Matthew 27:46Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Some interpreters suggest that the Savior, identifying with the Jewish people, is asking, “Why hast Thou forsaken the Jewish people, Father, allowing them to commit such sins and face destruction?” As one who came from the Jews, Christ's cry can also be understood as, “Why hast Thou forsaken My kin, My people, who have brought such harm upon themselves?”

or what likeness will you compare unto Him?” (Isaiah 40:15, 18).

It is essential to recognize that when the religious leaders came with soldiers and a traitor leading them, seeking to apprehend Him, He stepped forward to meet them, asking, “Whom do you seek?” When they responded, “Jesus of Nazareth,” He declared, “I am He.” They fell back and landed on the ground (John 18:4-6). How could He, who merely by His words revealed the impotence of those who sought to harm Him, be considered weak? What then do His words imply: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

We assert that when Adam, our forefather, disobeyed the command of God and ignored divine law, humanity was, in a sense, abandoned by God, resulting in a curse and the embrace of death. However, when the only-begotten Word of God came to transform the suffering into incorruption, He took on the lineage of Abraham and became like His brethren (Heb. 2:16-17). It was necessary for Him to abolish both the ancient curse and the resulting corruption, as well as to end the abandonment that befell humanity from the beginning. In becoming one with the forsaken, He joined our human condition, saying, “Why have you forsaken me?” This uniquely reveals His role in addressing the forsakenness we experience, as if He were entreating the Father to extend the same grace to us that was shown to Him and to our first ancestors.

Thus, Christ stands as the source and foundation of every good gift for us; it may be said that, in His humanity, He received something from the Father, yet He held it for our benefit, embodying fullness and lacking nothing as God.

The Word, being divine, took on His own body, utilizing it as an instrument to become human for our benefit. Being incarnate, the experiences unique to the flesh—such as hunger, thirst, suffering, and labor—are attributes ascribed to Him. Yet, the divine works, like raising the dead, restoring sight to the blind, and healing the bleeding woman, were performed through His body. The Word identified with the weaknesses of the flesh as His own, for this flesh was His, and it served as the medium for the acts of the Godhead, inhabiting it wholly. The prophet rightly stated, ‘He shall bear’ (Isaiah 53:4, 11); he did not say, ‘He healed our infirmities,’ which could imply that the Word, existing outside of the flesh, would heal only that body while leaving humanity still culpable in death. Instead, He bears our weaknesses and our sins to show that He became human for our sake, and that the body enduring these afflictions is His.

Just as the Word suffered no detriment in ‘bearing,’ as Peter wrote about ‘our sins... on His body on the tree’ (1 Peter 2:24), we have been liberated from our passions and filled with the truth of the Word. Certainly, when it was necessary to restore Peter's mother-in-law, He reached out with human hands and, through divine power, healed her (Matthew 8:14). Now, with the Word having become flesh and experiencing the nature of humanity, these conditions no longer harm the body due to the Word residing within it, but are instead vanquished by Him. Consequently, humanity is no longer bound by sin and death; instead, having been resurrected by the power of the Word, we become immortal and incorruptible.

Thus, if He wept and was distressed, it was not the Word that experienced these emotions, but this was a condition of the flesh. If He prayed to have the cup removed, it was not the divine nature that was troubled, but the frailty characteristic of humanity. The phrase ‘Why hast thou forsaken Me?’ is likewise attributed to Him by the Evangelists, even though He did not suffer any genuine separation (for the Word remains without passions). The Lord was made flesh; these utterances and actions are expressed by Him in His human capacity, so that having endured the sufferings of the flesh, He might liberate it from them. Therefore, the Lord, who abides eternally in the Father, cannot be abandoned by the Father, whether prior to or following these words.

Had the Godhead fully revealed itself, then the one condemned to death would not have felt fear, and if it had manifested, the executioners would have been incapable of carrying out their act. The Divine essence protected the human form to prevent its destruction, for the divine knew itself while the human did not possess this awareness. St. Ephrem references the Lord’s body resting in the tomb. The Godhead also revealed itself to the dead, for He was not abandoned in the tomb, and to the murderers, as they were unable to complete their task of guarding the grave and containing the lifeless body.

He demonstrates that He is truly enveloped in flesh, which instinctively recoils from death, characterized by fear, regret, uncertainty, and anguish. He leaves His flesh desolate and stripped of its inherent strength, aiming to reveal its frailty, assuring you of its genuine nature, before concealing it so that you may understand He was not merely human.

Alternatively, we could interpret it this way: in the act of dying for humanity, Jesus Christ cried out on behalf of the entire human race. According to Gregory the Theologian, in His own person, He illustrates our unique predicament; for we were once abandoned and rejected, yet now we are received and redeemed through the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

As the Intercessor, He cries out to the Judge, asserting, ‘We bear the guilt, we are wronged, we are shamed.’ For if none of us, descendants of Adam, had experienced abandonment by God, we would not have been subject to the shame of countless sins, nor would we have turned to worship inanimate objects such as stones, trees, waters, lifeless stars, animals, malevolent spirits, and even the adversary himself.

The ponies of many have searched me; they have looked upon me and despised me’ (Psalm 21:15-18). The Savior likely reflected on this prophecy during His anguish… His strength waned as life slipped away… His fading vision continued to seek the heavens, yet they remained dark; not a single beam of light, nor a glimmer of hope… It was as if the righteous Father had abandoned the Son, who bore the weight of humanity's sins… This realization amplified the already overwhelming suffering; human nature was utterly spent… ‘Eloi, Eloi,’ cried the Divine Sufferer, “lima savahfani!” (My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?) (Mk. 15:34). There was silence… It resided in our transgressions: the Lord, as noted by St. Cyprian, so that we might seek the Father, reflect upon ourselves, and recognize our sins. ‘For,’ the holy martyr continues, ‘why is the Lord forsaken? So that we would not be abandoned by God; for the redemption from our sins and eternal death; to demonstrate the greatest love for humankind; to reveal both the justice and mercy of God; to draw our hearts to Him; and to serve as an example to all who suffer.’ This provides the sole understanding of Jesus' lament that His adherents should always remember. The profound significance of this prayer remains a mystery to us… Yet, it shows no hint of doubt or despair; the very repetition of ‘My God, My God’ indicates otherwise. It conveys merely a lament regarding the intensity of His external and internal torments, particularly the apparent severance from His Divine oneness with the Father, which had previously brought all comfort; this rupture marked the ultimate depth of internal anguish, the apex of the cross, encapsulating a human experience distinct from the impassibility of the Divine.

St. Gregory the Theologian notes that when He declares, "My God, My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me," it is for our sake. He willingly took on the form of a servant, becoming like humanity, and humbled Himself in obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:7-8). As Isaiah proclaims, He bore our weaknesses and carried our sorrows (Is. 53:4); thus, His suffering is not for His own condition but for us, and it is we, not He, who were forsaken by God, as He came into the world for our salvation.

St. John Damascene affirms that Christ was never abandoned by the Father. He spoke those words due to His identification with our situation, placing Himself among us. We were the ones guilty of sin and condemnation, disobedient and deserving of separation from God, and this is why we found ourselves abandoned.