1511AFC031315 – Recitation
Read it online here, please.
Mark 15:34 – At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Greek Text:
᾿Ελωΐ, ᾿Ελωΐ λαμὰ σαβαχθανι
Eloi, Eloi lema sabachthani
(elói, elói) (lema) (sabachthani)
{el-o-ee’, el-o-ee’} {lem-ah’} {sab-akh-than-ee’ or sab-akh-than’-ee}
Matthew 27:46 – And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Greek text:
Ἠλὶ*, Ἠλὶ* λεμὰ σαβαχθάνι*
Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani
(éli) (éli) (lama) (sabachthani)
{ay-lee’, ay-lee’} {lam-ah’} {sab-akh-than-ee’ or sab-akh-than’-ee}
Psalm 22:1 – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
Hebrew Text (from right to left):
אֵלִ֣י אֵ֭לִי לָמָ֣ה עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי
‘ă·zaḇ·tā·nî lama ’ê·lî ’ê·lî
a zahb thāh nee lā māh ale-ee ale-ee
Good morning, Beloved. Today we are looking at the fourth time Jesus spoke from the cross. Now that we’ve gotten the transliteration – the representation of letters or words written in one alphabet using the corresponding letters of another – and pronunciation down, we can look at what this means. Since we got off to such a “technical” start, I’ll get right to the point so that you don’t have to spend a lot of time deciphering the Greek and Hebrew above.
When we hear either of these readings during the Passion narrative, there are usually questions that arise:
- Why did Jesus say that?
- Did God really abandon him?
- Is that Hebrew or Aramaic?
- Does Psalm 22 predict the crucifixion?
- Why did David write this Psalm?
I’m going to go in reverse order because the first question is the most important of these five questions.
Why did David write this Psalm? We don’t know the exact circumstances, but it is believed that he was in pain. This is a form of poetry called a lament. More specifically this is a personal or individual lament. David is lamenting the constant persecution by his enemies who are gentiles (hence the reverence to dogs in verse 16). He is wearied with dealing with them. David’s own agony over his relentless enemies is also applied to others who are suffering. This may also have been a cry for deliverance from a mortal illness; we don’t know exactly what David had on his mind. But it is vital to remember that this is only one verse out of 31.
In the first part, verses 3-13, David recalls God’s merciful intervention in the past. In verses 14-21, he is surrounded by terrible enemies such as wild dogs that bite at him and “Bulls of Bashan.” This idiom is a figure of speech had depicts powerful enemies who, like a gathering of many powerful bulls, surrounded him. Bashan is an area where the largest and strongest cattle were raised, so the Bulls of
Bashan represented the rich and powerful oppressors of the people. In verses 22-27, there is a description of universal praise for God. The last four verses, 28-31, are a declaration that those who rely on the Lord will know the glory of his victory over their enemies. What begins in agony ends in victory.
Does Psalm 22 predict the crucifixion? It is certainly easily supported that this is also a prophetic look into the persecution and death of “his holy one.” (See Psalm 16) There are many correlations between the hours during which Jesus hung in agony on the cross and the events described in Psalm 22. The piercing of the hands and feet, the dehydration, the rapid heartbeat from shock and blood loss, that extreme agony of being stretched out so that it is nearly impossible to breathe, and isolation of dying alone and helpless while being constantly mocked. The parallels are easily found. Some persons read into the words in the Psalm more than some others might; nonetheless, it is chilling to note the similarities between David’s lament and the Passion of Our Lord.
Is that Hebrew or Aramaic? This is, perhaps, one of the most difficult questions about this passage because the answer is “Yes,” and “No,” and “perhaps.” As you can see by the Hebrew and Greek texts at the top, there are some similarities and differences between the accounts of this quote in Matthew and Mark. Rather than spend several pages comparing and contrasting the two, I will just briefly say that the one in Matthew is closer to Aramaic in the first part – My God, my God – but closer to Hebrew in the second part – Why have you forsaken me? In Mark’s version, what we see is closer to the Greek words: ᾿Ελωΐ, ᾿Ελωΐ which means My God My God and the transliteration is Eloi, Eloi. In both passages there is a difference between the ending word in the New Testament and the ending work in Psalm 22. Since the writers of these Gospels were kind enough to provide translations for the phrases they wrote down, it is sufficient to say that – by comparrison – all three say the same thing in only slightly contrasting ways. The language in which it is expressed is not as important as the content which the Apostles Mark and Matthew provided for us as translations.
Did God really abandon him? Again, the answer appears to be both “Yes,” and “No.” The humanity of Jesus certainly felt the abandonment of being alone in his death throes. God did not abandon Jesus’ to suffering, but Jesus perhaps felt the same sense of hopelessness that all humans feel in times of great duress: “Where is God in all this suffering? Surely a good God would not allow this?” Still, we know that when we are deep in the grips of sin, we feel distanced from God and that is a terrible form of suffering alleviated only by our decision to return to him “with a heart humbled and contrite.” We are reminded of the remarkable prophecies in Isaiah 53, especially verse 10: Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. God knew what was happening to his Son, and he rewarded the obedience of the Son with the forgiveness of all who believe in Jesus, and in his death and resurrection. Jesus completed his mission there on the cross. As we have said before, it was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross. It was his obedient Love of God the Father that held him there for our sake.
Why did Jesus say that? This is perhaps the simplest question to answer because we now know so much about the Jews of that time and place. Jesus fully understood what was needed; he informed his disciples several times that he was going to be turned over to his enemies, suffer greatly, die, and be raised again. They simply could not understand what all that meant. He also had supreme confidence in God’s purpose, power, and providence – his divine intervention in the fate of all earthlings. Consider that Jews in Jesus time were, for the most part, well-trained in the Law and the Prophets. The Psalms were something like the Hymnal of the Hebrews. People, especially men, were expected to know them and to be able to recite them “on demand.” Thus, a teacher of Hebrew Scripture would expect his students to be able to take a cue from the beginning of a Psalm and then recite the entire thing, all the while rehearsing in their mind what they had been taught about its meaning. For example, today if someone were to say or sing “Oh say can you see …” most of us would be able to go on with that famous lyric. If someone said “In the land where I was born / Lived a man who sailed the sea …” we might not be able to recall the entire text, but we would at least know what it was about and generally what happened. “If I were to say, “For God so loved the world that …” probably most of the world could finish that sentence. In Jerusalem at that time if someone spoke the words “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” the Jewish listeners would know the next 29 verses. They would know the various parts of that Psalm, and that it contained confident praise of God and an assurance of victory by God’s strong hand. Jesus knew this also, and from the cross led many minds to that Psalm which had been memorized by pious students of the scriptures and was always readily available for recitation. It was often used by Jews to remind them that, even in the face of death, God was with them and would provide the victory for them.
Let us therefore raise our minds from the isolation and forsakenness of the crucifixion and, like Jesus, know that however real the pain and suffering, the Salvation and Glory of God is incomparably greater. Let’s not get hung up on just the beginning, but let us instead see the whole context of this Psalm. Even beyond that, we need to be aware that taking bits and pieces of scripture to ponder, quarrel over, and use for personal aggrandizement is truly foolish. The Word is best understood in the context of the Whole Word, and the Whole Word is the voice, the heart, and the very mind of God.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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