The Seven Sayings from the Cross: #1 — “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?”
Welcome to our new series, “The Seven Sayings from the Cross.” Across the four Gospels, Jesus spoke seven final statements while hanging upon the cross. Each one is a window into His heart. We see His divine mercy, His human agony, and His completed work. We begin our study with one of the most haunting and profound cries ever spoken:
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
— Matthew 27:46
At that moment, the sky had darkened, the earth trembled, and the Son of God hung suspended between Heaven and earth. He was rejected by men, and seemingly abandoned by God.
This cry came “about the ninth hour,” after three hours of unnatural darkness covered the land. Matthew 27:45 records:
“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.”
That darkness was not merely the absence of light, it was the outward sign of divine judgment. It symbolized what was taking place in the unseen realm: the wrath of God being poured out upon sin, and the Sin-bearer standing in our place.
Jesus was not merely suffering the cruelty of crucifixion but He was also enduring the spiritual torment of separation. He who knew no sin was being made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). The spotless Lamb was bearing the accumulated guilt of the world. For the first and only time in eternity, the perfect fellowship between Father and Son was eclipsed. The Son experienced the forsakenness that sinners deserve.
The agony of the cross was not only physical but profoundly spiritual. Every vile act, every secret sin, every curse, every cruelty was all laid upon Him. Isaiah 53:6 declares:
“The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
He bore not only sin’s penalty but its alienation. The holy Son of God became the object of divine wrath so that sinners might become the objects of divine mercy.
This was not a cry of despair but of revelation. It was the holy expression of what it meant for Christ to stand in our place. Sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:2), and at that moment, Jesus felt that separation in full.
The Father did not cease to love the Son, but He withdrew the light of His countenance while sin was being judged. In that moment, the Son of God felt what the sinner deserves: abandonment.
Even in agony, Christ was fulfilling Scripture. His words echo Psalm 22:1:
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”
Psalm 22, written centuries earlier by David, describes the crucifixion in detail, all of which was fulfilled in Christ. When Jesus cried out, He was not quoting Scripture by coincidence; He was declaring that prophecy was unfolding word for word.
Even in suffering, the Word of God was being honored. In this cry, we see both the full humanity and divinity of Jesus. As man, He felt the weight of pain, grief, and abandonment. As God, He willingly bore that pain for our salvation. He endured what we could never endure so that we might receive what we could never earn: reconciliation with God.
Hebrews 2:9 says:
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
He tasted death for every man.
Christian, this cry of forsakenness was uttered so that you and I might never have to say it. Because Jesus was forsaken, we are accepted. Because He entered the darkness, we can walk in the light. Because He was judged, we can be justified.
Ephesians 2:13 declares:
“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
At the cross, God turned His face from His Son so that He could turn His face toward us. Let us never take lightly the words, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” For within them is this truth: He was momentarily forsaken so that we would never be.