New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 27:46

The Crucifixion

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Matthew 27:46, in plain English

At about three in the afternoon, Jesus cries out in a loud voice: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Why it's here

This is the most painful moment of the crucifixion — not the nails, but the separation. Jesus, who had been one with the Father for all eternity, experiences abandonment so that you never have to.

Who's speaking

Jesus cries out from the cross with the most anguished words in all of Scripture.

Where it sits in the story

He took your place. The separation from God that sin causes — He felt all of it, concentrated into one cry. So that you would never have to.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus cries out in Aramaic 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' — quoting Psalm 22:1, expressing the experience of divine abandonment while invoking a psalm that ultimately ends in vindication and praise.

Language and setting

This is the cry of dereliction — the moment where Jesus experiences the full weight of sin-bearing separation from the Father. Psalm 22, however, moves from lament to triumph, suggesting Jesus is invoking the entire psalm's trajectory.

Voice

Jesus cries out in anguish from the cross, quoting the opening of Psalm 22.

Significance

The most devastating words ever spoken from a cross are also the opening of a psalm that ends in victory — in the deepest darkness, Jesus speaks the language of ultimate hope.

In context

Matthew 27:44–48

44In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.

45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.

46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.”

48One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.

Read all of Matthew 27 — The climax of the story. Every thread — sacrifice, covenant, prophecy, promise — converges at a cross outside Jerusalem.

Understand every verse, not just this one

This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.

Get BibleKey

Understand every verse.

Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.

Download on the App Store

Free on iPhone & iPad