Why did Jesus say “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”?

Which psalm is Jesus quoting?

Matthew 27:46 records: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Mark records the same prayer in Mark 15:34. Both direct us to the beginning of the psalm, rather than to an isolated sentence with no history.

This site uses Brenton’s Septuagint for the Old Testament. Open Psalm 21 here, not Psalm 22: the latter is the shepherd psalm in Greek numbering. The OCA’s numbering concordance maps Greek Psalm 21 to Hebrew Psalm 22.

Read the lament all the way through. Its mockery—“He hoped in the Lord: let him deliver him”—echoes the taunt in Matthew 27:43. Its divided garments and casting of lots meet the Passion narrative in John 19:23–24. These correspondences place Christ’s suffering inside Israel’s prayer.

The psalm does not end at its opening question. It says that God has not turned His face from the afflicted one, but has heard him; it turns to praise in the congregation and the worship of the nations. The OCA’s introduction to the Psalms reads this psalm in relation to Christ’s crucifixion and the salvation of the world.

Did the Father abandon the Son?

St Gregory directly addresses this question in Oration 30.5. Discussing sayings that express Christ’s human condition, he rejects abandonment by either the Father or the Son’s own Godhead. His explanation is that Christ takes our condition upon Himself:

This is not a division within the Trinity. Nor does Gregory make Christ’s humanity disposable: the Son makes the human condition His own in order to heal and save it. The cry belongs to the incarnate Son’s real Passion, not to a loss of His divinity.

St John Chrysostom draws attention to the prayer’s scriptural character and to Christ’s continued unity with His Father. In his exposition of Matthew’s account, he writes:

These short extracts are quoted from the linked public-domain translations. Read the surrounding passages too: Gregory is explaining the Son’s human sayings, while Chrysostom is preaching through the events of the Crucifixion.

A real lament, not merely a quotation

Recognizing the psalm does not make the pain unreal. Matthew describes darkness, mockery, the cry, and Christ’s death. Hebrews 4:15 speaks of a high priest who can sympathize with our weakness; Hebrews 5:7 speaks of His prayers with strong crying and tears. The Church confesses the same Christ as truly God and truly man.

Hold these truths together: Christ prays the Scriptures; He truly suffers in His humanity; He does not cease to be the divine Son in communion with His Father. Gregory’s account of Christ representing us helps avoid both a broken Trinity and a Passion reduced to a performance.

The psalm’s ending gives hope without silencing its beginning. A Christian need not pretend that grief is painless in order to trust God. Lament can still address Him as “my God.”

Read the prayer in its full setting

1. Read Matthew 27, especially the mockery, the cry, and what follows Christ’s death.
2. Read Psalm 21 in the Septuagint from its first lament to its last proclamation. Notice the change from distress to praise.
3. Read Gregory’s Oration 30.5 and Chrysostom’s Homily 88 in full. Distinguish the Fathers’ words from this guide’s explanation.

For the wider confession behind this reading, continue with Orthodox theology; for reading habits and context, see the guide to the Church Fathers.