsibility for Celergo was to manage the partner relationships with accounting firms throughout the world.

“The egg contract management model, was actually based upon this contract management model from the payroll company.”

The firms would do all the payroll accounting and Celergo would orchestrate the process and be the client facing person to the process. And so when we came up with the egg contract management model, it was actually based upon this contract management model from the payroll company.

So a completely different industry, but it sparked in my mind, oh, we don’t have to raise every chicken, we can contract this out with other farms, have a wonderful relationship with them and be the client facing aspect of it, but also have our operational controls in place.

One of the common challenger narratives that we’ve identified through our research into challenger brands is what we call the ‘Next Generation’ brand. So I’m just curious in your brand narrative, do you think about yourselves as being the next generation of egg farming or are you simply going back to basics?

It is back to basics in that this is what Grandma or Great Grandma did with her chickens. Grandma’s farm had 20 chickens and served Grandma and a couple of friends. All we’re doing is replicating that environment and that way of raising chickens.

But what’s futuristic is the fact that we’re able to scale it. We’re able to scale it to make it available for people who don’t have access to a farmers’ market. So it’s a new twist on something that is as old as time.

I know you’re a privately held company, but could you share any results, again commercially and non-commercially so that people can get a sense of the impact you’re having?

Back in 2007, we had seven chickens. Now, in 2016 we have 400,000. By the end of the year we’ll have 200 farms, so that’s about a million chickens. So in terms of the volume of hens, seven to a million chickens in just a few years. So the growth has been tremendous.

“The industry as a result of our involvement is changing in a very substantive way”

In terms of retail, we started doing farmers’ markets. We’re now close to 5,000 stores in all 48 States in July. So we partner with Kroger and Publix and H-E-B as well as the small independents too. So revenues have gone up along with that.

The industry as a result of our involvement to some extent, is changing in a very substantive way because we have made the option available and made people aware of better options than the restrictive poultry environments.

#3BitsofAdvice

Betsy Babcock’s advice for a challenger brand

Surround yourself with people you trust. The key to our success has been the people that we’ve been surrounded by and the support we’ve had from them.
Know what your core values are as a business and as you grow to not abandon those. You’ve really got to know who you are, be authentic and stick to that.
Find something to be grateful for each day. Growing a business can be stressful, so try to have a spirit of gratefulness.

Interview Chad Dick

July 20, 2022 0

This is What a Genuine Free-Range Farm Looks Like – From Inc 500 Fastest Growing Companies of 2015

These bed and breakfast owners turned egg farmers show how listening to your customers can pay dividends

The factory doors open at sunup and the employees hop to it. You might think the drudgery–day after day, egg after egg–would be wearing, but the hens at Handsome Brook Farm are happy producers. Perhaps it’s the workplace. The company says that, unlike farmers who claim to raise organic or free-range eggs and then keep their chickens in warehouses, Handsome Brook lets its hens run loose on actual farms. Bryan and Betsy Babcock created the business from what had been a charming feature of their B&B–breakfast courtesy of the house hens. But the guests loved what they were served so much the Babcocks realized there could be a market for pasture-raised eggs. And so Handsome Brook Farm was hatched.

For the 500 magazine issue, Inc. sent photographer Michael George to the farm’s home in Franklin, New York to capture Handsome Brook in all of its bucolic splendor.

https://www.inc.com/inc-staff/2015-inc5000-handsome-brook-farms.html

July 12, 2022 0

Forbes Magazine Article on Bryan Babcock and the Formation of Handsome Brook Farm

https;//www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2016/08/22/starting-handsome-brook-farms-a-pasture-raised-egg-business-helped-betsy-babcock-recover-from-a-devastating-loss/

Starting Handsome Brook Farm, A ‘Pasture-Raised’ Egg Business, Helped Betsy Babcock Recover From A Devastating Loss

Susan Adams

Former Staff

Forbes Trep Talks

Contributor Group

Continue reading →

July 9, 2022 0

A God who Suffers: Matthew 27 in the Context of Psalm 22 — Part 2

By Bryan Babcock

Yesterday we examined Matthew 27 to better understand how God suffered as the atonement for the sins of humanity. This work, by God through Christ, was completed with Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

Why is it important that our God suffered? Today, we will attempt to address this important topic.

