Statement #8: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" - Matthew 27:46
This statement may not be unfamiliar to most, but it is surprising and confusing. There are two HUGE mistakes people make when coming to terms with this statement made by Jesus when he was on the cross.
Mistake #1 (commonly made by unbelievers): It is commonly believed by a number of secular scholars that Jesus is disillusioned and confused here. They say this is the ultimate moment of tragedy in Jesus' life. Jesus, in their view, thought that God was going to give him the victory over his adversaries, but now, on the cross, Jesus's hopes are dashed and so he cries out, "Why have you forsaken me? Why have you abandoned me in this holy agenda to reform this nation?" Secular scholars are sure to "respect" Jesus by saying his attempts at religious reform were commendable, but ultimately he went too far. However, they go on to say his life wasn't a waste for he exemplified love, sacrifice, humility, and "how to be truly human" inspiring generations of people to live the same way.
The Truth: This interpretation is completely flawed, and I would even go so far as to say willfully ignorant, for this reason: All throughout Jesus' ministry he told people he was going to die. Secular scholars reply by saying, "No, Jesus never predicted his own death. His disciples made that up to make it look like Jesus knew what he was doing." If that's true, though, why did his disciples include Jesus' cry, "Why have you forsaken me?" If Jesus' disciples were trying to make it look like Jesus knew what he was doing by adding untrue statements of him predicting his own death, then why include the statement, "Why have you forsaken me?" Makes no sense. The truth is, Jesus knew exactly what he was doing.
So why did Jesus question God in this way? We'll get to that in just a second, but first I want to address the other common interpretive mistake people make concerning this statement:
Mistake #2 (commonly made by believers): It is often believed by many Christians that because Jesus is not only fully divine, but fully human, he is struggling with doubt here. This is basically a softened version of mistake #1. They wouldn't agree with the secular view of this incident that says Jesus is a victim of the powers of his day, a man whose plan had gone awry. They would say that the plan (to be a substitute sacrifice for sin) was still in place, but Jesus, in his humanity, was doubting that plan. In his heart he knew it had to be, but in his humanity he was struggling.
As a result of holding this view, it is unfortunately preached that it is o.k. for Christians to doubt, (since Jesus did too). This is a common belief taught by many Christian counselors and psychologists as well as those in the emergent movement. They say, "It's ok to doubt. It's ok to even be angry with God. He can handle it." This is foolishness though. Never is it acceptable to doubt God, and never is it acceptable to be angry with God. You will not find one verse in all of Scripture that commends or allows for doubt and anger towards God. Those who would disagree with me on this point would point to a number of prophets, psalmists, etc. that express doubt and anger toward God and his ways. But just because something is described in Scripture doesn't mean it's prescribed; just because it's portrayed doesn't mean it's permitted. The whole reason Jesus suffered for our sins was to remove the hostility between us and God. Why would he then approve of being angry at God? And concerning doubt, Scripture is explicit: "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not supposed that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1:6-7).
So, why did Jesus make that statement, then? Two reasons (with the most important reason given first):
1.) Jesus was making sure everyone around him knew that he was fulfilling Scripture. The cry that Jesus made was a verse from Psalm 22, a messianic Psalm that predicted the Messiah's death. In fact, in v.16 of that Psalm, David makes this very odd statement: "They have pierced my hands and feet." All throughout the Psalms, David often times spoke of himself as a blameless man who deserved to be blessed of God for keeping God's law perfectly, as well as a king of divine appointment who suffers unjustly at the hands of his enemies. But was David blameless? Did David keep God's laws perfectly? Obviously not. He was a great sinner. Did David deserve God's blessing? Of course not. None of us do. The truth is, as Jesus taught, most of the Psalms were in reference to him (Luke 24:44). They pointed God's people to the the anointed Son-King who would suffer unjustly at the hands of his enemies, but ultimately triumph over them, dashing them to pieces like a clay pot (Psalm 2). When Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" every Jew within earshot would have known he was quoting Psalm 22:1. None of them made the connection of him being the Messiah because of it, but later his disciples would understand. Jesus wasn't expressing doubt or confusion. Just the opposite: He was expressing certainty about who He was and what he was doing.
2.) Lest we deny the humanity of Jesus, we need to realize he was also expressing genuine agony and pain. I'm sure tears were in his eyes. Obviously he was exhausted and filled with extreme pain. Not primarily physical pain, but emotional, psychological, and spiritual pain over being forsaken by the Father. And as Isaiah 53 says, everyone thought his death was proof that God wasn't on Jesus' side; that God was punishing him for being blasphemous and wrong: "We esteemed his stricken." But, Isaiah goes on to say, "BUT, he was pierced for OUR transgressions." In other words, he wasn't being punished for HIS sins. He was being punished for OUR sins. This punishment, this rejection, this abandonment Jesus received was more horrendous than you or I will ever be able to imagine, and even throughout all of eternity "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross." Jesus was experiencing the horror of all horrors: God's full wrath for every sin that had ever been committed by those he was dying for.
It's helpful to keep in mind that just because people cry, "Why?" doesn't mean they're confused. I cry "why?" very often when I go through painful times, but even in the midst of my heartache, I know exactly why: because God is testing and strengthening my faith, causing me to depend on Him for my good and His glory. Jesus' statement was a cry of agony, not confusion.
The Lord Jesus was not a misguided, confused, self-appointed prophet with a mistaken messianic complex. He was the Son of God, the King, the Messiah, the anointed one, the promised one of the Old Testament, and he was dying at the hands of wicked men out of his great love for you and me.