“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”
Mark 15:34 “And at the nineth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, says, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”, which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” Mark speaking primarily to Gentiles, tells the story of Christ’s crucifixion, quotes Jesus in Aramaic, the common language of both Jews and Gentiles.
Matthew 27:46 “And at the nineth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, says, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” Matthew, tells the same story, but to a different audience. He spoke to Jews, who were familiar with Hebrew language used during Jewish religious settings.
In both Mathew and Mark, Jesus is quoted first in His native language and then translated in modern English.
Have you ever wondered why? All four gospels follow the life of Jesus, All four authors quote Jesus prolifically, but no other words spoken by Jesus are documented in this way. So why these and no others? Why are these so important?
Because these words are so important.
To understand the full meaning of Jesus’ words, let’s go back to the days of His ministry and explore what the culture was like.
For Jews and Gentile alike, the Roman empire regulated the economy. Under the supervision of Governor Pontius Pilate, soldiers the enforced criminal justice systems
But the Jews lived under the rule of a second government as well. The Sanhedrin council, made up of the high priest, Ciaphas, and his priests, elders, and scribes, controlled the religious laws.
Before printing presses were invented, and before the Bible was divided into chapters and verse, scribes copied the books of each author on seperate scrolls. These scrolls were opened during temple service and read aloud to the congregation.
Now-a-days, to find a particular scripture, we search for the highlighted numbers. For example, Psalm 22:1-20. But back then, the sections were highlighted by the first sentence of a particular section. That sentence referred to the rest of the selected section.
Luke 4:16-21 tells us that Jesus’ first act of His earthly ministry was to read the first sentence of Isaih 61 in the synagogue.
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me, To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Isaiah 61:1
20 Then He rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” NKJV
That day, he spoke to the priests and the scribes, and to the congregation in general.
In reading the first sentence, Jesus referred to the rest of Isaiah’s prophesy about the coming Messiah. With those words, He publicly announced He was the Messiah. They didn’t believe Him.
After three years in an earthly body, Jesus stood before the priests again. Both Matthew and Mark tell the story. Hours of torture and interrogations. Judged by the high priest and sentenced by the governor.
Jesus hung on a cross and spoke the first sentence again. This time from Psalm 22. Uttering His final words, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” He referred all those listening to the rest of David’s prophetic words, written14 generations prior.
22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?
22:2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
22:3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
22:4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.
22:5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
22:7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
22:8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” 22:9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
22:10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.
22:11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. 22:12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
22:13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 22:14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 22:16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
22:17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
22:18 They divide My garments among them,And for My clothing they cast lots. 22:19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! 22:20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog.
22:21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen!...
The general congregation may not have understood Jesus’ partial message, but the priests and scribes, would have known the rest of the scriptures, would have known the words of David’s prophesy, and should have recognized what they had just done, should have admitted that Jesus was the Messiah. They didn’t.
At first read, the first sentence of Chapter 22,“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” seems like a forsaken, defeated Son crying in despair to His Father. But the chapter doesn’t end with verse 21. Continuing ‘til verse 31, we understand that this question links us to the proclamation made by the victorious Messiah who could not be destroyed.
The important part of the message in chapter 22 is not about Jesus’ question. The important part is about God’s answer.
22:21 You have answered Me. 22:22 I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
22:23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you [b]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
22:24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard. 22:25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
22:26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever! 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations shall worship before You.
22:28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations. 22:29 All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive. 22:30 A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
22:31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.”
What sounded like despair to the crowd was actually a declaration of fulfillment. This is the message of hope, spoken for all those who fear the Lord. It is a promise for the future, proclaimed from our now invisible, but ever-present Savior.
Anne Mileur