We have in Jesus an innocent God who endured ultimate suffering. In no other religion does a god experience more pain and suffering than humanity…Christianity is unique. To understand the importance of Christ’s selfless act, we need to unpack the biblical understanding for the cause, effect, and resolution of suffering. The journey takes us all the way through the Bible beginning in Genesis.

The Bible begins in Genesis 1-2 depicting mankind as created and placed into a world without death or suffering. God calls his creation “good” meaning that the earth, the animals, and humanity are all perfect (Gen 1:3, 10, 12, 21, 25, 31). All of humanity’s needs are cared for and suffering is not present.

Adam and Eve are created to enjoy and care for the earth and its animals. They are also created to be in fellowship and to worship God. The paradox here is that to be able to truly worship God humanity must also be able to choose to reject God. Otherwise mankind is merely robotically following a pre-set program.

Our God is a God who risks rejection in order to allow for worship. Eve and then Adam fall to temptation and reject God showing us the world’s darkness and how it unfolded out of our refusal to let God be our lord and king.[1]

After Adam and Eve disobey their Creator, God describes what the fallen world will look like. It is virtually a catalog of all forms of suffering—including spiritual alienation, inner psychological pain, social and interpersonal conflict and cruelty, natural disasters, disease, and death (Gen 3:17ff). All this natural and moral evil is understood as stemming from the foundational rupture of our relationship with God. Their exile is the original infliction of suffering as judgment.

The fall brings the wrath of sin in the world, on the world and throughout humanity. No one is spared. The doctrine of the Fall gives us a remarkably nuanced understanding of suffering. On the one hand, this teaching rejects the idea that people who suffer more than others are in any way worse than people who suffer less.

That was the self-righteous premise of Job’s friends who sat around him and said, “the reason this is happening to you and not to us is because we are living right and you are not.” At the end of the book, God expresses his fury at Job’s “miserable comforters.” The world is too fallen and deeply broken to divide into a neat pattern of good people having good lives and bad people having bad lives. The brokenness of the world is inherited by the entire human race. As Jesus says, the sun shines and the rain falls on both the just and the unjust (Matt 5:45).[2]

After the fall, the relationship between humanity and God is strained to the breaking point. Humanity now follows a path of sin and rebellion. To facilitate a restoration of the relationship between a perfect God and humanity there needs to be a form of judgment. Keller argues that “many people complain that they cannot believe in a God who judges and punishes people. But if there is no Judgment Day, what about all the enormous amount of injustice that has been and is being perpetrated? If there is no Judgment Day, then there are only two things to do—lose all hope or turn to vengeance.”[3]

Essentially, Keller is saying that a just God needs a judgment upon humanity for the acts of rebellion. Peter van Inwagen adds that “at some point, for all eternity, there will be no more unmerited suffering: this present darkness, ‘the age of evil,’ will eventually be remembered as a brief flicker at the beginning of human history. Every evil done by the wicked to the innocent will have been avenged, and every tear will have been wiped away.[4] Only the God of Christianity is will to endure the judgment upon himself through the work of Jesus on the cross.

Paul speaks mysteriously that we who know Christ and the power of his resurrection also know “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” (Phil 3:10–11). Alvin Plantinga believes that because of our fall and redemption, we will achieve a level of intimacy with God that cannot be received any other way. And therefore, the angels are envious of it. What if, in the future, we came to see that just as Jesus could not have displayed such glory and love any other way except through his suffering, we would not have been able to experience such transcendent glory, joy, and love any other way except by going through a world of suffering?[5]

God has a two-part solution to atone for sin and restore his relationship with humanity. The first step is to atone for the sins of mankind in the past, the present and the future. This is no small matter and a perfect sacrifice is necessary. God knows that the only sacrifice is to suffer in the same way as all humanity and the world have suffered.

