Not to turn this passage to the trivial, I’d like to take a moment to talk about language.
In Jesus’ day, spoken languages were diverse. Hebrew was the sacred tongue of scripture and liturgy, but most ordinary Jews spoke Aramaic, a sister language that had long since become the common speech of the region. Greek served as the empire’s trade language, enabling communication across borders, and Latin remained the official language of Roman authority. (That’s four languages, if you were counting.) It seems almost certain that Jesus spoke both Aramaic and Hebrew, at least in terms of liturgical and scriptural study. It is possible that he understood Greek, simply based on the interactions we see he had with the likes of a Roman centurion and Pilate, etc. We have no reason to believe he knew Latin.
So why, when the vast majority of the gospel is written in Greek, does Matthew give the actual Aramaic words Jesus spoke from the beginning of Psalm 22? Even if Jesus had only a rudimentary understanding of Greek, he would certainly have conversed in Aramaic in most situations and perhaps Hebrew in others, depending on the context. But Matthew doesn’t give his Aramaic words throughout the rest of his gospel.
So why does Matthew opt to write out the transliteration - Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? It’s a brutal moment, and a vulnerable one. (For many, it is a bit of a scary thing for Jesus to say this.1)
One possible answer is he wanted to demonstrate that even in the critical, powerful action on the cross, Jesus would speak in the common language. He came to live as a human, die with criminals, and live again for all people. On the cross - that great intersection of humanity and divinity - Jesus used the language of regular people. Not the high-worship liturgical polish, but the every day, in-the-dirt language of all people. It’s particularly interesting when remembering that when memorizing Psalm 22, Jesus would have known it in Hebrew. So he changed the language from the well-known scripture to the every day language of the people.
In our own prayers of desperation, it is enough to cry out to God in our own tongue, however raw or unpolished.
Matthew 27:45-56
From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. At about three Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”
After hearing him, some standing there said, “He’s calling Elijah.” One of them ran over, took a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink.
But the rest of them said, “Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.”
Again Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died.
Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised. After Jesus’ resurrection they came out of their graves and went into the holy city where they appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what had just happened, they were filled with awe and said, “This was certainly God’s Son.”
Many women were watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Psalm 34:17-18
When the righteous cry out, the Lord listens; he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he saves those whose spirits are crushed.
Prayer (adapted from Psalm 61)
God,
Listen to my cry; pay attention to my prayer! When my heart is weak, I cry out to you from the very ends of the earth. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I am because you have been my refuge, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy. Please let me live in your tent forever! Please let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings!
Because you, God, have heard my promises; you’ve given me the same possession as those who honor your name.
Lead me today.
By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.
I reject theological twistings that conclude God turned his face away from Jesus on the cross. Jesus, as the representative presence of God, was in the very presence of sin and never ran from it. My rejection of this notion is particularly affirmed when reading the totality of Psalm 22, from which Jesus quotes, particularly the line that says, “Because…he didn’t hide his face from me. No, he listened when I cried out to him for help.”
God does not abandon his children in moments of difficulty. Indeed, God is very, very present.