Matthew 27:46

| Matt 27 |

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus j cried out with a loud voice, saying, k “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

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Matt. 26:1–27:66 The Crucified Messiah. Matthew narrates the events leading to Jesus' death: (1) the Passover and Lord's Supper and events in Gethsemane (26:1–46); (2) Jesus' arrest, trials, and conviction (26:47–27:26); and (3) Jesus' flogging, crucifixion, death, and burial (27:27–66).

Matt. 27:45–50 The Death of Jesus the Messiah. After being on the cross for about six hours (cf. v. 45 with Mark 15:25), Jesus dies.

Matt. 27:46 Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? Jesus quotes Ps. 22:1 (see note on Matt. 27:35). The last two words are Aramaic (the everyday language spoken by Jesus), and the first two could be either Aramaic or Hebrew. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Some of the most profoundly mysterious words in the entire Bible. In some sense Jesus had to be cut off from the favor of and fellowship with the Father that had been his eternally, because he was bearing the sins of his people and therefore enduring God's wrath (cf. Isa. 53:6, 10; Hab. 1:13; Rom. 3:25; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 1 John 2:2). And yet, in quoting Ps. 22:1 Jesus probably has in mind the remainder of the psalm as well, which moves on to a cry of victory (Ps. 22:21–31); and he expresses faith, calling God “my God.” Surely he knows why he is dying, for this was the purpose of his coming to earth (cf. Matt. 16:21; 20:18–19, 28). And surely his cry, uttered with a loud voice, is expressing, not bewilderment at his plight, but witness to the bystanders, and through them to the world, that he was experiencing God-forsakenness not for anything in himself but for the salvation of others. Surely Matthew, understanding this, quotes Jesus' words to challenge his readers. Jesus' torment, despite his anticipations of it in Gethsemane, was surely inconceivable in advance (cf. note on 24:36).