“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"
Sometime ago, a friend of mine asked me "Why did Jesus ask the Father, 'Why have you forsaken me' when he was on the cross? Didn't he choose to die?"
Well, yes. He did. And this is a very good question.
At first glance, it does seem rather contradictory. But with biblical understanding, the statement begins to make sense. You see, Yeshua wasn't saying those words of his own accord. It was a quote.
Or a verse, to be more precise. Yeshua was not literally asking why Jehovah had forsaken him, but rather, quoting Psalms 22:1. You see, during this time, Bible verses were not numbered, so he couldn't simply cite the verses. Instead, he opted to recite them and the relevance of it is to be found here:
Psalms 22:16-18
"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture."
The relevance is what was key and the point of him reciting this particular portion of Psalms is to allow the prophecy to come full circle and drive the message home that this was legit. Just try to conceive being there and being a Bible-savvy Jew of the time, thumbing through your Bible as he speaks these words and seeing what was happening written about in the text you hold in your hand.
Sometime ago, a friend of mine asked me "Why did Jesus ask the Father, 'Why have you forsaken me' when he was on the cross? Didn't he choose to die?"
Well, yes. He did. And this is a very good question.
At first glance, it does seem rather contradictory. But with biblical understanding, the statement begins to make sense. You see, Yeshua wasn't saying those words of his own accord. It was a quote.
Or a verse, to be more precise. Yeshua was not literally asking why Jehovah had forsaken him, but rather, quoting Psalms 22:1. You see, during this time, Bible verses were not numbered, so he couldn't simply cite the verses. Instead, he opted to recite them and the relevance of it is to be found here:
Psalms 22:16-18
"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture."
The relevance is what was key and the point of him reciting this particular portion of Psalms is to allow the prophecy to come full circle and drive the message home that this was legit. Just try to conceive being there and being a Bible-savvy Jew of the time, thumbing through your Bible as he speaks these words and seeing what was happening written about in the text you hold in your hand.
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