My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? Meaning & Hope

Life can be deeply frustrating. There are moments when the silence from the heavens feels deafening. But when you remember the saying, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" you can rest assured that you are not the only one to have walked through this dark valley.

​According to the scriptures, pivotal figures in history are recorded to have made that statement. It appears not as a calm theological pronouncement but as a raw expression of agony. These figures were the most prominent pillars of their times.

​You likely know who they are: King David and Jesus Christ.

​However, Jewish history adds another layer. The Talmud attributes this same sentiment to Queen Esther and the collective soul of a people in exile. Today, it is you and I who assume these positions, expressing a unique feeling of concern regarding the state of our world and our place within it.

​What It Means To Be Forsaken

​For King David and Jesus Christ, the concern was intensely personal. Each faced individual struggles that brought them to the breaking point. While many interpret Jesus quoting David as a fulfillment of prophecy, we must not overlook the raw humanity in the moment.

​But before we look closer, we must define what it means to be "forsaken," lest we mistake the saying for a lack of divine foresight, especially since believers hold that God is all-knowing.

​Forsaken is the past participle of "forsake," which means to withdraw from, leave entirely, reject, or abandon. To be forsaken is to be left alone in a time of dire need. It captures the profound disappointment felt when a protector or father figure withdraws their presence during a crisis.

​Sometime in the past, I listened to a preacher attempting to explain the doctrine of the Trinity. He suggested that when Jesus cried out on the cross, it was the first time God the Father had left His Son. While the theology is complex, the visceral reality is simple: the feeling of abandonment was real.

​The Origin of "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?"

​As a child, I was exposed to Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd"). Little did I know that immediately preceding it is a powerful, agonizing passage. It is in Psalm 22 that we find the origin of the phrase Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani.

​In the Gospels, Jesus is recorded crying out this phrase in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34.

• ​Matthew: Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?
• ​Mark: Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?

​Both translate to: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

​However, long before the Gospel writers attributed this saying to Jesus, it was penned by King David:

​Psalm 22:1

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?"

​The verses that follow display the frustration David was in as a result of his feeling of abandonment. Christians often refer to this as the Crucifixion Psalm due to its vivid imagery of suffering.

​The Jewish Perspective: Esther and the Hidden Face

​To fully grasp the weight of this cry, we must look beyond the crucifixion to the Jewish understanding of Psalm 22, often termed Ayelet HaShachar or The Doe of the Dawn.

​While not explicitly recorded in the Book of Esther, the Talmud (Megillah 15b) teaches that Queen Esther recited this very Psalm as she approached King Ahasuerus to save her people. As she entered the inner court, a place of danger and idolatry, tradition says she felt the Divine Presence withdraw. This prompted her to cry out in her heart: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

​This introduces the concept of Hester Panim, the "Hidden Face" of God.

​In this worldview, God does not truly abandon His people, but He sometimes hides His face. This "forsakenness" is not an absence of God but a concealment. It is the experience of the Galut (Exile) where the divine presence is veiled, and humanity is left to grapple with the darkness to find the light.

​The Shared Human Struggle

​When we integrate these perspectives, the Christian view of sacrificial suffering and the Jewish view of exile and hiddenness, the application to you and me becomes profound.

​The question, "Why have you forsaken us?" is not just for the religious elite. It is the anthem of the human condition.

​We look at the world, its wars, its confusion, and its pain, and we wonder why the route to salvation or peace seems so divisive. If God is all-knowing, why is the path often marked by such intense suffering? Why does God hide His face?

​It is a disturbing reality that we live in a world where we often feel like adversaries to one another, and sometimes, adversaries to God. We ask: Did we miss the point? Or is the silence part of the process?

​David penned it. Jesus cried it. The Sages tell us Esther prayed it. And here we are.

​This does not necessarily mean there is no salvation, nor does it mean God is absent. But it validates the struggle. It means that feeling abandoned is not a sin. It is a part of the spiritual journey. It is the Hester Panim, the time when God hides, forcing us to seek Him with a desperation we wouldn't otherwise possess.

​In conclusion, God is not intimidated by our questions or our desperation. Perhaps the comfort is not in an immediate answer but in knowing that the cry itself has been heard before. We are not shouting into a void. We are shouting into a history that understands our pain.

Frequently Asked Questions ​Who said "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It was first written by King David in Psalm 22:1. Later, Jesus Christ famously cried it out on the cross (Matthew 27:46). Jewish tradition (The Talmud) also teaches that Queen Esther prayed these words before saving her people. ​What does "Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani" mean? This phrase is Aramaic and Hebrew for "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It is the raw expression of agony Jesus used in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark just before his death. ​Did Queen Esther say "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The Bible does not explicitly record it, but the Talmud (Megillah 15b) teaches that Esther recited "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22). Tradition says she prayed this when she felt God's presence withdraw as she entered the King's palace. ​What is the meaning of "Hester Panim"? Hester Panim is Hebrew for the "Hidden Face" of God. It explains that God never truly abandons His people; He only conceals His presence. This concept helps believers understand God's silence during times of exile or suffering. ​Why did Jesus say God had forsaken him? Jesus quoted Psalm 22 to identify with human suffering and the feeling of separation from God. While it sounded like defeat, he was referencing a Psalm that begins in agony but ends in victory and praise, signaling his ultimate triumph.