What Is the Significance of Jesus Saying "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?"
If you’ve been following God for any length of time, you’ve felt abandoned by God.
We get saved, a radical and powerful event, and we enter a “honeymoon” type phase. Anything is possible and we have joy and life abundant. As we grow, however, we begin to encounter problems, big and small. We pray for things that don’t happen. Or we enter a time of intense suffering and struggle.
In these times of pain, emotional, physical, or spiritual, we begin to question God. He seems distant. Does he love us? Has he abandoned us? We feel like we didn’t sign up for this, whatever the struggle might be.
As our great High Priest, the one who intercedes before the Father’s Throne on our behalf, Jesus experienced this to the extreme. While on the cross, he cried out to heaven, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
If we're honest, many of us would acknowledge that this statement disturbs us, especially if we begin exploring past the simple surface text. And yet, pressing through that discomfort brings us to a greater hope.
Where in the Bible Does Jesus Say, “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 both record Jesus crying out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words are among Jesus’ final expressions while he hung on the cross. The Romans crucified him on Golgotha, also called the Hill of the Skull, just outside Jerusalem at the “ninth hour,” which we would call 3 p.m. A deep and unexplainable darkness covered the land from noon until 3, symbolizing God turning his back on the sin of the world. After going through hours of unimaginable betrayal, suffering, rejection, and pain, Jesus exclaims this phrase from Psalm 22:1, a well-known Davidic lament.
In Greek, the word egkatelipes is translated to forsaken. The word means to abandon, desert, or leave helpless. Many Greek New Testament words are even stronger and more vivid than the English equivalent, and this one proves the same. Egkatelipes indicates more than distance but complete abandonment. Jesus, in his humanity, takes on the full weight of separation from God while he bears the sins of the world, although he was innocent and perfect.
For the first time, Jesus experienced complete separation from his Father. Throughout his life, while in heaven and on earth, Jesus enjoyed perfect fellowship with the Father. During his ministry, Christ would pull away to pray and be alone with his Father. However, on the cross, with the full weight of sin, he also suffered the consequence of sin—separation from God.
How Do Jesus’ Words on the Cross Connect to Psalm 22:1?
When Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, he quotes from Psalm 22:1. King David wrote this psalm, important because Jesus was not only the Son of God but the Son of David, a promised Messiah king/priest who would reign forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13). With this quote, Jesus connects to David, the promises of the Messiah, and the message of the psalm.
Psalm 22 starts with David feeling abandoned by God. However, it moves quickly to express trust in God’s goodness and ultimate victory. As with many of David’s songs, this one honestly declares his dark feelings during hard times. Psalm 22 includes important details that point to the crucifixion. “They have pierced my hands and feet” (Psalm 22:16). “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing” (Psalm 22:18). These happen to Jesus on the cross (John 19:23-24). Ultimately, David declares how God will deliver him from trouble, and the whole world will one day declare Yahweh as God. Jesus also experienced the victory on the cross and through the resurrection.
On the cross, Jesus also fulfilled the role of Suffering Servant from Isaiah 53. The prophet writes he would be “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief … pierced for our transgressions … and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” In addition, Zechariah 12:10 claims, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced.,” showing how Israel would one day recognize the one they killed.
Through quoting Psalm 22, Jesus brings in all these ideas and prophecies from the Old Testament. His death wasn’t a defeat but a victory to bring God’s redemptive plan to a finished work.
What Do Jesus' Words about Being Forsaken Say about Sin and the Cost of Salvation?
The Bible teaches that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin separates humanity from God and breaks the relationship the Lord designed and created us to have. On our own, we couldn’t bridge the gap between our selfishness and God’s divine nature. Therefore, Jesus chose to bear the punishment for our sin, the spiritual and physical death resulting from sin. Though Christ never sinned, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). As this verse makes clear, Jesus didn’t take upon himself the individual acts of sin but the very nature of it, which includes all acts flowing from it. As a result, he could then share with us his righteousness and holy character from which all righteous acts flow.
