Matthew 27:46
AdvancedMatthew 27:46 · World English Bible (WEB)
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””
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Overview
The Son of God bearing the anguish of the cross and crying out in the words of Psalm 22.
Jesus does not die in quiet detachment; He enters the deepest agony of judgment, abandonment, and obedience. His cry reveals both the horror of sin’s cost and the faithfulness of the suffering Messiah who still says, “My God.”
What Makes This Verse Confusing?
Jesus is quoting Psalm 22:1. This is not a loss of faith; even in agony He addresses the Father as “My God.” Psalm 22 begins in forsakenness but moves toward vindication, praise, and the nations turning to the Lord. On the cross, Jesus truly enters the horror of being given over to judgment, yet He does so as the righteous sufferer whose trust remains fixed on God.
The verse states Jesus was “forsaken” but does not explain how this relates to the eternal unity of the Father and the Son, nor does it quote the rest of Psalm 22 where the lament moves toward deliverance and worldwide worship.
This keeps the cry from being read as despair or as a rupture in the being of God. It is the holy mystery of the incarnate Son bearing sin’s curse while still clinging to the Father in faithful lament.
Theological Insights
Jesus is the righteous sufferer and the obedient Son, fully entering human anguish without ceasing to trust the Father.
Believers may bring even the deepest lament before God without pretending pain is small; faithful suffering can still say, “My God.”
The cross reveals the dreadful weight of sin and the immeasurable love of Christ, who bore what sinners could never bear for themselves.
This verse calls for reverent gratitude, not casual familiarity with the cross; salvation was purchased through holy anguish.
Original Language
Eli — ἡλεί (Rec. ἠλί L, ἠλί; Heb. אֵל), Eli, my God : Mat.27:46 (cf. ἐλωΐ).† (AS)
“Eli” is intensely personal: “My God.” Jesus’ cry is not abstract theology; it is covenantal address from the suffering Son to God. The possessive “my” matters because the lament is still spoken in relationship.
sabachthani — σαβαχθανεί (Rec. -νί; ζαφθανεί, Mt, l.with, WH, mg.) (Aram. שְׁבַקְתַּנִי), sabachthani, i.e. thou host forsaken me: Mat.27:46 , Mrk.15:34 ( Psa.22:2 , Heb. עָזַב).† ζαφθανεί (cf. Heb. עָזַב), zaphthanei : Mat.27:46 (WH, mg., for Rec. σεβαχθανεί, which see; "probably an attempt to reproduce the Heb. as disting from Aram. forms," WE, Notes , 21; cf. also Dalman, Words , 53 f.).† (AS)
“Sabachthani” preserves the shocking verb of abandonment. Matthew’s translation makes clear that Jesus is not merely asking why He is suffering, but why He has been forsaken—language that opens the depth of the atoning mystery.
to cry out — ἀνα-βοάω , -ῶ [in LXX for צָעַק, זָעַק, קָרָא, etc. ;] to cry out : Mat.27:46 (WH, ἐβόησεν; see MM, VGT , see word).† (AS)
The verb for “cried” is strong and public. Jesus’ words are not whispered resignation; He cries out with force, fulfilling the lament of the righteous sufferer before heaven and earth.
Lexicon & word tagging: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0)
Related Passages
Psalms 22:1
fulfillmentJesus’ words directly quote the opening line of Psalm 22.
Hebrews 5:7
backgroundHebrews speaks of Christ offering up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the One able to save Him from death.
Isaiah 53:10
fulfillmentIsaiah says it pleased the LORD to crush His Servant and make His soul an offering for guilt.
Mark 15:34
parallelMark records the same cry from the cross, also preserving the original-sounding words and translating them.
Psalms 71:11
BackgroundJohn 19:28-30
BackgroundLuke 23:46
parallelLuke records Jesus’ final cry: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
Lamentations 1:12
BackgroundCross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · openbible.info (CC-BY)
Key Takeaway
Jesus’ cry of forsakenness is the voice of the sin-bearing Messiah, fulfilling Psalm 22 while still clinging to God as “My God.”
At the darkest hour of the cross, Jesus’ lament was not unbelief—it was Scripture on the lips of the suffering Son.“
Analysis generated on August 24, 2026 · version 2.0
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