Jesus’ Cry To His Father

At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Matthew 27:46

From the earliest centuries of the church, Christians have pondered the significance of Jesus’ cry from the cross. Was Jesus really abandoned by God the Father to bear in isolated torment the sin of all people for all time? Perhaps the best way to approach this unusual prayer is to place it in its biblical context. In Jesus’ day, teachers would identify a Scripture passage by quoting its opening words. Jesus’ prayer is a quote from the first verse of Psalm 22—a psalm which ends not in abandonment by God but in God’s deliverance. Perhaps, Jesus was thinking of the entire psalm, including its concluding thoughts: “For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help” (Psalm 22:24). Certainly, Jesus knew that his suffering on the cross wasn’t God’s ultimate abandonment of him. As the writer of Hebrews says, “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame” (Hebrews 12:2).

Although we will never suffer as much as our remarkable Savior, we will encounter trials. When we do, we must look beyond our trials to our triumph with God.

• My God, when I feel abandoned, help me to know that you are listening . . .