Redemption comes at a high cost—God’s own Son. Forgiveness and redemption isn’t cheap; it took God himself to stand in our place, to be treated as if he were guilty so we could be righteous. Jesus took our sin and suffered what we deserved.
At the same time, God’s willingness to pay this cost reveals his love. God didn’t wait for us to deserve righteousness, since we couldn’t. He paid the price himself through Christ. We know something’s value from what people are willing to pay for it. God thought us worth the greatest price, himself, to redeem us for right relationship again. While sinners, we have amazing value, and we are immeasurably loved.
Jesus only experienced separation from his Father for a terrible, horrible, tortuous moment. His temporary abandonment and death brings us life, peace, and renewal for eternity.
What Other People in the Bible Felt Abandoned by God?
When Jesus cried out on the cross, suffering and feeling forsaken by God, he also brought into alignment the other believers from the Old Testament who felt the same and ultimately realized God’s victory and abundance. Here are two examples.
Job is a clear example. He had lost his children, wealth, and health. Even through this suffering, his wife and friends criticize him and fail to comfort him. Job cries out in agony and questions God’s presence and justice. “Why did I not perish at birth and die as I came from the womb?” (Job 3:11) He felt utterly abandoned and lamented how he couldn’t approach God and make his case or ask questions. “If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!” (Job 23:3) Although Job couldn’t see God, God watched over him the whole time, protecting and setting limits. God does appear to Job and answers him directly, eventually restoring Job’s fortunes and family double what he had before (Job 42:10).
Elijah famously felt abandoned and afraid after his huge victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). When Jezebel threatened to kill him for beating her prophets, Elijah fled for his life into the wilderness. Despite his feelings, God had not forsaken him and ultimately provided food and rest. The Lord spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper and declared he was not alone—7,000 others in Israel hadn’t bowed to the false idol Baal (1 Kings 19:18).
In the same way, while Jesus felt forsaken on the cross, God never abandoned him. After submitting to God’s will on the cross, the Lord raised him from the dead (Acts 2:24) and gave him the name above all others (Philippians 2:9-11). God rewarded Jesus for his obedience, just like he did for Job and Elijah. And he will for us, as well.
What Can We Do When We Feel Forsaken by God?
When we feel forsaken by God, we first remind ourselves of this truth from Scripture: God never abandons us. Though our emotions can overwhelm us, God’s Word promises, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) God remains faithful, even when the temporary situation and our feelings seem to say different.
First, when we feel abandoned, we remember God loves us with an everlasting love and remains committed to us. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) Jeremiah wrote this during God’s judgment upon Judah, after decades of warnings, for their idolatry and oppression. However, the Lord remained faithful and never abandoned them. Even in our suffering, God’s love won’t fail, and he will deliver us.
Second, we focus on God’s promises, and the Lord wants us to remind him of these (Isaiah 43:26, among many others). This is for us, not because he needs to be reminded. He rewards those who endure when it gets difficult. “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12) God stands with us within trouble and promises deliverance and eternal rewards for those who remain faithful when the path is hard.
Third, we look to Jesus as our example. The same one who endured the cross gives us strength in our hard times now. He can relate and help. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to fix our gaze upon Christ, “the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus endured more than we may ever know, and yet he continued on because he trusted his Father’s plan and looked forward to the joy beyond the cross. We were that joy, a reconciled relationship with the Trinity in Christ. We do the same by keeping our eyes on eternity and God’s promises.
Finally, in the midst of feeling abandoned, we must remember the middle of the story isn’t the end of the story, and we shouldn’t treat a temporary situation as an eternal reality. We keep praying and trusting, knowing God is near and loves us even when it doesn’t feel like it. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). God works at all times, including when we don’t feel or see it. He hasn’t forsaken us. He will work all things for good for those who love him and walk in his purpose (Romans 8:28).
Peace.
Photo credit: ©Sparrowstock
Originally published March 21, 2025.
