did god forsake christ?

Question

or did christ have it wrong?

Answer 1

Every other time Jesus addressed God, it was always as "Abba." But in Mt. 27:46 He speaks from a distance to His Father as He says, "My God, My God." Why? Of God, Habakkuk declared, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Hab_1:13).

Yet Paul writes that Jesus not only bore our sin, but actually became sin for us (2Co_5:21). Therefore, unable to behold evil or look on iniquity, the Father had no other choice but to turn His back on His Son—and Jesus felt the agony of that isolation.

Hear not only the agony of isolation, but a word of information. Those who taunted Him as He paid for their sin should have known Jesus was quoting Psalm 22, the classic psalm that described crucifixion. Thus, even as He was dying, Jesus was clueing people in. As they mocked Him, He was saying, "Psalm 22 is being fulfilled in your very presence." But they didn't understand. They were in the dark not only physically but spiritually because they chose not to see the Light.

Answer 2

Neither.

God never forsakes us but sometimes it seems like it.

When Jesus said, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, Jesus did not think that God had forsaken him.

Jesus was reciting the first line of a prayer, the 22nd Psalm, one of the lamentation psalms. The lamentation psalms start out rather forlorn but end up much more joyous.

As Psalm 22 ends, "The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought."

Almost every Jew watching from the foot of the cross would have known the ending of the Psalm as soon a Jesus said the first line.

If you said, "Our Father, who are in heaven" on your death bed, almost everyone in the room would know the rest of the prayer.

With love in Christ.