Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
What Christian has never read or heard a teaching on this bit of scripture? Of all the Books, Chapters, and Verses in the bible, the story of Jesus’ death on the cross is foundational. I’ve been taught a concept my entire life about this scripture, but I’ve recently learned more about it.
God has called me to study Torah, and doing so is making puzzle pieces of understanding fall into place. James 1:5-8 tells us to pray for God’s wisdom and understanding, and He will give it to you, and I have been doing exactly that.
I’ve been taught many times that in Matthew 27:46 Yeshua (Jesus) is crying out in desperation, being near His death. As He is about to take on the sin of the world, YHVH (God) cannot be in the presence of sin, and turns away from or forsakes Him.
That is what I’ve been taught, and you probably have been taught the same…
But does this teaching make sense? Let’s think about it, and more importantly, let’s see what we find in scripture.
Tell me, how many times in scripture do we see a desperate Messiah? We can read numerous accounts of prophecy regarding Jesus in the Old Testament, as well as recorded events from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Other New Testament writings also quote the words of Jesus, and tell of additional experiences He had. Not once do we ever see Jesus desperate or without hope.
Satan tempts him with various offers during his trials, but Jesus does not waver. He does not respond with emotion, but with “It is written…” and He relies on the Word of God to dispel Satan, specifically quoting Torah instruction iin all three cases.
There are numerous stories recorded of the Pharisees and scribes trying to trap him in sin, so that they could arrest Him and put Him to death. Not once did He falter, or have difficulty with these scenarios.
We see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane in great stress, to the point that His capillaries rupture and drops of blood and sweat fall from his skin. Yes, that is incredibly stressed, but is He desperate? No, He prays to the Father and says “Your will be done”. In the midst of great stress, He knows His purpose and remains committed to it, despite His stress.
Desperation is not how Jesus approached anything during His life on earth. This idea is unprecedented.
However, when we read the story of Jesus’ crucifixion in Matthew 27, we can clearly see that this idea of Him being desperate makes sense. But, Peter warned us about ‘making sense’ of New Testament writings (especially the writings of Paul):
2 Peter 3:14-18
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
What does Peter mean when he says “untaught and unstable” people? At that time, the entirety of scripture consisted of the Torah and Tanakh (Old Testament). People who were not knowledgeable of such scriptures were considered to be untaught and unstable, and ran the risk of twisting New Testament writings (and the rest of the Scriptures) to their own destruction (this is a serious warning, not insignificant).
Peter gave warning that not knowing the basis for God’s Word will render us destroyed in our errors. So, what does this have to do with Matthew 27 verse 46?
With knowledge of the Old Testament writings, we can answer this question.
Jesus was not crying out in desperation, as is commonly taught, but he was pointing us to prophecy. Psalm 22 begins with the exact same exhortation, word for word, and letter for letter. Psalm 22:14-18 goes on to describe in prophecy this very event.
Psalm 22:1 (Words of David) My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Psalm 22:14-18
14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced[c] My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
While on the cross, the amassed crowd was mocking Jesus. In His moment of greatest need, He did not cry out in desperation, accusing God of forsaking Him (as is taught). No, he pointed those watching and mocking (and the millions to come afterward by reading scripture) to Psalm 22, to remind them of who He was. In His moment of greatest need, He thought of others. He guided us to prophecy to confirm His identity, to remind us of His purpose, that it was foretold, and to show His detractors that He was fulfilling it.
No, Matthew 27:46 does not portray a desperate Messiah, as is frequently taught. Sound knowledge of Old Testament scripture makes sense of this passage, and gives us further insight into the way Jesus pointed His mockers to the truth. At His very worst, He was in control and full of purpose.
Do not allow yourself to misunderstand scripture by not having a solid understanding of the Torah and Tanakh (Old Testament).
