Now from the sixth hour [noon] there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour [3pm]. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
We call those four haunting Aramaic words of Christ the cry of dereliction: “Eli, Eli lema sabachtani?” Dereliction means “an intentional abandonment,” or “the state of being abandoned.”[i] These are days of dereliction. Every day, every hour, thousands of cries of dereliction go up. Cries of those suffering under the COVID-19 pandemic, cries of abandoned children, cries of those in war-torn countries, cries of those treated unfairly by the justice system.
But one cry rises above the rest: Jesus’ cry of dereliction to his father.
Jesus’ words are not original. They are the first line of David’s 22nd Psalm. It was not uncommon for authors to shorthand quotes by stating the first line. For that reason, many commentators speculate that Jesus quoted Psalm 22 in full on the cross. Whether he did or not, Jesus likely churned over every word of the Psalm as he hung.
Here is the Psalm in full that Jesus roiled over on the cross.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Do you feel abandoned today? Perhaps, like Christ, the words of the 22nd Psalm might serve as words where you feel wordless.
Here are five reasons Psalm 22 is a powerful cry in the face of fear, discouragement, and depression.
It Asks Questions
Answers given too quickly in times of suffering are poisonous, not healing. Psalm 22 begins with pointed questions: “why have you forsaken me,” “Why are you so far from saving me?” Do you know you can ask such pointed questions to God?
It is Honest
We tend to pretty up our prayers to God. We dance around our hurt, we shirk away from telling our Creator just how angry we are. David and Jesus are boldly honest. They accuse God of being silent. They feel like “a worm and not a man.” They are “poured out like water,” their “heart has turned to wax,” they are surrounded by dogs and villains, they are pierced and gloated over.
It is Demanding
David and Jesus make bold requests of God: “Do not be far from me,” “come quickly to help me,” “deliver me,” and “rescue me.” When you are abandoned, make bold requests of your Father who invites you before his throne.
It Praises God
Even in the lowest moment of David and Jesus’ dereliction, they still declare the power, beauty, and trustworthiness of God. They remember how God has saved “our ancestors.” They trusted God “and were not put to shame.” To those who have suffered, God “has not hidden his face… but has listened to his cry for help.”
It Speaks Hope
Even in the darkest moment of despair, Psalm 22 speaks hope. David and Jesus know they will not forever be abandoned. They know that their anguish will end with God’s rescue. It closes, “They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: he has done it!”
Jesus’ cry is an invitation for us to cry in our dereliction. Don’t try to dust yourself off. Don’t try to put on a happy face. Cry out. Ask questions. Be honest. Demand a response. Praise and hope. And know, that, no matter what happens, God will use this valley of the shadow of death for his praise and for your good.
Photo by Ricky Turner on Unsplash
[i] Merriam-Webster online dictionary