Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? … My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Mark 15:34
BSB
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The prayer of the forsaken
Mark preserves this cry in Jesus' mother tongue, Aramaic. It is not a sentence the first Christians would have liked to invent. A Messiah who feels forsaken by God was uncomfortable. That is exactly why it counts as one of the most reliable words of Jesus.
They are the opening words of Psalm 22. That psalm begins in despair, but ends in trust and praise. Anyone in Jesus' day who heard the first line often knew the rest.
Question for today
Do I dare to turn my most honest complaint into a prayer to God?
Prayer
My God, sometimes I don't feel you. Thank you that Jesus knows that experience. Hear my complaint, and lead me back to trust, as in Psalm 22. Amen.