Meaning of Matthew 27:46

This cry from the cross, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"), is the profound expression of Jesus' suffering and alienation at the apex of his crucifixion. It is not a lament of doubt in God's love or power, but rather a piercing articulation of the immense spiritual and emotional burden he bore as he became sin for humanity and experienced the separation from the Father that sin incurs. This cry underscores the reality of his human suffering, the weight of the world's sin he was atoning for, and the profound intimacy of his relationship with God, even in this moment of apparent abandonment.

Context and Background

Jesus is in the midst of his crucifixion, a brutal and agonizing death designed to be both physically tormenting and publicly shaming. The Gospel of Matthew places this utterance around the ninth hour (3 PM), a time of day often associated with the daily evening sacrifice in the Temple, thus symbolically linking Jesus' sacrifice to the ongoing sacrificial system. The onlookers, some mocking, misunderstand his cry, mistaking "Eli" for Elijah, a prophet known for his fervent pleas to God, and offering him sour wine in a gesture that may have been intended to prolong his suffering or to mock his pleas.

Key Themes and Messages

• Vicarious Suffering: Jesus' cry highlights that his suffering was not merely physical but profoundly spiritual. He experienced the deepest form of abandonment, a separation from the Father, to bear the consequences of human sin.
• Theological Depth: This utterance is a direct quotation of Psalm 22:1, a psalm that poignantly describes the suffering of a righteous individual facing intense persecution and affliction, and which prophetically speaks of the Messiah's suffering and ultimate vindication.
• Humanity and Divinity: The cry demonstrates Jesus' full humanity, experiencing the agony and desolation of death. Simultaneously, his continued address to "My God" reveals his unwavering faith and his unique divine relationship, even in this dire moment.
• Atonement: This moment is central to the doctrine of atonement, where Jesus, as the sinless Son of God, voluntarily took upon himself the full weight of sin and its resultant separation from God, thus making reconciliation between God and humanity possible.

Spiritual Significance and Application

This verse speaks to the depth of God's love and the immensity of Christ's sacrifice. It reveals that God understands the pain of abandonment and suffering. For believers, it offers assurance that even in our darkest moments of feeling forsaken, Christ has experienced that very desolation and can empathize with our pain. It also calls us to reflect on the cost of our salvation and to approach God with humility and gratitude for the lengths to which He went to redeem us.

Relation to the Broader Biblical Narrative

The cry echoes the lamentations of Old Testament prophets and psalmists who cried out to God in times of distress. Crucially, it directly fulfills Psalm 22, a Messianic psalm that details the suffering of the Messiah, including being forsaken by God, the piercing of hands and feet, and the division of garments, all of which are depicted in the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion. This fulfillment demonstrates Jesus' identity as the promised Messiah.

Analogies

Imagine a physician willingly immersing themselves in a highly contagious and deadly disease to find a cure, experiencing the full symptoms of the illness themselves so that others might be healed. Similarly, Jesus, the divine physician, willingly entered the realm of sin and its ultimate consequence – separation from God – to secure our spiritual healing and reconciliation. Another analogy is a father willingly taking the punishment for his children's crime, enduring their sentence so they might go free, demonstrating profound love and self-sacrifice.

Relation to Other Verses

• Psalm 22:1: As mentioned, this is the direct source of Jesus' cry, highlighting the prophetic nature of the Old Testament and Jesus' fulfillment of it.
• Isaiah 53:4-6: This passage from Isaiah speaks of the Suffering Servant who "has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows" and that "the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all," directly correlating with Jesus' vicarious suffering on the cross.
• 2 Corinthians 5:21: This verse states, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God," which encapsulates the theological implication of Jesus bearing sin and experiencing its consequences, including abandonment.
• Hebrews 4:15: This verse assures believers that they have a High Priest who "can sympathize with our weaknesses, for he has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." This highlights Jesus' ability to understand human suffering from personal experience.