As we explored in the analysis of Psalms 22 and Matthew 28, the key is that the incarnate God is a God who suffers. Keller writes that “Without this suffering, without the agony of the cross, the incarnation would not provide that solution of the problem of suffering to which, we could contend, it owes its immense potency…Only the sacrifice of an innocent God could justify the endless and universal torture of innocence. Only the most abject suffering by God could assuage man’s agony.”[6]

The New Testament teaches that Jesus was God in the flesh—“in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwelled bodily” (Col 2:9). He was God yet he suffered. He experienced weakness, a life filled “with fervent cries and tears” (Heb 5:7). He knew firsthand rejection and betrayal, poverty and abuse, disappointment and despair, bereavement, torture, and death. Therefore, he is “able to empathize with our weaknesses” for he “has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin” (Heb 4:15).

On the cross, he went beyond even the worst human suffering and experienced cosmic rejection and a pain that exceeds ours as infinitely as his knowledge and power exceeds ours. There is no greater inner agony than the loss of a love relationship. We cannot imagine what it would be like to lose not just a human relationship that has lasted for some years but the infinite love of the Father that Jesus had from all eternity. The separation would have been infinitely unbearable. And so, Jesus experienced God forsakenness itself on the cross when he cried out, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?”[7]

Here we see the ultimate strength—a God who is strong enough to voluntarily become weak and plunge himself into vulnerability and darkness out of love for us. And here we see the greatest possible glory—the willingness to lay aside all his glory out of love for us. It cannot be that he does not love us. It cannot be that he does not care. He is so committed to our ultimate happiness that he was willing to plunge into the greatest depths of suffering himself.[8]

Paul summarizes the fall and God’s plan when he writes:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Rom 8:18-21)

The world is now in a cursed condition that falls short of its design. Human beings were not created to experience death, pain, grief, disappointment, ruptured relationships, disease, and natural disasters. The world we were made to live in was not supposed to be like that. A frustrated world is a broken world, in which things do not function as they should, and that is why there is evil and suffering. [9]

But Paul adds that this judgment does not represent God’s abandonment of us. Rather, his judgment of the world was purposeful. Even as he judged the world with suffering, he had in view a plan for the redemption of all things.

God judged the world of Adam and Eve. However, he held “the hope” of a final redemption from evil that would be glorious (cf. Acts 17:31). This little verse in Romans 8:20 has an enormous depth behind it. It suggests that once human beings turned from God, there were only two alternatives, either immediate destruction or a path that led to redemption through great loss, grief, and pain, not only for human beings but for God himself. There is even a hint here that the future glory will be somehow even greater for all the suffering. Nevertheless, for the present, we live in the shadows.

Our God is a God who suffers — Jesus has fulfilled the first step in the process of redemption. He has endured our pain and suffering for the sinful nature of humanity. We can have confidence that, in Christ, we are separated from our sin and will live for eternity with the Father.

There is a second step. One that we anxiously await. And, that is the restoration of the world and living without suffering. We look forward to a day described by John when he wrote: “‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, ‘nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” (Rev 7:16-17)

The restoration of the earth is found in book of Revelation. This book, written by John, depicts the “new heaven and new earth” (Rev 21:1). We find that after the final judgment there will “no longer be any curse” (Rev 22:3)—the curse that fell on creation at the Fall is lifted.

Jesus, at the Second Coming, “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev 21:4). The restoration will be complete. Evil and suffering will be defeated. The suffering of Jesus has ended suffering. Our God is a God who suffered for a purpose – the restoration of relationship between humanity to God and the eternal defeat of suffering.

Revelation chapters 21 and 22 presents that the future is not an immaterial “paradise” but a new heaven and a new earth. Matthew 19:28 and Acts 3:21 speak of the “regeneration” or “restoration of all things.” Peter says that we look for the day in which we will have a new heaven and new earth (2 Pet 3:13), and Paul teaches that the creation will gloriously be liberated from its bondage to decay and death (Rom 8:19–22).[10]

In this book, Christianity holds out a hope unlike any other religion. The secular view sees no future good of any kind, and other religions believe in an eternity or heaven that is a consolation for the losses and pain of this life and all the joys that might have been.

