Matthew 27:46 46 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?”

COMMON EXPLANATION

The common explanation has basically three main points and goes something like this:

1) The phrase “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is a reference to the separation that occurred between God and Christ while Jesus was on the cross.

It is emphasized here that “forsaken” is equivalent to “separation.” This event is often described or illustrated as the moment that “God turned his back on Christ.” The crux of this entire explanation hinges upon and builds upon this concept that “forsaken” is equivalent to “separation.” This is important to remember and leads to the second point of this common explanation.

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