Matthew 27:46 "And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani...

"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?'" (Matthew 27:46).
 

Question:

Did he say this or not? In a previous response, it appears that you want to delete what you can't explain or Dr. Fillmore wanted to remove any scripture that he cannot explain.
 

Comment:

Nothing in my previous comments on this passage suggests that either I or Mr. Fillmore (for whom I do not presume to speak, by the way) wanted to delete this verse. Did Jesus actually say it? The Gospel of Matthew reports that he did. The Gospels of Mark, Luke and John do not. All the Gospels were written at least a generation after the events they describe, by people who, with the possible exception of John, were not present at the cross. And John does not report Jesus as saying anything.   Whether or not it is historically accurate, it is spiritually valid. 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 the Jewish Scriptures well; this psalm expressing a sense of abandonment 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" (Psalm 22:24). 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