But as Keller argues:

Christianity offers not merely a consolation but a restoration—not just of the life we had but of the life we always wanted but never achieved. And because the joy will be even greater for all that evil, this means the final defeat of all those forces that would have destroyed the purpose of God in creation, namely, to live with his people in glory and delight forever.[11]

Without a God who suffers the anguish that we have experienced and the message of the cross is lost. In this case, the world may not hold any meaning. At our present point in human history the kingdom of God has both already and not yet arrived. The payment for sin and suffering has been paid in full by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Further, this God who suffers has given us a confident hope:

Hope that, in time, we will see how God intends good to come from our suffering while Satin intends evil.
Hope that God will meet us in the depth of our pain.
Hope that God has a plan for our lives.
And, the ultimate hope that a new heaven and a new earth is coming without the need for death and suffering.

[1] Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (New York: Penguin, 2013), 114.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 116.

[4] Peter van Inwagen, The Problem of Evil: The Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of St. Andrews in 2003 (Oxford: Oxford University, 2006), 89.

[5] Alvin Plantanga, “Supralapsarianism, or ‘O Felix Culpa,’” in Christian Faith and the Problem of Evil, edited by Peter van Inwagen (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 18.

[6] Keller, Walking with God, 119.

[7] Ibid., 120.

[8] Ibid., 121.

[9] Ibid., 131.

[10] Ibid., 314.

[11] Ibid.

May 8, 2020 0

A God who Suffers: Matthew 27 in the Context of Psalm 22 — Part 1

In Matthew 27:46 the author records some of Jesus’ final words writing “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” Our last blog explored those words from Psalm 22. Now we turn to the gospel of Matthew considering Psalm 22 to better understand the passage. Jesus had the psalm in mind when using these words and we will work to discover how closely the two passages are connected.

The gospel of Matthew, in chapter 27:35-54 walks us through the crucifixion of the Christ. The crucifixion passage begins with verses 35-38:

When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews. Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. (Matthew 27: 35-38)

We know from historical and archaeological evidence that crucifixion was an agonizing, slow and humiliating means of execution. The hands were often nailed or tied to the crossbeam, which was then hoisted up and affixed to the upright stake. The feet were then nailed (or tied) to the central beam. Death was sometimes hastened by breaking the legs, but not in Jesus’ case, since he is so weakened by the earlier flogging that he is already near death (cf. John 19:33).[1]

The Romans viewed crucifixion as a horrific way to die and applied it only to the worst criminals. For the Jews it was even more appalling considering Deuteronomy 21:23 which states that “anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.”[2] For the priests, Jesus’ death on the cross was evidence that Jesus could not be the Son of God. However, Jesus was accepting the curse and humiliation that was imposed by the sin of all mankind (Gal 3:13).

Matthew takes time to highlight that the soldiers divide up Jesus’ clothing by casting lots. Though meager, Jesus’ clothing likely included an inner and outer garment, a belt, and sandals. Here, the lot is likely a form of gambling by the Roman guards as they divide the remainder of Jesus’ clothes.[3]

The dividing of Jesus’ clothes and casting of lots is clearly tied to Psalm 22:18 where David is degraded in front of the crowd. The Roman guards have now removed any remaining dignity. Jesus is suffering the humiliation meant for mankind. The gospel of John ties this humiliation back to Psalm 22 when he writes:

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. (John 19:23-24)

With Jesus humiliated and affixed to the cross, the Roman soldiers affix a sign noting the charge against Jesus and sit to ensure that Jesus’ followers do not attempt some form of rescue.[4] The sign is intended as ridicule; however, the message is ironic as Jesus is truly the King of the Jews.

The passage concludes by mentioning that Jesus is not alone at Calvary. He is joined by two political insurrectionists. Pilate apparently was rounding up, arresting, and convicting people who were stirring the crowds to insurrection. While earlier in Matthew, James and John requested the privilege of being seated at Jesus’ right and left hand side in his kingdom (Matt 20:21); with bitter irony, Matthew records that two rebel criminals form Jesus’ right-and left-hand attendants on a cross, not a throne. [5]

Matthew continues in verses 39-40:

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (vv. 39-40)

People passing by were convinced of Jesus’ guilt. Like an angry mob they shook their heads and hurled insults at him. According to Wilkins, “the expression ‘hurled insults’ is literally ‘blasphemed,’ indicating that they deride him for his blasphemous claims and for the bogus charge that he would destroy the temple and build it in three days (cf. 26:61).”[6] They doubt his divinity as the savior and mocked him that if he is truly the son of God he should come down off the cross.

