Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 27:46

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" — Matthew 27:46 (ASV)

In what language did Jesus utter his cry of desolation, taken from Ps 22:1? It was most likely in Aramaic; and at least some of the variants (cf. NIV note) stem from the difficulty of transliterating a Semitic language into Greek.

What does this psalm quotation signify? It is best to take the words at face value: Jesus is conscious of being abandoned by his Father. For one who knew the intimacy of 11:27, such abandonment must have been agony. If we ask in what ontological sense the Father and the Son are here divided, the answer must be that we do not know because we are not told.