Don’t Overlook Lamentations at the Cross

The book of Lamentations isn’t at the top of most people’s favorite books of the Bible. It’s not often taught or preached, and we typically only encounter it in our Bible reading plans. The apostles rarely refer to Lamentations, too, at least at a textual level. That is, they don’t often explicitly invoke the book. Compare, for example, the apostles’ use of Isaiah: they quote and allude to it more than 800 times. Eight hundred! How many times do the apostles refer to Lamentations? Three times: Matthew 27:39 and Mark 15:29 allude to Lamentations 2:15, while Matthew 23:35 alludes to Lamentations 4:13. The use of Lamentations 2:15 in Matthew 27:39 is significant to Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus’s death. Let’s consider the First Gospel’s use of the verse and draw out a few important reflections for our faith. As we do, we’ll discover that Jesus undergoes his own exile on the cross, just as the Israelites endured their exile in Babylon. Lamentations 2:15 in Matthew 27:39 Matthew 27:32–44 narrates the details of Jesus’s horrific death on the cross. He is crucified at Golgotha between “two robbers” (v. 38). As Jesus hangs on the cross, Matthew informs us that “those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads” (v. 39). Verse 40 is the content of their derision: “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The wording of verse 39 is clearly dependent on the Greek translation of Lamentations 2:15: Those who passed by [Hoi . . . paraporeuomenoi] derided him, wagging their heads [kinountes tas kephalas autōn]. (Matt. 27:39) All those passed by [hoi paraporeuomenoi] the road clapped their hands at you. They hiss and wag their heads [ekinēsan tēn kephalēn autōn] at the daughter of Jerusalem. (Lam. 2:15, author’s translation) Though the wording “wagging their heads” (kinountes tas kephalas autōn) in Matthew 27:39 alludes to two passages (Ps. 22:7 and Lam. 2:15), our focus here is on Lamentations 2. Lamentations 2:15 in Context The book of Lamentations doesn’t specify its author, though a good case can be made for the prophet Jeremiah. It’s only five chapters long and consists of a series of laments about Jerusalem’s destruction at the hands of the Babylonians in 586 BC, because of Israel’s heinous idolatry (2 Kings 22:16–17; 25:1–26). It’s a book that connects God’s unrivaled sovereignty, perfect justice, and tender mercy to Jerusalem’s downfall. The first half of chapter 2 is exceedingly difficult to digest, as the book recounts God’s wrath toward Jerusalem (2:1–10). Verses 11–12 capture the people’s response to Israel’s destruction, and verse 14 lays blame at the feet of her false prophets. Verses 15–16 describe Israel’s enemies gloating over such destruction. The graphic imagery of “wagging” or “shaking” one’s head is a sign of ridicule (see 2 Kings 19:21; Job 16:4; Ps. 22:7). The point is that Israel’s enemies are rejoicing over Israel’s fall. They exclaim, “This is the day we have waited for! We have lived to see it” (Lam. 2:16; CSB). Jesus as True Israel in Matthew After examining Matthew 27:39 through the lens of Lamentations 2:15, some may conclude that Matthew is merely using Lamentations’ words for rhetorical effect—he doesn’t intend his readers to contemplate the original context and apply those insights at the crucifixion. The graphic imagery of ‘wagging’ or ‘shaking’ one’s head is a sign of ridicule. While this interpretation is possible, it appears that Matthew indeed latches onto the context as he portrays Jesus’s death. Matthew wants his readers to view 27:39 through the lens of Lamentations 2:15. To grasp the significance of this allusion, we must take a step back and consider how Matthew has been at pains to demonstrate that Jesus is the true Israel of God from the beginning of his narrative. At Jesus’s birth, Matthew relates that when Joseph and Mary journeyed to Egypt, they fulfilled the expectation of Hosea 11:1: “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’” (Matt. 2:15). The “son” of Hosea 11:1 is none other than the nation of Israel. Later in the narrative, at Jesus’s baptism, the Father announces, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). The phrase “with whom I am well pleased” evokes Isaiah 42:1, a passage that refers to the long-awaited servant figure. This figure is later described as God’s “servant . . . Israel” (49:3, 6). Following the baptism, Jesus recapitulates the nation’s 40-year wilderness wanderings by undergoing a satanic assault at the end of a 40-day wilderness wandering (Matt. 4:1–11). Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeds. The point is that Matthew clearly identifies Jesus as the true Israel of God from the beginning of his narrative. If Jesus is aligned with Israel in his life, it makes sense that he would be aligned with Israel in his death. Jesus in Exile on the Cross If we take Matthew’s allusion to Lamentations 2:15 at face value, the meaning is clear: As Jesus hangs on the cross, he embodies Israel in exile. G. K. Beale remarks that Jesus “suffers during his ministry and undergoes the epitome of exile on the cross. . . . At the cross Jesus suffered as true Israel on behalf of the Israel he represented.” Those at the cross are wagging their heads in mockery at Jesus, just as Israel’s enemies wagged their heads in mockery at Jerusalem’s destruction. They mock Jesus for his seeming inability to save himself and come down from the cross (Matt. 27:40). But that’s just it—Jesus does possess the power to come down from the cross. He, in his humanity, chooses to separate himself from God’s presence by enduring the curse of the covenant. As Jesus hangs on the cross, he embodies Israel in exile. We must view the cross as a diamond that contains rich, multifaceted significance: Jesus is the ultimate Passover Lamb (John 1:29, 36), the descendant of King David who suffers like him (Matt. 27:46), the suffering servant of Isaiah (Mark 10:45), the Lion of Judah who conquers his enemies amid defeat (Rev. 5:5), the atoning sacrifice who dies in place of his people (Heb. 9:14), and the second Adam who pays the penalty of the first Adam’s transgression (Rom. 5:12–21; 1 Cor. 15:45). By exploring this facet of Jesus’s undergoing Israel’s ultimate exile, we can more easily perceive a deep and often unexplored connection between Jesus and Israel. God exiled his people because of of their idolatry and breach of the covenant (e.g., Deut. 28:36–37; 2 Kings 17:7–23; 25:1–26). Though God sent Israel into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity, his wrath was still left unsatisfied. At the cross, God’s wrath is definitively poured out and satisfied at the death of his Son, who goes into ultimate exile as he bears his people’s sins. As we contemplate Jesus’s death during Holy Week, let’s hold fast to Christ’s work on our behalf and spend a few minutes meditating on Paul’s message to the Corinthians: “For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus died our death, a death he didn’t deserve, so we might share in his life and resurrection. 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