The passage finds a direct correlation to Psalm 22:7 when the suffer is taunted by those who see him They shake their heads and say “’He trusts in the Lord,’ they say, ‘let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’” Jesus, as God, is mocked for his faith. He is called to save himself, if he is truly God.

There is a sense of double irony in the passage. The speakers mean the statement as haughty derision in that Jesus, as a man, is surly not able to do these things. Their comments hold another layer of irony because Jesus, as the one true God, could accomplish this task. However, he chooses to accept a place of being powerless over one’s surroundings. Sharing our grief and often powerless state to spare ourselves and our loved ones from suffering.

The mocking continues in verses 41-43:

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (vv. 41-43)

In the prior passage random passersby ridicule Jesus. Now, the crowd is growing and those in high power taunt Jesus hurling insults. To these religious leaders, a crucified Messiah is unthinkable. They hypothesize that if God reached down and saved Jesus then they would believe. However, as Jesus had already taught, the definitive sign of his identity will be his resurrection from the dead, which will also be a sign of God’s judgment on these religious leaders (Matt 12:40–42).

There is further irony in their statements as these intelligent and powerful people do not understand that Jesus IS the Son of God and he could save himself. Yet he stays true to his father’s will and suffers the insults and the mocking as an innocent man – not for his sake but for our sin. By not saving himself, Jesus saves us.

There is additional suffering in that Jesus exposes himself to continued false accusations. There is immense pain when people, in respected roles, do not understand the truth and strike out publicly with untrue statements and spread hurtful lies. This is especially painful today, in a world of social media, where we often have no ability to strike back and clear our name. Jesus was in this position and bore immense humiliation just as we do.

The taunting comes to a climax as Matthew records “In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him” (v. 44). It seems absurd that the two other criminals would insult Jesus. He has reached an extreme depth of humiliation – perhaps dehumanized to feel like a worm (Ps. 22:6). Jesus is taunted and ridiculed by the lowest of the low.[7]

In verse 45, Matthew records that “from noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.” Darkness is often found as a symbol of impending judgment (Exod 10:21-22; Amos 8:9-10). Symbolically, light often symbolizes God and darkness suggests everything that is anti-God. “The time of God’s ultimate judgment, the Day of the Lord, is a day of darkness (Amos 5:18, 20; Joel 2:2; Zeph. 1:15; Matt. 24:29; Rev. 6:12–17). Darkness here displays a limitation on the power of Satan (cf. Luke 22:53), God’s displeasure on humanity for crucifying his Son, and God’s judgment on the sins of the world.”[8]

As Jesus prepares for death, Mathew records some of Jesus’ final words in verse 46:

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

In a direct quote from Psalm 22:1, Matthew highlights Jesus’ feelings of being abandoned on the cross. For Jesus who was intimately connected to the Father to be abandoned must have been ultimate agony. Accepting the feelings of desolation and hopelessness was beyond comparison. As with Psalm 22, Jesus had the full sense of abandonment while not being truly abandoned. Despite this reality, the feeling, in that moment, was one of ultimate suffering.

The Christian reader understands that Jesus must be separated from the Father to bear the sin of his people (Matt. 1:21; 20:28; 26:28). Jesus bears the pain of divine judgment and punishment for the sins of mankind. Not only does Jesus bear the load of humanity’s sin, 2 Cor 5:21 records that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

The abandonment of Jesus by God is experienced as complete despair. However, it is not without purpose.[9] In Matthew 20:28, Jesus told his disciples that his purpose was to be a “ransom for many.” Here that fateful prediction is carried out. The pain and suffering that Jesus experiences on the cross lays the foundation for the theological doctrine of the atonement, in which Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is one of “penal substitution”—Jesus suffers our punishment for humanity’s sin. The wages for sin is death (Rom 6:23), and in Jesus’ separation from God he experiences deathly punishment for the sins of humanity.[10]

When Jesus uses the words from Psalm 22, it allows the reader to consider the entire psalm in relation to the events on Calvary. Even in the depth of Jesus’ abandonment to his atoning sacrifice, Christ still knows that this experience is not without hope.

