Mark 15:34 and Matthew 27:46

MARK 15:34 - At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
MATTHEW 27:46 - And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Question:

It is the one line in all of the Gospels that I question; it leaves me feeling dark and fearful. His anguish leaves me angry with God.

Comment:

Jesus is quoting the first line of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?” Jesus knew Hebrew Scripture well. This psalm expresses a sense of abandonment that may well have occurred to him in the course of his painful crucifixion. We all tend to feel abandoned when our spiritual commitment seems to be producing nothing but pain and suffering. But it’s one thing to recognize those fears; it’s quite another to surrender to the fear. The psalm goes on to affirm God’s constant Presence: “he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him” (24). And Jesus, too, acknowledges the fear but moves through it, surrendering to the certainty that he is (as we are) always One with the Presence and Power of God.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed