One of the more puzzling things for many Christians is the question that Christ uttered on the cross "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Here is the passage in context. "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 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 27:45-46) It was at this time in which Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians 5:21. "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
But the question that frequently arises to many a sincere Bible Students is. "Why, at the climax of perfect obedience to his Father's will, did Jesus utter such words?" Was it in the depths of suffering and moments of final agony, the Lord experienced a moment of doubt, and felt that his Father, his God had actually deserted him?
There are some critics who suggest that in these three hours of darkness, Christ had a moment of weakness where "as a human" He succumbed under the weight of His terrible suffering. However none of this speculation has any sound support in the scriptures. When we read "the whole" of scripture in context, not concentrating on a few select verses, we can see very quickly that Christ never faltered for one moment, and He knew perfectly well what He had to do and why He had to do it. Christ foretold His suffering. These things were not hid from Him. So these ideas that He was surprised make no sense, considering all that Christ Himself declared of His mission.
"Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11) Indeed, He certainly knew the cup He had to drink to accomplish His task, and He willingly drank it.
"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." (John 10:17-18)
Jesus knew what was coming, and He knew what was required. And yet He went to the cross to accept it "willingly" because He was not a mere man like everyone else. He understood fully the cup of wrath He must drink "for us."
Christ knew and spoke of the work of the atonement, He knew He had to die for sins, He knew He had to suffer for the iniquity of many, and He knew that the Father had to administer that judgment. "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men." (Mark 8:31-33)
Since Peter had just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah (Mark 8:29) that was prophesied to come, it was incumbent upon Christ to take the opportunity to correct their conceptions of Him as an earthly king who would deliver them from literal subjection by the Romans. He explained to the Apostles the true nature of His Kingdom, purpose, suffering, atonement and resurrection.
So those who say that Christ lacked the divine knowledge because He was merely human, are wrong. In other words, God is exhorting His people to search the scriptures and compare scripture with scripture. And therein we will "see" what these words He spoke signifies and pertains to. If all this is true, then how are we to understand the words Jesus prayed? "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." And why did He cry, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me" when He already knew perfectly well? One answer is that all these things were said and done of God for "man's benefit."
He said these things as a key reference to the house of Israel and us to unlock the words of the prophets and the psalms that spoke of these things. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" (Psalms 22:1)
A late Aramaic Bible researcher named George Lamsa claimed that the traditional "forsaken" interpretation is a mistake in the Aramaic scribing that was transferred to later transcriptions. Lamsa claimed that "the correct translation from Aramaic should be "Eli, Eli, lemana shabakthani" or "My God, my God, for this [purpose] I was spared!" or "...for such a purpose have you kept me!") According to Lamsa's translation, that rather than a "loss of faith" Christ meant, to say "so this is my destiny."
Christ is revealing to the hous of Israel by these words that "He" was the God-Man prophesied to come as the Saviour of Israel. When Christ called out to God in this manner, clearly He was consciously quoting this Psalm as an illustration to all that He was fulfilling this Old Testament prophecy. This is the key to understanding why the Lord would say this. Jesus Christ, as the living "Word of God" in the flesh, is the application of God's revealed will concerning the atonement for sin by the wrath of God poured out upon man. And His question in Psalms 22:1 of, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me," is answered in Psalms 22:3.
To suppose that Jesus was unaware of the meaning of the words of Psalm, is to completely ignore all His teachings on these subjects. He surely knew what these scriptures "actually" meant concerning His suffering.
"But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." (John 5:36-39)
Search the Messianic psalms, particularly chapter 22, and also consider the prophecy of Isaiah. Because Christ had the sin of all the elect laid upon Him. And that is why God had forsaken Him. His wasn't a cry of despair because He was a man, but of pointing out, "that the scripture might be fulfilled," that God had prophesied this. So He had to forsake Him for the sake of the elect.
In Psalms 22 is revealed God's rejection of Christ because He stands in as representative for man as the second Adam (1st Corinthians 15:22,45) laden with our sins. Yet in the psalms we see the "faith of Christ" as He still trusts "His God," and continues His faithfulness. He is sure that in the end God will be His help and his faith will be justified.
Clearly, Christ did these things because He knew the plan, and He wanted us to know that He was the Saviour that was fulfilling scripture. It was not because He was weaker than most other mortal men were, this cry of thirst was part of the Messianic psalms being fulfilled.
