As He hung on the cross, Jesus cried out the first words of a psalm:
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Psalm 22:1; see also Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34
Some people who heard Him didn’t recognize the allusion. They said, “Behold, he calleth Elias,” misunderstanding the Hebrew word “Eli” (“my God”) to be a shortened form of Elijah’s name (Matthew 27:47, Mark 15:35). But for those who did recognize it, this heartfelt cry may have had layers of meaning.
First, Jesus found a scripture to give voice to His agony. He had quoted the scriptures throughout His ministry. Now, in His loneliest hour, He expressed His sorrow with a scriptural passage.
Second, those who were with Him may have noticed details from this psalm playing out before their very eyes:
| Psalm 22 | Matthew 27 |
|---|---|
| 16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet…. 18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. | 35 And they crucified him and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. |
| 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. | 39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads…. 41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said…. 43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. |
Third, if they knew the rest of the psalm, they would recognize that the Savior’s loneliness and suffering was temporary, that His Father had not permanently abandoned Him, and that He would soon no longer feel forsaken:
For [the Lord] hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
Psalm 22:24
A short time later, Jesus would quote the following words from Isaiah to a group of people on the American continent who had experienced terrible natural disasters on the day He died:
For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.
In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
3 Nephi 22:7-8
Today, I will remember the message of Psalm 22 and its fulfillment in the death of Jesus Christ. I will remember that, even when we feel alone, God has not forgotten us. Even when our prayers seem to go unanswered, He is listening.
Leave a Reply