The Cry of Desolation– Simply Put

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46)

How should we think of these excruciating and shocking words, which sound so different from anything Jesus said throughout his ministry?¹ Some have argued that Jesus is merely quoting Ps 22. Yes, but why is he quoting it? I would like to suggest two ways to read this verse.

1. It is now 3pm, and He’s been on the cross for hours. He’s doubtlessly in a lot of pain–every kind of pain imaginable. So, these words must be read from this point of view, and we shouldn’t be quick to dismiss this as an ordinary recitation of a Psalm (Psalm 22).
2. The passion narrative began with Jesus’ passionate prayer from deep grief in Gethsemane (Matt 26:38-39). Now, He is in that dreadful hour, experiencing the drinking of the cup He had earlier prayed would pass.² Any suggestion that this is just a recitation misses at least these two important contexts.

The words are indeed from Psalm 22, but is this a mere quotation, without the experience of the abandonment that the Psalm talks about? I think not!

I believe this cry of abandonment was about the cup He was praying would pass over Him in the garden. Remember that Luke goes as far as to record for us that the thought of the cup (the feeling of this exact moment) caused Him to sweat blood! What do you think would happen when he finally drinks it? A cry of desolation, of course! I believe Jesus clearly feels abandoned and, as a righteous man, uses the words of scripture to express His feelings (which is not a bad thing). Furthermore, this is not a cry of pain alone, but an anguished prayer to God which reveals for a moment something of the mental and spiritual torment of the “cup” He had accepted in Gethsemane. He was expressing a very human emotion, an emotion that He experienced by virtue of His human nature and living as a man.

But it wasn’t just a “feeling” of being abandoned; Jesus was indeed abandoned. Please allow me to clarify what I mean. Now, in His eternal state as God, that relationship cannot be broken. But in His post-incarnate state as man, in terms of this human condition, it is possible for Him to be abandoned by His Father. If He is indeed (and not metaphorically) undoing the estrangement our sin has brought upon us, then He must Himself take (not merely recite) on that estrangement, that abandonment. For us to be restored into fellowship with God, Jesus had to be abandoned.

This does not mean He is alienated from His Father as God, but here lies the mystery– that the Son is abandoned as man, in His humanity, that He took upon Himself to accomplish our salvation (Matt. 1:21; 20:28; 26:28). That in His Humanity, He bears the divine retribution and punishment for our sin, as the Father’s cup of wrath is poured out on him in divine judgment. Not only does Jesus bear the load of humanity’s sin, but He becomes sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). He became cursed by God for us, “for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Gal. 3:13). Hendriksen says this beautifully well: “as our Substitute, [Jesus] suffered most intense agony, indescribable woe, terrible isolation or forsakenness. Hell came to Calvary that day, and the Savior descended into it and bore its horrors in our stead.”³

Jesus indeed felt and was forsaken by His Father.⁴

I do not doubt that His heart took courage from the words of scripture. Psalm 22 is not only a psalm of lament but also a Psalm of trust. We must note that, though abandoned, Jesus still cries, “My God, My God.” He still addresses and trusts God. Jesus’ trust in the Father does not lessen the reality of present abandonment. Trusting God and being abandoned are not mutually exclusive– not in David’s experience (Ps 22) and not in Jesus’ experience.⁵ He had become the sin offering, and at that dark moment, God must turn away from (abandon) sin.⁶ In this cry of desolation, we should see the horror of our sin and the cost of our salvation revealed!⁷

Friends, we are the reason for the cry of desolation. But the cry, after all theological arguments have been said and done, points to something more profound– the supreme sacrifice for our sin has been offered, though at the cost of His pain to the point of abandonment. And now the way to the presence of God is free and ready.⁸ Have you entered through Jesus Christ?

His robes for mine, God's justice is appeased
Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father's pleased
Christ drank God's wrath on sin, then cried, "'Tis done!"
Sin's wage is paid, propitiation won

Chorus: I cling to Christ and marvel at the cost
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God
Bought by such love, my life is not my own
My praise, my all, shall be for Christ alone

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1. Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. ↩︎
2. Donald A. Hagner et al., Matthew 14-28, Volume 33B (Zondervan Academic, 2018), https://www.perlego.com/book/727794/matthew-1428-volume-33b-pdf. ↩︎
3. Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew (Zondervan Academic, 2009), https://www.perlego.com/book/558137/matthew-pdf. ↩︎
4. Grant R. Osborne and Clinton E. Arnold, Matthew. ↩︎
5. D. A. Carson, Tremper Longman III, and David E. Garland, Matthew. ↩︎
6. Grant R. Osborne and Clinton E. Arnold, Matthew. ↩︎
7. D. A. Carson, Tremper Longman III, and David E. Garland, Matthew. ↩︎
8. Donald A. Hagner et al., Matthew 14-28, Volume 33B. ↩︎