“My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
He leads me …
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?”) (Matthew 27:46 NIV)
These words that Jesus cried out as He was hanging on the Cross have caused confusion and discussion among many Christians who have tried to make sense of this verse. Some teach that Jesus became sin, and because God cannot look on sin, God temporarily abandoned His Son. Others, quoting the following verses, say that God did not forsake His Son when He needed Him the most -
‘My Father and I are one!’ (John 10:30 NLV)
‘[You] will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.’ (John 16:32 NKJV)
‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,’ (2 Corinthians 5:19 NASB)
These verses tell us that our heavenly Father could not turn away from His only Son, Jesus. Surely this would be even more important when Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. The crucifixion was the climax of Jesus’ ministry, and both Jesus and His Father had to get it right. The previous verses from the New Testament agree that they would have gone through the crucifixion together.
In Job 1:6-12, we read that satan, the perfect example of evil, joins the angels in the throne room of God. The Lord is not concerned in any way by this. The scene is amazingly casual. We are told that God does not look away from satan. His holiness and purity do not appear to be affected by the great deceiver. From this we can see the Father would not be troubled by the sin that Jesus was bearing for our sake either.
What makes more sense is that Jesus was quoting from Psalm 22:1, not as a cry of despair at being forsaken by God, but rather a prophetic cry to the Jews gathered nearby that what His sacrifice on the cross was the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy covered in David’s Psalm 22, proving that Jesus really was the Jews Messiah. It was like when someone mentions the first line of a song, and those that know it sing it in their heads.
We should also note that Jesus was not forsaken by His Father according to Psalm 22: 24 which reads –
For He has not turned away from the suffering of the one in pain or trouble. He has not hidden His face from him. But He has heard his cry for help. (NLV)
The NKJV is the only version of the Bible where this verse has a capital ‘H’ where it reads, ‘He has not hidden His face from him.’ Which would indicate that the second person in the sentence is Jesus. However, it makes sense that if God is there for anyone in pain or trouble (as indicated by the small him), then how much more would it apply to Jesus? Therefore, God would not forsake the suffering Messiah – His Son.
This reference to Psalm 22 was a final appeal from Jesus to make it clear who He was. In the lead up to this event Jesus had been beaten and tortured for about 40 hours. His skin was torn by the cat of nine tails whip, His beard ripped from His face, He had a crown of thorns, and He was covered with blood. He certainly did not look as though He was on the winning side. The direct quote from Psalm 22 would make the Jews immediately think of what the whole Psalm said. Jesus was asking them not to make up their mind based on what they saw, but on what the Word of God said prophetically.
Jesus spoke to comfort those who believed in Him, and at the same time give those who did not believe, including those who were crucifying Him, one more opportunity to believe that He was who He said He was—the Son of God, the Messiah.
Finally, as we consider Jesus’ words, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ we see at the very end the final verse (31) of Psalm 22 that in the Amplified version, are the words ‘… it is finished.’ These are the exact words that Jesus said in John 19:30 immediately before He died. He was effectively saying that although He could not breathe properly on the cross and quote the complete psalm, the whole of Psalm 22 spoke prophetically of His death.[1]
There are several descriptions in Psalm 22 which do not appear to have anything to do with Jesus’ death. Let us look at the list –
· Psalm 22:6 - But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people (NIV).
The word ‘worm’ is the Hebrew word tola, which is not the normal word for worm. Rather, this was a worm from which crimson or scarlet dye was obtained. The reference to the worm was because Jesus was covered with blood which was the color of scarlet dye.
· Psalm 22:12 - Many bulls surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me (NIV).
Bashan was the chief cattle-raising area of Israel where the biggest, best, strongest bulls came from. Figuratively, Jesus is referring to the top ranked religious and political leaders Israel especially the Pharisees. It was the Pharisees who had inspired, flattered, and manipulated the Romans to carry out the crucifixion. As such, both groups were responsible for Jesus’ death.
· Psalm 22:14 - I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me (NIV)
The awful sufferings of crucifixion involved the gravitational dismantling of the bone joints, the collapse of the heart cavity, and finally a gushing of both blood and water (John 19:34) when the soldier’s spear pierced His side.
· Psalm 22:16 - Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet (NIV)
The Jews called the Gentiles ‘dogs.’ So, a thousand years prior to the crucifixion, David’s psalm clearly describes the Roman Gentiles nailing Christ's hands and feet to the cross.
· Psalm 22:26,29 - Those who seek the Lord will praise him – may your hearts live forever!
All who go down to the dust will kneel before him - those who cannot keep themselves alive. (NIV)
Verse 26 speaks of eternal salvation. It is only natural that those who seek after God should praise Him, because they are likely to experience the satisfaction that only God can offer. And in verse 29, they may not be able to keep themselves alive, but Jesus can. And He can give them eternal life. Jesus is about to change the course of history and David saw it 1,000 years earlier.[2]
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Did God Really Forsake Jesus Christ on The Cross? Spirit & Truth Online:
https://spiritandtruthonline.org/did-god-really-forsake-jesus-christ-on-the-cross/
[2] Did God Really Forsake Jesus Christ on The Cross? Spirit & Truth Online:
https://spiritandtruthonline.org/did-god-really-forsake-jesus-christ-on-the-cross/
Did God Really Turn His Face Away While Jesus Was on the Cross? Rich Schmidt, richschmidt.org
https://richschmidt.org/blog/did-god-turn-his-face-away
Psalm 22: An Amazingly Accurate, Faith-Building Prophecy of Christ's Death on the Cross, Paul Strand, The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc;
The Suffering and the Glory of Psalm 22, W. Robert Godfrey, Ligonier Ministries;
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/suffering-and-glory-psalm-22
