“My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?”

When Jesus was on the cross, He uttered this famous line…

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

(Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)

Songs have been written and sung about that line.
Many sermons delivered about that one line.

What did Jesus mean? Why did He say that?  Was He truly forsaken by the Father?

I’ve always heard that Jesus spoke this famous line because the Father had turned His back on Him.  I was taught that Jesus cried out in despair because God had abandoned Him to the cross of Calvary.  The narrative went something like “God could not look upon sin and therefore He hid His face from Jesus temporarily to accomplish the plan of salvation.”  I still have an automatic, unavoidable, emotional response upon hearing the line, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”.  I get sad.  My heart hurts.  I think to myself, “Poor Jesus!  There He is bearing the weight of the sin of the world and His father forsook Him.  And He’s crying out for the Father to come back to Him.” …or some such. Do you do that?

I’ve heard many tear-jerking sermons when the preacher expounds upon this sad moment in history.  It is often pulled out to tug at our hearts, bring us to shame, and call us to repentance and guilt at what we have done to Jesus.  His Father could not even bear to look at Him.

Now hear me out.  I am not lessening the amazing sacrifice that took place on that great day.  I am not being ungrateful to the amazing obedience of our Saviour.  I am not making light of His suffering on the cross. But. But. I was recently shocked to learn that I have completely misunderstood this famous phrase from the crucifixion.

This famous line was not necessrily an outburst of despair.  It wasn’t even Jesus begging His Father for help.  It was actually a messianic quote from the book of Psalms.

That famous line is a direct quote from one of the messianic Psalms of the Old Testament that prophesied the coming Christ.

Psalm Chapter 22 is labeled in some versions as “The Psalm of the Cross”. Let’s look at some of the messianic verses:

22 :1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
⁶ But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
⁷ All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
⁸ He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
¹⁶ For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
¹⁸ They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

Do you see? We have created an entire, sad scenario around this one famous line that was not really sad at all. Whole doctrines have been hung on this mental picture of the forsaken Savior. When in all reality, these last words from the cross were actually a triumphant declaration pointing backward to the prophetic Psalm. His own had rejected Him and betrayed Him repeatedly. Perhaps this quote was one last attempt at revealing to them that He was their prophesied Messiah.

Don’t think for one second that this quote was lost on the Jews that gathered around His cross. Jews are dedicated to memorizing scripture and hiding it in their heart. As little children, they begin memorizing the Word. They have memory gems and tunes that tie the words together and enable them to memorize large amounts of scripture. Consequently, as soon as the first line of Psalm 22, “My God, my God…” left the Saviour’s lips, they would have immediately recognized it. They would have most likely continued quoting the remainder of the verses in their minds. Imagine the realization dawning as they stumbled over the words “they pierced my hands and feet”. No doubt they were stricken with shocking confirmation when the soldiers began to part His garments and cast lots for his vesture. The horrible, sickening, sinking reality that they had just fulfilled the Psalm of the Cross and crucified the promised Messiah.

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me…”

Check out our YouTube Channel for Bible study and insight into the Word. https://www.youtube.com/c/BereanBibleJourneys

Please like/follow:

About Post Author

Kimberly Eady

See author's posts