Eli, eli lama sabacthani........

And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which       means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Matthew 27:46

The image of Jesus hanging on the cross suffering beyond description and near death haunts me. My imagination fills my ears with a voice crying out in loudly in pain and distress. I hear the voice of a man convinced that he has been forgotten. In comparison, I think of how my children sounded when they awoke in the night beset by night terrors. Even a simple recollection of those heart rending sounds sorrows me to this day.

I have begun to consider, however, that I have gotten in wrong. I recently learned that it was expected that an observant Jew likely memorized the entire Psalter and much of the rest of sacred scripture and that when he might refer to a particular Psalm to make a point, he would not need to recite the entire Psalm but would only need to mention the first line and whoever he was talking with would instantly be able to recollect the entire Psalm and understand the meaning of what he was being told.


Psalm 22 is clearly a lament. It begins with a plaintive cry to God in sorrow for being abandoned and it continues to paint a picture of a soul under oppression for several stanzas but then focus from abandonment changes to one of hope. The desolation changes to optimism and a recognition of God’s mercy.

The last verses read:
And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you.


The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.

What was Jesus really telling us? That he had been abandoned and left to die a horrible death? In hearing the rest of the Psalm it becomes clear that he is telling us much more. We should not focus on the present moment in which he is suffering beyond belief but we should think of the future and what his death with will mean for us. The point of Psalm 22 is not that we have abandoned by God. The true meaning is that we should rejoice for the deliverance to come.

I now image that Jesus is crying loudly, not in pain, lamenting his present situation. Instead I hear a strong voice crying out in resolve reminding us that we will be delivered. He is telling us to live for the Lord and to teach our descendents to proclaim the deliverance from abandonment he has brought us. Our enemies will not prevail.