First, Jesus does not reject God in his suffering as Jesus still refers to the father as “My” God.
Second, the separation while bearing the sins of humanity will not separate Father and Son forever. Just like in Psalm 22: 19-20 Jesus held fast in the knowledge that God had a plan to deliver Jesus from this situation.
Third, Jesus understood that as in Psalm 22:27-28 “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.”
Finally, fourth, through suffering, Jesus understood what was written in Psalm 22:30-31 “future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!”

The crowd still misunderstands Jesus’ statement and response:

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” (vv. 47-49)

The bystanders are still bloodthirsty. The person who offers a drink may be compassionate, but the crowd wants suffering and shouted for him to stop. The crowd is interested in watching, as if this some cruel entertainment. Or some sporting event, the crowd wants to see if the prophet Elijah will materialize and save Jesus from this carnage.

While the crowd is interested to watch the pain, one can ask how God could allow such suffering! Part of the answer is found in Isaiah 53 where the suffering servant takes on the judgement for our sins. The prophet writes:

Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 43)

While the crowd was unaware, God observes their cruelty and will indeed rescue his Son from death by raising him after the redemptive work of the cross is accomplished. Such profound love for those who are so cruel is unfathomable. What man intended for selfish pleasure, God understood was for the salvation and atonement of all humanity. Therefore, what we see as senseless suffering, God works for good.

Matthew records Jesus’ death with the simple verse:

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. (v. 50)

Matthew shows that to the very end Jesus maintains volitional control over his destiny. He approaches his death willingly (cf. John 10:17–18). This points to what John’s Gospel makes explicit, that Jesus comes to the recognition that he has paid in full the debt for humanity’s sin; with a shout of victory Jesus cries out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The redemption that Jesus came to achieve was accomplished once for all.[11]

The next several verses demonstrate the theological significance of Jesus’ death. Matthew records:

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (vv. 51-54)

At the death of Jesus, we find three testimonies to the identity and importance of the event. First, the curtain separating God from the people is torn testifying to a new age of access between God and His people. The second testimony is from the earth. At the new era, the earth shutters and shakes. A third testimony is from the dead. Because of Jesus’ defeat of death, some of the holy in Christ were risen and able to be seen in the city.

These events are so impactful that a Roman soldier exclaims Jesus was surely the Son of God! Wilkins says it well when he writes that the centurion’s cry is remarkably different from the religious leaders and the bystanders at the cross, who mocked Jesus for his claim to be the Son of God (vv. 40–43). It is a striking picture for Matthew’s readers. The cataclysmic events recorded here testify to Jesus’ identity, and the centurion and his men make a step of faith to acknowledge the truth of that testimony.[12]

Tomorrow, in part 2, we will build upon the analysis of this passage and ponder the importance of a God who suffers.

[1] Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 898.

[2] New Revised Standard Version.

[3] The lot was cast in the Old Testament to discover God’s will on various matters, such as the goat to be sacrificed on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16).

[4] Matthew may include this detail to refute any later claim that Jesus did not really die or was removed from the cross before dying.

[5] Ibid., 900.

[6] Ibid., 901.

[7] However, Luke adds that one of men crucified with Jesus ridicules Jesus for his ineffectual claim to be the Messiah: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39). Luke goes on to recount that the other convict defends Jesus and acknowledges his innocence. The prisoner exhibits a form of repentance that Jesus declares will cause the prisoner to be joined with Jesus in heaven that very day (23:40–43).

[8] Ibid., 902.

[9] Wilkins argues that “from later theological reflection we understand that Jesus’ forsakenness by the Father did not affect their ontological relationship; that is, Jesus was not separated in his essence or substance from the Father as the second Person of the Trinity. Rather, Jesus’ divinely sustained humanity consciously experienced the full penalty of death for the sins of humanity.” Ibid, 903.

[10] Ibid.